Extra Ordinary (2019)

Extra Ordinary review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

The supernatural always seems a little more comfy when boiled down to the more personal and shlubby. Be it the quirky underdogs of the Ghostbusters or the surreally tender romance of Ghost, the ghostly world is just a whole lot more fun when it appears so relatable. Extra Ordinary attempts to do just that, taking concepts of the soul and afterlife and giving them a tongue-in-cheek, slice-of-life quality that is enduringly hilarious and sweet at the same time.

Rose Dooley (Maeve Higgins) is a lonely Irish driving instructor. She’s been a bit of a loner despite her astounding ability to send souls to the other side, a power that has lay dormant for years since an accident. Not only does she reject the social interactions of mortals, but the many ghosts that plague her town as well. With her dad having been a paranormal investigator, others around town wonder if she’s willing to tackle more spooky cases. She ignores all of them. I suppose one would get a bit bored and aggravated by such a linger power after so many years.

One client begging for her help is Martin Martin (Bary Ward). Martin initially calls her up for driving lessons, but the real reason is he needs to get his dead wife out of his life and into the afterlife. An unorthodox romance blooms between the two. And just in case that wasn’t weird enough, there’s the wild addition of the washed-up rock star Christian Winter (Will Forte), trying to find a sacrifice to reattain his glory days. What follows is a wacky sort of paranormal comedy with virgin sacrifices, Satanic spells, possessions, a fear of driving, and a baby on the way. Oh, and there’s a castle for that added bit of a gothic touch.

Directors Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman take care to make sure their premise never overshadows the characters and they do so rather well. There’s rarely a moment where it feels as though the very premise of ghostly appearances and Satanic rituals are meant to be the only draw, as though it’s just a ride the actors can step into. As I stated, this is why there’s a more unique personal angle. Maeve Higgins gives an exceptionally enduring performance that makes one want to root for her to find some meaning in her odd little life she wishes were a tad less strange. Bary Ward has that coy appeal of a guy who shyly tries to talk about difficult stuff. I doubt I have to mention how hard Will Forte throws himself into this role, as he does for all his comedic performances.

Extra Ordinary never goes too far out of its way to be more surreal than it needs to be, but there’s something refreshing about not trying to be so overbearing with its quirks. There’s still a lot of unexpected delights as the premise grows more manic and the characters more desparate, but the style never dominates and there’s always an investment in the plight of Rose and the madness of Christian. It’s an off-beat dose of delicious dark comedy that plays with the paranormal in a manner even most straight horror films feel lacking.