The ladies in this film are giving it their all and they are reasonably fun together. But they are let down by a iffy script and sluggish pacing. I kind of wanted to like it, but I also didn’t “get” it.

Lady of the Manor stars Judy Greer and Melanie Lynskey as an odd couple. Grier is a long dead uptight southern lady who once ran a now historic estate. Lynskey is a human trainwreck, drug courier, and accused sex offender who lucks her way into playing Greer’s character in historical tours of the manor.

Not much of a plot, or at least I had a hard time connecting with the plot. I mean, it’s about a lady who died in the 1880s who now haunts her old southern mansion (so safely past the Civil War so we can dispatch with all the worries about slavery). And about historical re-enactments and ownership rights to the manor. I guess I just had no entry into this as a premise for a movie.

But that’s partly because the script lets these ladies down… I think they are doing what they can but most of this just isn’t half as funny as they think it is. Of course, humor = subjective so maybe it’s a laugh riot if you are in the right mood or the right state (of mind or physical location).

It’s unfortunate since there’s probably something here that could have worked but its sabotaged by sluggish pacing and the script. Maybe it’ll work for you, but it really just kind of lay there, gasping for breath for me.

Score: 66