Starring Julie Gonzalo, Chris McNally, and Madeleine Arthur
***SPOILER ALERT ***
Anna (Gonzalo) is a newly licensed real estate agent who’s eager to sell a magnificent hundred-year-old house. There’s only one problem: the place is haunted by Ruby (Arthur), a socialite who lived there and died tragically in 1923. Only Anna can see the ghost. Ruby resents Anna being on her turf, and Anna sees Ruby as an obstacle to selling the house. But they each have something in common: an ex-fiancé. Ruby broke off her engagement with Charlie (Thomas Darya), a chauffeur, and has regretted it ever since, whereas Anna and Elliot (McNally), try as they might, just couldn’t make things work. Ruby attempts to bring Anna and Elliot back together, hoping that doing so will also enable her to reunite with her beloved Charlie.
PROS
Madeleine Arthur as Ruby. If there were Hallmark best actor awards, I’d unhesitatingly give one to Arthur. The charismatic actress sparkled, truly inhabiting her role as the seemingly carefree flapper Ruby. Casting Arthur was a stroke of genius. Everything about her—her looks, her body language, her manner of speaking—made her utterly convincing as a privileged young woman of the 1920s. She played Ruby with plenty of Jazz Age sass. She also imbued this loveable character with a heart of gold; Ruby sincerely wanted to help Anna reconcile with Elliot, as she didn’t want Anna to make the same mistake she did—pushing her true love away. Ruby’s century-long heartbreak gave this character emotional depth, which was conveyed beautifully by Madeleine Arthur. Her performance was pitch-perfect and moved me to both laughter and tears.
The relationship between Anna and Ruby. I believe that the heart of this movie was the relationship between these two. Fated to meet, they began as adversaries who were working at cross-purposes—Ruby staunchly protecting the home she wasn’t yet capable of leaving, Anna persisting in preparing to sell it. But gradually, the two bonded over their similar losses. Their friendship blossomed when Ruby got beyond her front door at last (she’d been unable to for a century) and began nudging Anna and Elliot ever closer. By the end of the movie, Anna and Ruby had helped steer each other toward their respective destinies and were the best of friends. I felt my heart break when Ruby was ready to cross over at last and she and Anna said tearful goodbyes. What an amazing transformative journey they took together!
Gonzalo and McNally. The two actors, partners in real life, were terrific as estranged couple Anna and Elliot. I wasn’t looking for romantic chemistry so much as I was curious to see how their two characters, so obviously suited to one another, would find their way back to being a couple. To add to her troubles, Anna was frequently hampered from giving Elliot her full attention by Ruby’s distracting presence. Gonzalo and McNally realistically depicted Anna and Elliot’s awkwardness as they took tentative steps toward friendship, their uncertainty about their feelings toward each other and a renewed relationship, and ultimately, their longing to be together again. The acting of the leads showed subtlety and grace. I couldn’t help feeling pangs of sympathy for Anna when Elliot announced his departure just when she felt committed to trying again, and when, after she ran out during his historical building designation meeting, he said they were a lost cause.
Humor. This movie boasted a smart, lively script and whimsical moments throughout—a Charleston dance scene, Ruby passing through Anna to prove she was a ghost, Ruby emptying feathers over Anna’s newly waxed floor, Ruby helping Elliot win the pumpkin toss at the fall fair, Ruby sticking a letter that was supposedly from Anna in Elliot’s pocket, and Ruby teaching Anna the Charleston, just to name a few. And in a delightful moment, Anna discovered letters that F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway had written to Ruby to encourage her in her writing!
Something unexpected. This movie held a marvelous surprise at the end: Elliot realized that the man in Ruby’s photograph, Charlie, was actually his great-uncle. And to add to the surprise, when Charlie’s ghost appeared and waved, Elliot waved back to him—Anna clearly wasn’t the only one to see spirits.
CONS (somewhat)
Anachronisms. I admit, this is where I get nitpicky. Dresses in 1923 were loose fitting with hemlines a few inches above the ankle, so the form-fitting short dresses Ruby and the other women wore as they danced the Charleston weren’t accurate. She also wore too much jewelry—one string of beads or pearls was typical for the period. The extremely sparkly dresses weren’t quite right either; glitter was understated in the 1920s. Still, most of the costumes were lovely, and they all successfully evoked the spirit of the 1920s. Other anachronisms I noticed were the use of “toots” (not said until the mid 1930s) and “jeepers” (late 1920s), and the song “Happy Days Are Here Again,” first recorded in 1929. And The Great Gatsby wasn’t published until 1925, so Ruby wouldn’t have mentioned it. Many viewers won’t care about such details, but I prefer it when the filmmakers get them right. However, these small things weren’t enough to significantly detract from this adorable movie.
My grade for 3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost: A+! The best of 2023 so far.
Caroline Kaiser is a professional book editor who specializes in fiction and memoirs, and she’s been guiding writers toward publication since 2007. Caroline is also the author of two ghostly mystery novels, Virginia’s Ghost and The Spirits of South Drive. Before she embarked on an editing and writing career, she spent many years working in a Toronto auction house as an antiques appraiser. Apart from curling up on the couch and drinking tea as she watches Hallmark movies, Caroline enjoys baking and exploring London, Ontario, the picturesque city she now calls home. Her website is www.carolinekaisereditor.com.
