Ghost

Starring: Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Goldwyn, Stephen Root
Directed by: Jerry Zucker
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
1990

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: After a man (Patrick Swayze) is murdered, his spirit stays behind to watch out for the woman (Demi Moore) he loves.

Review:

Tim: Ghost is a great movie. I want to start with that. It was a big hit in the early 1990s, delivered some iconic moments, and won 2 Academy Awards. It's also a film I have a somewhat complicated relationship with. I saw parts of it when I was maybe 9 years old. The scene I remember most was the dark spirit things that pull people's souls down to hell. I'm not ashamed to admit that scene scared the hell out of me. I didn't sleep for a few days after and for weeks I worried about shadow demons pulling my soul to hell. So, in those days, Ghost was a frightening horror movie.

Years later, though, I was able to watch this movie with at least some level of maturity. I'm amazed that this movie is able to do so much. It's a pretty detailed movie about the afterlife, after spirits and demons and the rules that govern those incorporeal beings. Outside of that, it's a beautiful, emotional love story. It's also a story about corporate greed and unethical behavior. It also has those truly frightening scenes, which rival many horror movies I've seen. Jerry Zucker's brilliance in directing this movie is that he pulls all these disparate elements together to craft a movie unlike those we've seen before. Zucker is helped greatly by the script. It's amazing that all these different aspects are pulled together into a coherent movie. It's not surprising that the film won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Without a killer screenplay, this movie could have been a disaster. Instead, it's a classic. That's really why this is a great movie, although there's still lots of positives to discuss.

The cast was incredible and a chief reason why this movie is so good. This is probably the best performance Patrick Swayze has given. He's certainly cool, intelligent, and our proxy for understanding the spirit world. He works so well with Demi Moore. Moore is so effective in her own right, but it's really the pairing of Swayze and Moore that works. They feel like an authentic couple. You grow to identify with and care about each of them. That matters, because when their lives are torn apart, it matters. You realize how much they care about each other, how much they need each other. The gulf between life and death seems so great, so permanent. This is an emotional movie and Swayze and Moore are a big reason why.

Whoopi Goldberg deserves a great deal of credit, too. Her role was instrumental in making this whole movie work. Her skepticism, her character arc, it's all critical to the story. I will say that she does tend to overact and therefore, some of her scenes feel too over-the-top (the scenes about the money were difficult for me to believable). However, she brings a lot of energy to the role. It's interesting to note that she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance here. I also have to give Tony Goldwyn a ton of credit. He had to do quite a bit here- likeable in the beginning, but slowly change in our mind as the film went on. His performance is pitch perfect and the audience has a lot of emotions concerning his character. He might tend to get overlooked because Swayze, Moore, and Goldberg are so good, but Goldwyn was absolutely critical to this film.

You also have to mention the "Unchained Melody" pottery scene. I know some people claim this scene is cheesy, but in the 1990s, it was one of the most romantic sequences imaginable. I actually love this scene- it's instantly memorable. I can close my eyes and see Swayze sitting behind Moore, messing up her pottery, before starting again. The song was perfect and the scene incredibly shot. It summarizes these two characters' entire relationship in one scene. People adored this scene when it first came out and it's remained one of the most iconic romantic scenes of all time. It's a great scene and it propels the entire movie forward.

I really believe Ghost has held up in the decades since its release. It's a movie that many people love and it's impossible to forget. Romantic movies sometimes get a bad rap, but this one proves they can be incredible films. I may not ever fully forgive this film for scaring me so much as a kid, but it's a movie I really enjoy. This is a great film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 8



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Phenomenon, Dirty Dancing