Shelly Long has proved herself to be very versatile in comedy. While this is not a complicated movie -- nor one of the best acted, it is one of the best acted that Shelly Long has done. The story is simple, but one that I'm sure most people have dreamed about. "What would happen to my family if I no longer 'existed'." A perfect world is not available in life -- or death, but on the screen it works. Even though it won no awards for acting, I find that it is one of the most entertaining movies I have seen -- one that needs to be added to a personal library, along with one of Shelly Long's funniest movies to be seen: Troop Beverly Hills.
37 Reviews
not that funny
SnoopyStyle13 November 2016
Lucy Chadman (Shelley Long) is a former-teacher Long Island housewife uncomfortable with the high class parties required by her ambitious Manhattan surgeon Jason (Corbin Bernsen) looking to be chief of plastic surgery at the Knickerbocker. Her gold-digging college friend Kim Lacey (Sela Ward) is three-times-married and looking for a fourth. Her son Danny is a passionate chef. Her sister Zelda (Judith Ivey) is an odd character dabbling in witchcraft. Lucy chokes to death on a South Korean chicken ball from Zelda. Exactly one year later, Zelda uses a spellbook to bring back Lucy. She finds the world has changed. Danny didn't go to Columbia and instead, opened his own restaurant. Jason married Kim and sold the house. She returns to the Knickerbocker ER to talk to Dr. Kevin Scanlon (Gabriel Byrne) who treated her a year ago. Unbeknownst to her, she needs to find true love by the next full moon.
This is not that funny. Shelley Long's pratfalls are awkward and unfunny. The first half of the story is good. The romance takes a long time to start. Gabriel Byrne doesn't show up until the end of the first act and even later for him to fully be a character. The second half of the story is clunky after the world discovers her return from the dead. This is simply not funny enough and I put most of that on writer Susan Isaacs. Director Frank Perry does a workmanlike job but his comedic takes are not laugh worthy either. The romance is fine and I kinda like the wacky sister.
This is not that funny. Shelley Long's pratfalls are awkward and unfunny. The first half of the story is good. The romance takes a long time to start. Gabriel Byrne doesn't show up until the end of the first act and even later for him to fully be a character. The second half of the story is clunky after the world discovers her return from the dead. This is simply not funny enough and I put most of that on writer Susan Isaacs. Director Frank Perry does a workmanlike job but his comedic takes are not laugh worthy either. The romance is fine and I kinda like the wacky sister.
Harmless and Goofy Film with a Horribly Contrived Ending
mrb198019 February 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Shelley Long is very appealing and cute in this harmless movie. Long plays Lucy Chadman, a young woman who chokes to death, then months later is brought back to life by her wacky sister Zelda (Judith Ivey). Chadman's life has changed radically since her death, and she spends her time falling in love all over again.
The film has an uncomfortably goofy atmosphere, as if it's spoofing something that isn't really identified; these sequences are interspersed with very romantic scenes in which Chadman is again falling in love. It's definitely a mixed bag, but the ending--which appears to have been tacked on after the writers couldn't come up with a story resolution--is so awkward and unconvincing that it ruins the entire film. In all of my years, I don't think I've ever seen a film with such an unbelievably dumb story resolution. I really felt sorry for the cast when I saw the ending.
Long is good and Sela Ward is beautiful, but the goofy feeling the movie conveys irritated me somewhat, and the ending just left me dumbfounded. Proceed if you like Shelley Long, I suppose.
The film has an uncomfortably goofy atmosphere, as if it's spoofing something that isn't really identified; these sequences are interspersed with very romantic scenes in which Chadman is again falling in love. It's definitely a mixed bag, but the ending--which appears to have been tacked on after the writers couldn't come up with a story resolution--is so awkward and unconvincing that it ruins the entire film. In all of my years, I don't think I've ever seen a film with such an unbelievably dumb story resolution. I really felt sorry for the cast when I saw the ending.
Long is good and Sela Ward is beautiful, but the goofy feeling the movie conveys irritated me somewhat, and the ending just left me dumbfounded. Proceed if you like Shelley Long, I suppose.
A light-hearted romantic comedy!
entrapment2716 November 2003
Hello Again isn't getting the recognition it deserves.It's a funny relaxing movie that does indeed leave you sighing with contentment.It always does for me. It's about a housewife, Lucy Chadman married to an upscale doctor and is unhappy with her present career and comes to an untimely end while eating a south korean chicken ball. Her wacky sister Zelda dabbles in magic and manages to bring her back to life. Now Lucy must piece back her life with help from her handsome doctor and find true love within the next full moon or she has to go back. The movie is memorable because of the quirky story , Gabriel Byrne's admiring eyes for Lucy and the nonstop comedy.
Don't listen to most of the reviews, this movie is definitely worth watching!
my rating: 10/10!
Don't listen to most of the reviews, this movie is definitely worth watching!
my rating: 10/10!
Films like this sunk Long's career
kira02bit29 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Back in the 1980s, I was actually a fan of Shelley Long. She was a terrific co-lead on Cheers and her pairing with Bette Midler in the comedy Outrageous Fortune was pure magic. I even found her appealing opposite Tom Hanks in the severely flawed The Money Pit. Alas, when she chose to headline comedies on her own, the results were disastrous starting with this labored effort.
Long is cast as ditzy suburban housewife Lucy Chapman, married to doctor Corbin Bernsen and best friends with well-to-do Sela Ward. When Lucy tragically chokes to death, her medium sister Judith Ivey brings her back to life on the one year anniversary of her death and chaos ensues.
Where to begin! First, perhaps a dark comedy could get away with opening with the tragic death of the lead character, but Hello Again is not a dark comedy. In fact, it is a pretty lackluster comedy in its best moments. Writer Susan Isaacs and director Frank Perry have done far better elsewhere (Compromising Positions jumps immediately to mind), so it is shocking how bad this film actually becomes.
Even within the parameters of a slight comedy, the bizarre nature of the story and the completely incomprehensible actions of those involved strain credulity. A woman returning from the dead one year later should be a monumental moment, but Lucy's relations and acquaintances treat it is a mild curiosity or an annoyance. Huh? When her sister brings her back, Lucy materializes in her funeral attire in a cemetery. She refuses to believe her sister and rambles on about nonsensical foolishness, never bothering to question how she ended up there. The scene where she returns home and discovers that Bernsen has married Ward is badly staged and goes on forever. And making Lucy a klutz to get cheap laughs is an easy out that becomes tiresome quickly.
It would have been nice to be surprised by Bernsen and Ward being married, but Long and Bernsen demonstrated no chemistry at all. Really, you do not understand from frame one why these people are married. And seriously, Bernsen and Ward could not even wait a year to get married?
With Bernsen obviously not a romantic interest here, the plot haphazardly shoes in Gabriel Byrne as the emergency room doctor who tried to save Long and then becomes involved with her later. Ivey conveys midway through that Long can only remain on earth if she finds her soul mate. Why? How does she know this? The revelation is thrown out of left field, so naturally we know that Byrne will be the one. Sadly, Long has as much chemistry with him as with Bernsen.
The cast is filled with familiar faces, all of who have had better days elsewhere. Ward is on auto-pilot playing a woman that seems a decent friend but then has to be turned into a cardboard villain...just because. Bernsen is dreadful demonstrating the sex appeal and energy of a rock on Prozac. Byrne looks like he would rather be elsewhere. Even normally reliable performers like Ivey and Carrie Nye are hard put to do anything with the ragged material.
The whole ghastly ordeal ends with a dinner party that has Long trying to trip up Ward with one of the most transparently fake conceits imaginable, snagging her dull soul mate, and then presenting one of the most lackluster cake gets dumped on nasty party guests sequences ever committed to film. If you are a Long fan, you would do well to seek out repeats of Cheers instead.
Long is cast as ditzy suburban housewife Lucy Chapman, married to doctor Corbin Bernsen and best friends with well-to-do Sela Ward. When Lucy tragically chokes to death, her medium sister Judith Ivey brings her back to life on the one year anniversary of her death and chaos ensues.
Where to begin! First, perhaps a dark comedy could get away with opening with the tragic death of the lead character, but Hello Again is not a dark comedy. In fact, it is a pretty lackluster comedy in its best moments. Writer Susan Isaacs and director Frank Perry have done far better elsewhere (Compromising Positions jumps immediately to mind), so it is shocking how bad this film actually becomes.
Even within the parameters of a slight comedy, the bizarre nature of the story and the completely incomprehensible actions of those involved strain credulity. A woman returning from the dead one year later should be a monumental moment, but Lucy's relations and acquaintances treat it is a mild curiosity or an annoyance. Huh? When her sister brings her back, Lucy materializes in her funeral attire in a cemetery. She refuses to believe her sister and rambles on about nonsensical foolishness, never bothering to question how she ended up there. The scene where she returns home and discovers that Bernsen has married Ward is badly staged and goes on forever. And making Lucy a klutz to get cheap laughs is an easy out that becomes tiresome quickly.
It would have been nice to be surprised by Bernsen and Ward being married, but Long and Bernsen demonstrated no chemistry at all. Really, you do not understand from frame one why these people are married. And seriously, Bernsen and Ward could not even wait a year to get married?
With Bernsen obviously not a romantic interest here, the plot haphazardly shoes in Gabriel Byrne as the emergency room doctor who tried to save Long and then becomes involved with her later. Ivey conveys midway through that Long can only remain on earth if she finds her soul mate. Why? How does she know this? The revelation is thrown out of left field, so naturally we know that Byrne will be the one. Sadly, Long has as much chemistry with him as with Bernsen.
The cast is filled with familiar faces, all of who have had better days elsewhere. Ward is on auto-pilot playing a woman that seems a decent friend but then has to be turned into a cardboard villain...just because. Bernsen is dreadful demonstrating the sex appeal and energy of a rock on Prozac. Byrne looks like he would rather be elsewhere. Even normally reliable performers like Ivey and Carrie Nye are hard put to do anything with the ragged material.
The whole ghastly ordeal ends with a dinner party that has Long trying to trip up Ward with one of the most transparently fake conceits imaginable, snagging her dull soul mate, and then presenting one of the most lackluster cake gets dumped on nasty party guests sequences ever committed to film. If you are a Long fan, you would do well to seek out repeats of Cheers instead.
Hello Goodbye
wes-connors29 October 2013
Accident-prone Long Island housewife Shelley Long (as Lucy) chokes to death on a South Korean chicken-ball, then comes back to life after a spell cast by her kooky sister Judith Ivey (as Zelda). To avoid being sent back to her grave, Ms. Long must find true love with either her doctor Gabriel Byrne (as Kevin Scanlon) or widowed husband Corbin Bernsen (as Jason Chadman). "Hello Again" appears to be an update of "My Favorite Wife (1940) and "Move Over, Darling" (1963). For added fun, Long's "Lucy" is given some physical comedy which recalls the famous comedienne. Lucille Ball lost her dress in "Yours, Mine and Ours" (1968) and had several eating mishaps like those herein, but she wasn't clumsy. Long and director Frank Perry can't quite get the staging and situation to make for maximum laughter.
**** Hello Again (11/6/87) Frank Perry ~ Shelley Long, Judith Ivey, Gabriel Byrne, Corbin Bernsen
**** Hello Again (11/6/87) Frank Perry ~ Shelley Long, Judith Ivey, Gabriel Byrne, Corbin Bernsen
Don't Bother
annmason12 November 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Shelly Long is an excellent comedic actress who has excruciatingly terrible taste in choosing films. Watching her on Cheers is a joy. She has perfect comedy timing and is at her best as an intellectual in a company of clowns.
BUT she should NOT be cast as the clown! In her movie career she pulled a "Chevy Chase" and spiraled down from an attractive bright person to a buffoon. Hello Again is the nadir (I hope!).
Where do I start? The writer, Susan Issacs, must be somebody's niece. She is a rotten writer. Making Lucy's character a stumble bum is pointless. Why? Who would think the constant pratfalls are funny?? It is embarrassing to watch.
Judith Ivey should get the ham of the year award for drastic overacting. Gabriel Byrnes is wonderful. I had not seen him before, but seeing how he could even pretend to be in character in this turkey was impressive. And I liked Corbin B.
I watch this movie to cheer myself up. No matter how bad things are in my life, at least I didn't appear in this film.
BUT she should NOT be cast as the clown! In her movie career she pulled a "Chevy Chase" and spiraled down from an attractive bright person to a buffoon. Hello Again is the nadir (I hope!).
Where do I start? The writer, Susan Issacs, must be somebody's niece. She is a rotten writer. Making Lucy's character a stumble bum is pointless. Why? Who would think the constant pratfalls are funny?? It is embarrassing to watch.
Judith Ivey should get the ham of the year award for drastic overacting. Gabriel Byrnes is wonderful. I had not seen him before, but seeing how he could even pretend to be in character in this turkey was impressive. And I liked Corbin B.
I watch this movie to cheer myself up. No matter how bad things are in my life, at least I didn't appear in this film.
Actually pretty sweet
domino100317 May 2004
Warning: Spoilers
This film has gotten a bad rap, but it is actually a sweet film about second chances. Lucy Chadman (Bubbly Shelly Long)is an embarrassment to her vain husband Jason (Corbin Bernsen), but loved by her quirky sister (Judith Ivey) and her son. One day, she dies (Choking to death on a oriental chicken ball). One year later, thanks to her sister's book of spells, Lucy comes back to life. She soon finds that a lot has changed: her husband has married her friend, Kim(Sela Ward). Lucy then becomes attracted to the doctor that tried to save her the year before (Gabriel Byrne). Soon, her secret is out and Kim, afraid that her new hubby would go back to her, decides to cause trouble for Lucy.
Sure the film may sound typical, even formulaic (You pretty much have a feeling how things will work out and who ends up with whom), but it's still a funny, sweet film. Worth checking out.
Sure the film may sound typical, even formulaic (You pretty much have a feeling how things will work out and who ends up with whom), but it's still a funny, sweet film. Worth checking out.
"You're too old for 'adorable'"
moonspinner5512 September 2004
Director Frank Perry, who in the early 1970s showed some honest talent and an abundance of visual wit, channels the same cartoony approach to 'life' here as he did with his "Compromising Positions"...and the affects are equally as meager. Shelley Long dies but comes back, however there's nothing relatably human about Long's approach to acting. Yes, she's playing a klutzy ditz with a heart of gold, but Long has no shadings, and when she tries for sincerity it rings hollow (even her overly-clear speaking voice sounds as if it's coming from an echo chamber and not a person). I liked Long in the underrated "Irreconcilable Differences", where she really had a chance to carve out a character beyond her snippy "Cheers" persona. It's not that she's a bad actress, there just doesn't seem to be a soul in that body. Pert and perky, she's utterly one-dimensional, pink-and-blonde-and-bland. Who cares if she returns from the dead? *1/2 from ****
Shelley Long Was Fantastic in this FILM !
whpratt122 December 2004
If you like Shelley Long and enjoy her great acting skills, you will enjoy the role she plays in this film. Shelly Long,(Lucy Chadman),"The Adventures of Ragtime",'98, is married to a doctor who performs plastic surgery and is very content with Lucy's slap stick ways of doing things. Lucy attends fancy parties with a bunch of stuffed shirts and manages to destroy her dress and the entire dinner party. There is a great deal of this comedy through out the entire picture. Judith Ivey,(Zelda),"What Alice Found",'03, plays Lucy's sister and owns a book store in Manhattan and at the same time deals with the Spiritual World and manages to perform an unusual act of Witch Craft! This is a very funny picture and if you like COMEDY, this is the film for YOU!
Goodbye Again
dhlk22 May 2000
I must admit I am a fan of Shelley Long. I believe she's a truly talented comedy actress. However, not even her greatest endeavours could help save this truly awful movie. Don't get me wrong, it has some strong points, but these are generally swamped by poor acting, poor script and poor direction. Long's incessant clumsiness was both unfunny and irrelevant. The script seemed to be a minefield of cliches and dull one-liners. The direction as a result appears dramatically effected by this, but surely could have improved some of the scenes. The plot also hovers between scientific miracle and occult fantasy, when perhaps one approach would have sufficed. Long's trickery of her friend near the end, although cleverly "acted", was lame and contrived. I'm so disappointed to write this. Please, please, please (to the producers) don't ever make a movie like this again. And finally....how much money did it lose?
I Loved This Movie and No One Can Stop Me!
Enrique-Sanchez-566 July 2004
There is a lot in this movie that is fun to watch, fresh, charming, original and could not have been made with any other cast.
Shelley Long won me over with this film. I was never a big Cheers fan but this made me wake up and take notice of her. She has been underutilized in Hollywood because she isn't outrageous...but that's everyone's loss.
Judith Ivey is another great talent with which Hollywood has no idea what to do. Her charm and kookiness in this film lets her shine.
The rest of the cast has a great deal of chemistry and is cast well for their broad characteristics.
Please don't listen to others - - there are hundreds of other movies that deserve to be reviled and vilified more than this. Sure it's predictable -- How many movies aren't???
The concept is enjoyable and I predict that some bimbo-star of the future will remake this and it will be fabulously popular. People will flock to see it just because of the bimbo and then finally THIS movie will have had its vindication and will be eulogized -- pardon the pun.
Just see it. It's fun.
Shelley Long won me over with this film. I was never a big Cheers fan but this made me wake up and take notice of her. She has been underutilized in Hollywood because she isn't outrageous...but that's everyone's loss.
Judith Ivey is another great talent with which Hollywood has no idea what to do. Her charm and kookiness in this film lets her shine.
The rest of the cast has a great deal of chemistry and is cast well for their broad characteristics.
Please don't listen to others - - there are hundreds of other movies that deserve to be reviled and vilified more than this. Sure it's predictable -- How many movies aren't???
The concept is enjoyable and I predict that some bimbo-star of the future will remake this and it will be fabulously popular. People will flock to see it just because of the bimbo and then finally THIS movie will have had its vindication and will be eulogized -- pardon the pun.
Just see it. It's fun.
Simply a fun, clean comedy with nothing offensive.....
mark.waltz17 May 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Unless you're the mean ogre all of your neighbors avoid, I don't see anything wrong with admitting you like this movie. I'm glad to see more favorable reviews here than negative ones. I have seen it half a dozen times over the past 24 years, and it always brings me a lot of smiles, where repeat viewings of other more successful films of this era bring on groans. This is equivalent to the "Topper" films of the 30's (and even more so the very enjoyable "Turnabout") so there's nothing rocket science about this movie's storyline. Shelley Long either is praised or condemned, and to paraphrase Shakespeare, I come here to praise her for her likable performance in this rare later day screwball comedy.
Judith Ivey may not seem to be perfect casting as her sister, but not all sisters look like Marcia, Jan and Cindy (to name the sisters from a later Shelley Long character). Long plays a lot more likable character here than she did in the same year's "Outrageous Fortune" (where she was basically playing Diane Chambers), and while she's not Carole Lombard, she's not Pia Zadora either. Some wonderful character actors like Austin Pendleton, Carrie Nye, and John Cunningham add color. I was delighted to see Nye playing a very colorful snob with a bit of Tallulah Bankhead thrown in. Could anybody in such a bit part steal every scene she was in? Those who remember her deliciously campy performances in two roles on "Guiding Light" will adore her here, as will those who only know the veteran stage actress as the sister who ends up a birthday cake in "Creepshow".
Nice movies don't seem to be the more popular ones in retrospective, but when you look at some of the teen comedies of the era, it's almost GB Shaw or Noel Coward in comparison.
Judith Ivey may not seem to be perfect casting as her sister, but not all sisters look like Marcia, Jan and Cindy (to name the sisters from a later Shelley Long character). Long plays a lot more likable character here than she did in the same year's "Outrageous Fortune" (where she was basically playing Diane Chambers), and while she's not Carole Lombard, she's not Pia Zadora either. Some wonderful character actors like Austin Pendleton, Carrie Nye, and John Cunningham add color. I was delighted to see Nye playing a very colorful snob with a bit of Tallulah Bankhead thrown in. Could anybody in such a bit part steal every scene she was in? Those who remember her deliciously campy performances in two roles on "Guiding Light" will adore her here, as will those who only know the veteran stage actress as the sister who ends up a birthday cake in "Creepshow".
Nice movies don't seem to be the more popular ones in retrospective, but when you look at some of the teen comedies of the era, it's almost GB Shaw or Noel Coward in comparison.
beyond awful
90916 April 2002
Tripe of this sort never ceases to amaze me. What's worse, though, is the presence of good actors such as Gabriel Byrne. I hope that everyone was paid well for this film because I don't think they were doing it for artistic acclaim!
Shelley Long has no business on the big screen...just as she had no business on television - and THAT'S saying something considering the sub-par acting that usually goes on in the world of TV actors.
I have no problem with silly movies and cute story lines. But when a film is so obviously leading in one way with characters drawn with the largest strokes...it becomes a cartoon...and not a very funny one at that.
Shelley Long has no business on the big screen...just as she had no business on television - and THAT'S saying something considering the sub-par acting that usually goes on in the world of TV actors.
I have no problem with silly movies and cute story lines. But when a film is so obviously leading in one way with characters drawn with the largest strokes...it becomes a cartoon...and not a very funny one at that.
Shelley Long is adorable!
KatWoman8 May 2001
I don't know why so many people have slammed this movie in the comments section. I have seen this film numerous times and find it hilarious and Shelley Long adorable. No, this is not a film that requires a lot of deep thinking and analyzing, but it's not supposed to be. It's a light-hearted, romantic comedy that achieves its goal -- it entertains you, makes you laugh and touches your heart. It need not try to do anymore than that. Shelley Long, Judith Ivey, Gabriel Byrn and Sela Ward all give great performances, as does the rest of the supporting cast.
Hello, painful comedy
mcfly-314 May 2005
A saccharine little comedy, with ooey-gooey sweetness dripping from it's pores, about how Long returns from the dead and finds life a mess.
The film sets her up as a plain-Jane housewife, with a cardboard doctor of a husband, and a son ready for college. Feeling at a loss of what to do with the rest of her days, she does the most interesting thing she can: she dies. Fortunately, her nutcase sister is a pseudo-witch doctor who "chants" her back to life. Only for Long to be hounded by the media and jilted by her husband. It's all handled so tamely, so TV-movie-like that it could qualify for MST3K showings.
Hard up for laughs, Long is written as a klutz, who trips, falls, spills, slides, and even at one point, undresses herself while trying to walk stairs. Her new love interest is a lifeless doctor who smiles at her maybe twice in the film, yet somehow falls for her. Throw in a melodramatic, over-baked finish, and you have a real eye roller. But what might be the clincher are just some of the shots used. Director Perry has people walking arm in arm and laughing gleefully, while entering rooms, or adjourning from others. Or they jack up the saxophone score on Long's "me so cute" smile, and even add a head tilt for Byrne's predictable, "I love you. " The ultimate pile of sugar is during the end credits, as a photo album is thumbed through. Pictures of all three lead couples, getting married, getting pregnant, and then posing with their babies. And Long is even blessed with twins! Then a male hand puts his on a female hand oh so sweetly as they look at the pictures. Please. Talk about redefining "And they lived happily ever after".
The film sets her up as a plain-Jane housewife, with a cardboard doctor of a husband, and a son ready for college. Feeling at a loss of what to do with the rest of her days, she does the most interesting thing she can: she dies. Fortunately, her nutcase sister is a pseudo-witch doctor who "chants" her back to life. Only for Long to be hounded by the media and jilted by her husband. It's all handled so tamely, so TV-movie-like that it could qualify for MST3K showings.
Hard up for laughs, Long is written as a klutz, who trips, falls, spills, slides, and even at one point, undresses herself while trying to walk stairs. Her new love interest is a lifeless doctor who smiles at her maybe twice in the film, yet somehow falls for her. Throw in a melodramatic, over-baked finish, and you have a real eye roller. But what might be the clincher are just some of the shots used. Director Perry has people walking arm in arm and laughing gleefully, while entering rooms, or adjourning from others. Or they jack up the saxophone score on Long's "me so cute" smile, and even add a head tilt for Byrne's predictable, "I love you. " The ultimate pile of sugar is during the end credits, as a photo album is thumbed through. Pictures of all three lead couples, getting married, getting pregnant, and then posing with their babies. And Long is even blessed with twins! Then a male hand puts his on a female hand oh so sweetly as they look at the pictures. Please. Talk about redefining "And they lived happily ever after".
recycled junk
kirstymd21 April 2003
Shelley Long... ugh!!! The female Steve Guttenberg of the 1980's. Hello Again is merely playing on the ideas that were already washed up in the 1930's screwball comedies, but had least had clever writers and fresh ideas. This is like watching the rejected pages for "Blithe Spirit" or "Move Over, Darling". Corbin Bernsen is just a smarmier Guttenberg.
Watchable, but nothing outstanding...
paul_haakonsen16 July 2022
I had never actually heard about this 1987 fantasy comedy titled "Hello Again" from writer Susan Isaacs and director Frank Perry. But having loved watching "Cheers" and always found Shelley Long to be an enjoyable performer back in the day, then of course I opted to sit down and watch "Hello Again" here in 2022, as I had the opportunity.
The storyline was adequate, however, I must admit that the movie as a whole was somewhat bland and mediocre. It wasn't a particularly thrilling movie, and the comedy in the movie was far in between. So I will say that I wasn't overly entertained by this 1987 movie. Sure, it was watchable for what it turned out to be, however I had not been missing out on a cinematic gem here.
The acting performances in the movie were fair enough. The movie actually has a good cast ensemble, with the likes of Shelley Long, Judith Ivey, Gabriel Byrne, Sela Ward and Corbin Bernsen. So yeah, you have a handful of very familiar 1980s stars here.
While I managed to sit through "Hello Again" in its entire 96 minutes, I was only mildly entertained by it. However, I doubt that I will ever return to watch this movie a second time.
My rating of "Hello Again" lands on a five out of ten stars.
The storyline was adequate, however, I must admit that the movie as a whole was somewhat bland and mediocre. It wasn't a particularly thrilling movie, and the comedy in the movie was far in between. So I will say that I wasn't overly entertained by this 1987 movie. Sure, it was watchable for what it turned out to be, however I had not been missing out on a cinematic gem here.
The acting performances in the movie were fair enough. The movie actually has a good cast ensemble, with the likes of Shelley Long, Judith Ivey, Gabriel Byrne, Sela Ward and Corbin Bernsen. So yeah, you have a handful of very familiar 1980s stars here.
While I managed to sit through "Hello Again" in its entire 96 minutes, I was only mildly entertained by it. However, I doubt that I will ever return to watch this movie a second time.
My rating of "Hello Again" lands on a five out of ten stars.
Cute film but not completely without it's flaws
richspenc26 January 2016
There is one main reason why "Hello again" isn't quite as good as it could be. It's Shelly Long's character herself. Don't get me wrong, I like Shelly Long (even though I keep reading reviews of people who keep saying how they can't stand her). It's more of the type of character the writers made her to be in this film. Shelly Long herself I think is a pleasant, nice looking woman in an innocent kind of way. And I liked her in "Cheers" and as Tom Hank's wife in "The money pit". The issue with her here is that she is very clumsy with two left feet. The writers must have thought that making her that way would be a good joke for the movie. They were wrong. I think it a distraction. The idea itself of bringing back someone from the dead is an interesting enough topic for me without the distraction of making her a klutz. Lucy's (Shelly's) spiritual sister, Zelda who runs her own supernateraul shop is the one who performs a spell to bring her back. Zelda is a neat, quirky character in this film and I liked her. Anyway, when Lucy returns, she has to, of course go through the whole ordeal of immensely surprising everyone in her life from before her death that she has returned, and dealing with their understandably intense reactions with such a thing occurring. After all, this sort of thing just doesn't happen every day. She finds out how her husband Richard has now hooked up now Kim, a beautiful flashy woman who Lucy was friends with before but now, after the whole ordeal, the two women don't like each other so much anymore. After all, Kim is now obviously scared that Lucy will go back to Richard since before her death, they never officially divorced. And Lucy, understandable, is not comfortable with seeing Kim romantically hooked up with her husband. Lucy also meets a doctor, Peter while going to the hospital to find out how she died. Peter obviously thinks she's crazy at first ("if you don't take a walk, I'm gonna call security"), but after convincing from Lucy saying things only the "real" Lucy wouldve known, and Peter conducting a series of tests, he's astounded to find out that this woman who died one year earlier, is really the same woman come back. And Lucy dying from choking on a South Korean chicken ball is a good touch. Lucy also made a pretty funny joke about the chicken ball before she choked, "boy, I'd like to see the rest of the chicken". The rest of the movie I won't spoil by writing here. I'll just say that there are definitely some good bits but also a few dumb bits. The dumb bits are mostly from what I mentioned before about Lucy's clumsiness. The hospital executive was also sort of an offbeat character, this weird looking and talking short bald man. However, this is a nice, interesting, quirky little picture to enjoy on a Saturday night while eating pizza.
Ah the eighties...
ferdmalenfant2 August 2019
What is it about these predictable, knee jerk comedies that makes us like them? In this case it must be that it's nostalgic. Shelly Long does a decent acting job with what she's got to work with but some jokes are just plain bad, yet you smile. It has a pretty good story line, somewhat original for it's time. The word, corny describes this film best.
If you're an 80's kid, then I say watch this film. If you are under 30 years old...you won't like it !
Lighten up!
Little_Loie20 July 2000
I'm surprised at the other summary of this movie. I, too, have seen it several times and have always found it fairly well acted and written and just a good bit of fun in general.
Some of us LIKE movies with a happy ending! Kick back and enjoy this one.
Some of us LIKE movies with a happy ending! Kick back and enjoy this one.
Back from afterlife Shelley Long is really hilarious on a tragicomic setting!!!
elo-equipamentos27 November 2020
Whatever the movies which the lovely and charming Shelley Long did I like, she is sexy and funny, their comedies had something else, in those so charismatic characters, due she never made an evil woman, quite often clumsy and even naïve, on "Hello Again" what a hell happened that I've never seen it before is widely scrumptious about a mid-class teacher, wife and mother Lucy Chadman (Shelley Long) where is marriage is no longer fulfilling, his odd husband Jason (Bernsen) is a successful plastic surgeon is in professional growth of which his wife doesn't fits anymore on the snooty New York's high society, she accidently gonna dies, her older sister the mystic Zelda (Judith Ivey) strongest adept of the spiritualism through an old book make a spell brings Lucy to life again, even past one year after her death, thus the mess is done, now Lucy faces how ironic can be the life, when she saw her best friend married with her husband, also he changes his old behavior due his new position as head of surgery at new wing of hospital, the comedy has great timing, blending many elements as tragicomic setting, although the outcome wasn't enough persuasive!!
Thanks for reading.
Resume:
First watch: 1997 / How many: 2 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 7
Thanks for reading.
Resume:
First watch: 1997 / How many: 2 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 7
i loved it so much
remyjcl20 October 2004
i love this film it totally brings me back to being 10 again, it was just wacky enough to hold my attention, fair enough it doesn't match up to todays standard of movie but its a heart warming story that i love to watch again and again. Shelly plays the total scatter brain that i expect of her and her sister Zelda soon enough becomes the voice of reason. Danny plays the ever doting son and i have to say was a hunk in the 80s for me. i totally recommend this film to anyone with a weird sense of humour, for goodness sake she chokes on a chicken ball. My favourite part is at the end when she pretends to be possessed and talks about the cowboy boots that cracked me up, watch you'll see what i mean. Its a classic family film that you'll really enjoy.
Great Movie
dennison-317 January 2005
Hello Again's best characters are Shelley Long and the actress who plays her sister. It offers an unique storyline that isn't beat to death in the movies. The film also provides an array of kooky characters,such as Shelley Long's sister, daugther-in-law, and brother-in-law. As usual Shelley's physical comedy makes you chuckle, even if it is more subtle in this flick. The comedy is off-sets by watching Shelley's struggle through this particular predicament, and although at times you empathisize with her, the movie never brings you down. It generally makes you chuckle and provides a feel-good atmosphere. The combination makes this one of my favorite comedy's of its era. It's a must see.
This is the Best Movie!
sugarmoon19584 April 2010
I love this movie. I watch it over and over and over. My husband comes home and says are you watching this AGAIN. It has everything. I love the store and the little restaurant that is run by the Son after her passing.It's full of magic and makes me feel just great after watching it. It makes me cry each time I watch it too. Some people would think it is a little dated but not me I think its perfect. The clothing that they wear is fun. I also really like the actress they used for the Son's wife. She is full of fun. The psychic store is just beautiful and I love the crazy sister, Zelda. Shelley Long plays a great part in it. It is also a reminder of making your dreams come true while you are here. Finding your passion and making it happen. Abundant Blessings everyone. Sharon
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
