Product Details

• Actors: Jeannie Berlin, Olympia Dukakis, Peter Falk, Melanie Griffith, Elaine May
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
• VHS Release Date: March 24, 1998
• Run Time: 94 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 630484719X
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #292,281 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spirit of Laughter, March 19, 2004

By 

Marty Martinez "movie fan" (Albuquerque, New Mexico United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In the Spirit [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Take a funny trip to the "other side" as a scatterbrained health food store owner and a grumpy abandoned housewife join together to solve a strange crime (which involves a homicidal waterbed mattress, a cryptic journal and a dead hooker!) This is a dark, dry comedy that takes three very different women and braids their strange destinies together. Marlo Thomas is the dingy, metaphysical, interior decorater and store owner named Reva who tries to help everyone she can in her Manhatten neighborhood. Her generousity is challenged by her crude, ex-porn star, next door neighbor named Crystal (Jeannie Berlin). Reva first saves Crystal from a beating at the hands of her pimp. This strange circle of friends is completed when Reva meets an L.A. housewife Mary (a hilarious Elaine May) who has just moved to New York to secure a home for her and her recently unemployed husband (Peter Falk). Their wierd stories and odd paths cross into a murder mystery that is sometimes slapstick. This is a sophisticated, sometimes slow-moving comedy, but it's an interesting story - filled with different crimes and various forms of mid-life crisis. It's a great "N.Y." movie, and has a great supporting cast including Olympia Dukakis and Melanie Griffith. Elaine May steals the show as the desperate, bedraggled housewife who tries to solve the mystery logically. Marlo Thomas plays up the "Shirley MacClaine" in her character by trying to solve the case spiritually. This one kept me laughing... and pondering my "destiny" as well.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Subtle and hilarious!, August 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: In the Spirit [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Although probably classfied as an "oddball" comedy, this one of the most quietly hilarious movies I've ever seen. You'll have to listen carefully to catch the depth of each characters' humor, but it is well worth seeing again and again.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The film is a comic masterpeice. May and Thomas triumph., May 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: In the Spirit [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is a lost gem that features Elaine May and Marlo Thomas is two sensational roles. Peter Falk, Jeannie Berlin (May's daughter), and Melanie Griffeth all make the most out of their small roles. The screenplay is well written, and the movie requires at least two viewings to fully enjoy the subtle humor. Elaine May's comic timing is legendary. Another bonus is the beautiful movie score, and expert direction in this romp through the spirit world. Watch this movie! You won't regret it!