Lady Of The Manor is the directorial debut of Justin and Christian Long, who also wrote the script together. It’s a comedy that follows Hannah (Melanie Lynskey), a slacker who loses her job following a mix-up that will require her to register as a sex offender. However, an opportunity finds its way from the sleazy Tanner (Ryan Phillippe), whose parents put in charge of his old family mansion, which operates as a museum. Hannah is given the job of a tour guide, performing in character as Lady Wadsworth (Judy Greer), who built the house generations ago and died under mysterious circumstances.
Hannah is notably unqualified for the job, constantly making up random facts and generally not living up to the image that the role requires. During this, she also deals with being Tanner’s fling, and a new friendship with a local history teacher, Max (Justin Long). However, right as she gets comfortable, she find herself coming face-to-face with the ghost of Lady Wadsworth, who is really not happy about Hannah’s unladylike demeanor and representation of her for the tours. Hannah is spooked, but in need of a job, so she reluctantly decides to work with the specter and improve herself.
While the film may deal in the supernatural, there is no real shade of horror to be found here. This is a comedy through and through, and a fairly silly and irreverent one at that. The humor is driven largely driven by banter between the various colorful characters that we meet throughout the film. While I wouldn’t go as far as to say that the characters feel fully three-dimensional, they do fit fairly basic archetypes, and they function in service of the story well enough in a basic screenwriting 101 kind of way. The arcs are by no means fresh, but they do get the job done.
It’s interesting to see the Long brothers, Justin in particular, make their directorial debut now after working so long as fairly reliable comedic performers. With that kind of history, you’d expect their directorial debut to be something a bit more ambitious and less perfunctory, but that’s not necessarily a knock against the film. Though, I will say that the flat and overlit visual presentation does leave a lot to be desired. But there is something to be said about nailing down the fundamentals of a solid story, which I think Lady Of The Manor does.
What ultimately prevents this from being a totally forgettable experience is the fact that the performers involved are all very committed and have solid chemistry and comedic timing with one another. Melanie Lynskey is of course a total pro, and I think it is really refreshing to see a woman in her 40s playing a role like this. She’s great in the film, and I really love her chemistry with Judy Greer, who practically steals the whole show, putting on a delightfully outrageous vocal inflection and playing with the the fact that she is unaware of modern tech and social sensibilities. Whenever these two are on screen, the film hits, and it’s a really fun time.
There is a little bit more to Lady Of The Manor than one might initially expect, though that would require digging into spoilers, but I frankly don’t think it’s necessarily enough to push the film past being a generally mediocre production. It’s not a bad film by any means, I think the Long brothers do have some good comedic instincts; hell, I would even say this features maybe the most effective fart joke I’ve seen in a while, and they have a decent enough grasp on character and story that could prove more successful in future projects. The few genuinely hilarious moments and bright spots often come out of the bond that forms between Hannah and Lady Wadsworth, which considering the actors behind them, should be no surprise to anyone even vaguely aware of Lynskey and Greer’s prior work. Because of those two, I wouldn’t say my time was wasted, but this isn’t something I’ll think about or be actively seeking out again.
Lady Of The Manor is now out in select theaters and VOD platforms.