Haunted Mansion

 

Score:  B

Directed by Justin Simien

Starring LaKeith Steinfeld, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson

Running time: 123 minutes

Rated PG-13

Long Story Short:  Haunted Mansion, a Disney movie based on a park ride, rises above its origins to provide a perfectly entertaining summer diversion, especially for families.  Younger ones will enjoy the gentle ghost jump scares, but adults will appreciate the impressive cast with both funny - Wilson, Haddish, and DeVito - and high-quality - Steinfeld, Dawson - stars.  If you need a summer outing, this is a nice way to spend your time.

Astrophysicist Ben (Steinfeld) is working on a spectacular new tool, a "camera" that will allow him to see the unseen - dark matter.  He meets a ghost tour guide in New Orleans and, despite the opposing nature of their work, the two fall in love.  Years later, Ben finds himself alone and adrift when he meets another odd stranger, Father Kent (Wilson).  He brings Ben to a long-abandoned mansion on the city's outskirts, where a single mother (Dawson) and her son are terrified and bewildered by the mysteries of their planned bed and breakfast.  Before long, Ben is pulled into an adventure that calls for his special expertise - but also requires that he go beyond it, to confront his past and the things he does not understand.

Haunted Mansion is a solid, very entertaining family adventure movie propelled by its strong and likable cast as well as an interesting plot.  Disney's casting director did a great job here, finding a number of stars who fit their roles quite well.  Steinfeld and Dawson get the two main dramatic roles and anchor the film well; the former as a private, traumatized but determined scientist and the latter as an in-over-her-head but fiercely protective mother and strong leader.  Haddish, Wilson, and DeVito, meanwhile, get the juicy comic support roles.  Each feels suited to their specialty - a psychic, priest, and professor, respectively - and each is hilariously a fraud or failure in their own way (Wilson's priest has possibly my favorite prayer opening ever: "God... give us a break!").  The cumulative effect is that the group effortlessly feels like a family, if a very odd one at that, that's easy to root for.  This improvised family works through the mystery of the mansion together, one that is filled with silly horror - this is Disney, after all! - rather than scary/gory horror (us non-horror fans appreciate this).  There are some neat special effects and a few action/suspense sets, but the spectacle doesn't seem to be the main attraction.  Along with the cast, what drew my attention most was the thoughtful history the writers created for the mansion and how it intertwines with the present-day characters (being filled with ghosts, a main theme is loss, but done in a non-depressing or gloomy way).  The ending is nice and tidy, typical of Disney, but it feels earned, too.

***

Haunted Mansion was an enjoyable mid-summer treat, and hopefully Hollywood will continue to emulate some of its overall strengths - namely, creative use of a talented cast, and a nice middle-of-the-road yet still intriguing plot for a wide array of audiences.  Now we're into the late-summer doldrums so I am not sure what the next movies up will be (still hoping to catch Oppenheimer!).  Hopefully the studios will come to their senses soon and give the striking actors and writers what they deserve, to ensure that we enjoy their creative talents for the coming months and years.  Until next time!

* By Walt Disney Pictures / Rideback / Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures - IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73177824