Justin Long is one of those great actors that takes on a little bit of everything from horror in films like Jeepers Creepers to comedies like Dodgeball or one of my personal favorites The Sasquatch Gang. Now he is teaming up with his brother Christian Long for the film Lady of the Manor that they both wrote and directed with Justin also starring alongside Melanie Lynskey, Judy Greer, Luis Guzmán, and Ryan Phillippe. Could this spirited comedy bring the laughs or will it fail to bring the haunting humor?

 

Lady of the Manor follows stoner-slacker Hannah is hired to portray Lady Wadsworth, a Southern belle who died in 1875, in a tour at Wadsworth Manor. Hannah, a hot mess, figures she can fake it —until the ghost of Lady Wadsworth appears! Lady Wadsworth tells Hannah it’s time to change her wild ways — and she’ll haunt her until she does.

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This is the kind of simple comedy that reminds me a lot of those from the 80s and 90s in the best way possible. Melanie Lynskey leads the charge bringing a down on her luck character that not only brings the laughs, but is relatable in a fun way. The rest of the cast are great as well, but this is her show all the way and she looks to be having a blast bringing the heart and laughs.

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The film isn’t anything we haven’t seen before on some level, but the fun nostalgic vibe is the kind of films we just don’t get enough of any more. The Long’s have crafted a fun comedy that pushes it just enough to take advantage of the R rating without trying to force it to be too over the top which isn’t necessary for this story. There is a reoccurring fart joke that had me cracking up and is such a throw away thing shouldn’t have worked as well as it does.

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Sure you have to buy into the silly predictability of it all, but it offers up enough fun and laughs to be had that it just worked for me. Decide for yourself and check out Lady of the Manor available now on Blu-ray and DVD from Lionsgate Home Entertainment.