Ghost-Guy Stalking A Chick After He Dies. Isn’t This a Horror Film?
There was a time when Patrick Swayze did not look like a plastic surgery victim, and Whoopie Goldburg wasn’t annoying beyond comprehension (this was before her birth I assume but not in Ghost, she’s just as annoying in Ghost as she is now.) There are movies that sound absolutely moronic on paper. A guy dies, haunts his wife, longs for her, etc. Then finds a medium who enables him to communicate with the living. Yeah, that is pretty much Ghost and somehow they managed to make that fly. T
here is more to it than that, as we have some crap about criminals and the like, but for my vote what was truly criminal here were the number of poor bastards that got dragged to this flick. The brilliance of the movie and the reason that it made wheel barrels of money (something in the order of $500 million box office) is that the film centers on a dead guy longing for a wonderful, wonderful woman. So if you are a guy and you didn’t take your date to see this movie in 1990 you’re weren’t romantic. In this fact resides the power of Ghost and why it pulled in SO much money with its relatively small budget. Any movie that panders to the “I love you so much, your such a great woman, I will want you even after I die” instinct in women has a decent chance of doing well. And if you don’t take your girlfriend/wife or if you are lucky, mistress to see the film that fits this formula, then you are, de facto, telling her that she isn’t that kind of woman and that there is only darkness in your heart. Films that you MUST go see or you are uncool or a bad person or a bad boyfriend are Hollywood gold.
Besides the formula, the filmmakers did one other thing that was brilliant. The script had enough comic relief to keep the silliness of the plot from shining through too brightly. This is the one performance out of Goldburg’s amazingly painful career that is barely tolerable. Little did we know in 1990 that she would unleash herself upon an unsuspecting Star Trek crowd and radiate painful waves of hell upon slack jawed Trekkies/Trekkers or whatever they call themselves.
Speaking of the script it was penned by Bruce Joel Rubin who is responsible for one of the most unintentionally comical scripts of all time–Deep Impact. The logic errors in Deep Impact are astounding, seriously you should read the review.
What I have always found comical is the fact that this film won Academy Awards. In fact they gave Goldburg an award for this film, wow. I don’t know maybe it was a weak year but I never understood that one. But hey, it’s a very crazy business and nothing spotlights that fact more than the tremendous success that Ghost enjoyed. However, all of that said, if you are dating a guy that you don’t like, and you have the urge to torture or humiliate him, there are better choices, such as anything with Bridget Jones in the title, or, of course, My Big Fat Greek Con Job, but Ghost will also get the job done.
Story C
Acting C+
Visuals B- (There are some decent visuals and cinematography in Ghost from time to time.)
Originality/Innovation C+ (Despite the review above at least Ghost is a bit of a twist on romantic date movie. However, it is folly to see it as more than that.)
Enjoyability Grade
Home Theater/HD Factor B-
Overall Grade A for most women, C- for most men
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