leeper@mtgzx.att.com (Mark R. Leeper) (07/20/90)
GHOST
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1990 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: Patrick Swayze as a yuppie sort of
ghost trying to save the life of his girlfriend (Demi Moore)
with the help of a not-so-fake medium (Whoopi Goldberg).
This is a slick film with a few nice moments, but not a great
ghost story. Rating: +1.
Things were going really well for Sam Wheat (played by Patrick Swayze).
He had a great new yuppie apartment reclaimed from a really ugly building.
He had a live-in roommate who would have looked like Demi Moore if she would
only have let her hair grow a little. She is Molly Jensen (played by Demi
Moore). He had a high-paying job as some sort of funds executive at a major
bank. His only problem was that he had a stupid name like "Sam Wheat."
Then it all sours when he is killed by a hood on the street and has to get
used to being dead. You know, it is not all pranks and chains being a
ghost. First of all, there are very few people who can hear ghosts and who
want to admit they can hear ghosts. Then you have a really hard time
interacting with matter. Generally you go right through matter: walls,
tables, doors, subway trains ... it makes no difference. Floors seem to
stop you but, hey, who wants to invest in a film about a dead bank executive
falling to the center of the earth, right? Anyway, there is more to Wheat's
killing than meets the eye and his ghost wants to find out what it is. His
first big break is finding a kooky spiritualist medium who thinks she is a
fake until she starts hearing the voice of one real ghost. Oda Mae Brown
(played by Whoopi Goldberg) wants nothing to do with Sam and her newly found
powers.
Bruce Joel Rubin's script in the hands of Jerry Zucker (who co-wrote
KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE and co-directed AIRPLANE! and THE NAKED GUN) has some
nice shifts in mood. These shifts from somber to funny have been criticized
by some critics, but given the subject matter are not unbelievable until the
last five minutes or so. The ending is saccharine, not unexpectedly, but up
to that point the film's tone follows Wheat's emotions at being dead and,
let's face it, finding yourself dead is one of life's more difficult
moments. Zucker did not have many somber moments in his previous films but
he handles them well. There is also a nice erotic scene with clay
sculpture. There is another love scene that might have broken new ground
for a major release film had Zucker not copped out (much to the indignation
of the audience). There is also a rather unexpected and nice scene
involving a grungy subway rider.
GHOST is not really very good as a ghost story. There is maybe one
decent chilling scene in the film. Next to LADY IN WHITE or THE UNINVITED
it pales considerably. But it is reasonable as a slick Hollywood production
with (of course) effects by Industrial Light and Magic. I rate it a +1 on
the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
att!mtgzx!leeper
leeper@mtgzx.att.comsandyg@sail.LABS.TEK.COM (Sandy Grossmann) (07/20/90)
GHOST
A film review by Sandy Grossmann
Copyright 1990 Sandy Grossmann
Synopsis: A poignant theme, wistful performances, and wonderful
touches of comedy make this movie "transcend" the summer
blockbusters. The story revolves around a murdered man's
attempts to protect and contact his girlfriend. Call this
one a romantic suspense fantasy comedy. Heck, call it fun.
Cast: Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg
Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze) and Molly Jensen (Demi Moore) have just
renovated a loft and moved into it. Sam is an investment banker, Molly
is a ceramicist. They're a nice couple; they seem to balance each
other in a satisfying way. Very much in love, they're entering a
deeper phase of commitment which is rudely interrupted by a mugger who
kills Sam in front of Molly. Sam watches over his own death and is as
horrified as Molly, especially since he finds he's incapable of
comforting her.
As we watch him follow Molly and watch over her in his old, uhm,
haunts, (sorry, couldn't resist...) we feel his frustration and
depression. Demi Moore can look so vulnerable that the audience joins
Sam in wanting to put an arm around her. One day when she goes out for
a walk, Sam remains in the loft and discovers that his mugging wasn't an
accident: he was murdered. Worse, he recognizes that Molly is in--yes,
you've guessed it--"grave" danger, and he must find a way to protect
her.
In desperation, Sam goes to the storefront business of Oda Mae
(Whoopi Goldberg), a con artist whose latest con is spiritual advising.
No one is more surprised than Oda Mae when she does actually hear a
voice from beyond. Therein starts the comic combination that develops
into a truly entertaining set of scenes. Goldberg plays this role with
such relish that we willingly go along for the ride.
Sam pesters Oda Mae until she reluctantly agrees to talk with
Molly, but convincing Molly of Sam's ghost turns into a very difficult
project not at all aided by the fact that Oda Mae has one hell of a
police record for swindling. Sam, meanwhile, needs to find out who was
in charge of his murder. While pursuing his mugger, Sam is terrorized
by a ghost on one of the subways. This ghost can affect the real world
in a way that Sam can't. Eventually, Sam learns a thing or two from an
old ghost.
The rest of the film shows Sam having an increased effect on the
real world, and there's no way I'll tell you in advance what happens.
Now for a look at the style of this film: what worked and what didn't?
The humor works. It develops organically from the situation and
the characters, and it's a necessary component in this film. Although a
local critic felt that the film bounced too much between being a romance
and being lighthearted, I can't agree with the criticism. If it weren't
for the humor, the film would slip into pure sap without style. As
previously mentioned, Goldberg plays her part with gusto, and Swayze is
as believable a ghost as I've ever, uhm, seen.
The music works, as you've probably already surmised by previous
comments in the rec.arts.movies group. Unchained Melody always seemed a
sentimental piece that I liked for its pure romanticism. Now I'll think
of it and this movie as a unit.
The performances work: they were nearly perfect for this movie.
I'm not usually a fan of Swayze, but as someone else on the net pointed
out, he's a very physical kind of actor, and he did a fine job. After
you see this movie, try to imagine someone else playing Sam Wheat. I
can't think of anyone who'd be better here. Demi Moore also is
irreplaceable in this film. She maintains a very sweet sadness
throughout the film, entirely believable, entirely appropriate. It's
only when you consider that she spent 6/7ths of the movie with tears
rolling down her face that you realize her role didn't have much meat.
She managed very well. And I've already expressed delight with Whoopi
Goldberg. No one else could have played her role as well as she.
The special effects work most of the time. However, I'm not
convinced that it was necessary to show us the difference between being
sucked up by good ghosts vs. bad ghosts; it looked downright corny to
me. Another complaint: one of the special effects (toward the end) was
gruesome. I'm less willing to forgive that. I firmly believe that
explicit violence and comedy are mutually exclusive.
The ending was, I suppose, a natural consequence of the preceding
events, but it seemed a trite too silly and it tried a bit too hard to
tug at the heartstrings. (For anyone who's interested, I've been
thinking of alternative endings, and I'd be interested in exchanging
email about it.)
All in all, though, this was an entertaining movie that makes me
miss movies about people and the connections between them. It's not a
"statement" movie, so you probably won't go home a better person :-),
but you'll probably enjoy at least the love scenes between Sam and Molly
and the humorous scenes between Sam and Oda Mae. And maybe you too will
find the old-fashioned idea of eternal love a compelling notion.