Year of Release: 1990
Director: Jerry Zucker
Starring: Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Goldwyn, Rick Aviles, Vincent Schiavelli, Stephen Root, Armelia McQueen, Gail Boggs
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
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Synopsis and Review:
"Ghost" was the first solo directorial effort for Jerry Zucker, following the very successful forays into comedy, which he co-directed with his brother David Zucker and Jim Abrahams, with the classic and iconic successes that were "Airplane!", "Top Secret!" and their masterful "Police Squad" tv show, which morphed to the film trilogy "Naked Gun". "Ghost" in reality an original screenplay from Bruce Joel Rubin (who also wrote the same year "Jacob's Ladder"), turned out to be the most commercially successful film of 1990, and to date, the most successful film in Jerry Zucker's career. The film follows the story of Sam Wheat and Molly Jensen, a young couple who is moving together into a nice loft in New York. Sam works in finance, and Molly is an artist. One evening on their way home, they're robbed, and as Sam attempts to stop the whole thing, he's shot and killed. He finds himself on the ER, but as a ghost, and observing the aftermath of the events unfolding. More shockingly he finds that their robbery wasn't an accident, but something planned. He accidentally comes across a fake psychic woman, who can actually hear him, and he blackmails her into helping him with Molly and in the process, uncovering the truth behind his death.
"Ghost" has become a staple in all romantic dramas, since it came out in 1990. It single handedly revitalized Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg's careers (winning Goldberg an Academy Award in the process), but it has also been parodied and quoted to exhaustion. In the end it's a film that has a somewhat contrived premise, something that is mostly redeemed by the dash of humor that is inserted in the film with the presence of Whoopi Goldberg and her character, Oda Mae Brown. The narrative is somewhat predictable, the direction competent, if somewhat generic, with the film being saved primarily for the chemistry between the leads, and the spark provided by Goldberg. It's not offensive, but not exactly very memorable, but it did become a cultural and commercial smash in the early 90s, and that went on to inspire countless other romantic features that ensued. A watchable film, from a director whose best work has been with the ZAZ group, one where they have truly struck comedic gold.
"Ghost" has become a staple in all romantic dramas, since it came out in 1990. It single handedly revitalized Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg's careers (winning Goldberg an Academy Award in the process), but it has also been parodied and quoted to exhaustion. In the end it's a film that has a somewhat contrived premise, something that is mostly redeemed by the dash of humor that is inserted in the film with the presence of Whoopi Goldberg and her character, Oda Mae Brown. The narrative is somewhat predictable, the direction competent, if somewhat generic, with the film being saved primarily for the chemistry between the leads, and the spark provided by Goldberg. It's not offensive, but not exactly very memorable, but it did become a cultural and commercial smash in the early 90s, and that went on to inspire countless other romantic features that ensued. A watchable film, from a director whose best work has been with the ZAZ group, one where they have truly struck comedic gold.
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