Extra Ordinary

The best part though is probably the car chase. See, the virgin sacrifice floats to the destination of the ritual. Christian and his wife Claudia (Claudia O’Doherty), after breaking Rose’s holding spell follow Sarah in their car, to ensure she arrives safely. Discovering that his daughter is missing, Martin and Rose start looking for her. They saddle up behind the occultists’ car, going, at best 10 kilometers per hour. Watching the slow-moving chaos will make anyone smile.

Ahern and Loughman did not eschew characterization either. Rose is easy to sympathize with, and her refusal to acknowledge her powers makes sense. Sarah’s frustration with her dad is believable, as are Martin’s reasons for not wanting to let go of his spouse entirely. Sailor a hairdresser, goes from man to man, to the point that I am not sure even she knows whose kid she’s carrying. However, she’s always there for sister and wants the best for Rose.

“Cheese and ghosts are made of the same stuff, so it is incredibly easy for all ghosts to haunt cheeses.”

Extra Ordinary features a strong cast giving it their all. Higgins, whom the role of Rose was explicitly written for, is astounding. At the behest of Sailor, Rose spies on Martin, as they had instant chemistry. Martin goes to talk to Sarah, who is at work. Rose goes in using a mop to hide her face and an outrageous, clearly fake voice that will put you into stitches. Barry Ward’s straight man routine only lasts half the runtime, if that. See, to collect the ectoplasm, the spirits must enter his body and then he vomits up the white goop. Ward’s physicality here is impressive and when he becomes possessed by his wife, the manner in which he holds himself is excellent.

Will Forte plays his oblivious character at just this side of sardonic and it works. All he wants is to be famous again, and while his methods are questionable, he is affably goofy. To learn of a weakness, Christian secures the services of Rose as a driving instructor. This isn’t a send-up, as Christian’s greatest fear is to drive. After a brief moment in the car, having gone only a few feet, if that, Christian decides that might be all he can handle today. Then he just waits in the car until Rose gets out and opens the door for him. O’Doherty’s character never understands the sacrifices, nor why they can only be killed at certain times. The way she’s always this clueless juxtaposed against her sharp, quick thinking, means she gets a lot of the heartiest laughs of the movie.

Those expecting that a movie about an occult sacrifice to ever become scary will be disappointed with Extra Ordinary. The filmmakers use the trappings of that kind of film for an all-out comedy. Thanks to its nonstop jokes, strong, likable characters, and marvelous cast the movie is hysterical.