Extra Ordinary
Director: Mike Ahern, Enda Loughman
Writer: Mike Ahern, Enda Loughman
Cast: Maeve Higgins, Barry Ward, Will Forte, Claudia O’Doherty, Jamie Beamish, Terri Chandler, Risteard Cooper, Emma Coleman, Carrie Crowley
Part of: /slash Filmfestival
Seen on: 20.9.2019
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Plot:
Rose (Maeve Higgins) is a driving instructor and she would like nothing more than leading a quiet life with somebody by her side. But Rose has supernatural abilities and the constant requests from the spirit world do take their toll on her and so she lives mostly withdrawn. But when rockstar Christian Winter (Will Forte) strikes a deal with the devil to reignite his career just outside her town, Rose is called to help: Martin (Barry Ward) fears that his daughter Sarah (Emma Coleman) is in grave danger.

Extra Ordinary is a completely charming, funny, offbeat film. I had a whole lot of fun, especially because it is just such a nice and friendly film, proving that even a film for adults can be nice.

It’s rare to get a comedy that isn’t trying to be “edgy” and that doesn’t go dark, but Extra Ordinary is just that. There are a couple of jokes that maybe hit below the belt and there is one recurring element that basically boils down to “Ha ha, Bonnie was an abuser” that was not cool, but other than that, Extra Ordinary is a comedy that doesn’t punch down or is aggressive with its humor and that’s just wonderful.

That the film manages to be so funny is thanks to the absolutely fantastic cast – above all Maeve Higgins (who also contributed some writing) who makes Rose such a round human being when she could have devolved to a trope, and Barry Ward whose Martin is a loveable desaster – just like Rose. Ah, they are just made for each other.

In addition to the cast, the film has perfect comedic timing and is generally well-paced, another big contributing factor to the film’s humor. And they have so many out-of-the-box ideas that give the whole deal with the devil that we have seen so many times a fresh spin.

All of this makes Extra Ordinary pretty much perfect watching and a film I would watch again in a heartbeat. Maybe I can watch it right now?

Summarizing: a wonderfully lovely delight.