Straight romances have a tough time reaching over to male audiences. This is part of the stroke of genius behind director Jerry Zucker and Oscar winning writer Bruce Joel Rubin's GHOST. The film balances between romance, comedy and thriller elements, keeping the narrative easily accessible to both genders. It's a grand fantasy romance wrapped around a crime mystery, supported by a great comic relief character.
Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze, DIRTY DANCING) and Molly Jensen (Demi Moore, ST. ELMO'S FIRE) have just moved in together. Between their relationship and his new promotion, he is worried that his life is going too well. One night, a botched mugging leads to his death. But as is the case with ghosts, they have unfinished business on Earth and Sam is determined to get to the bottom of his murder, which doesn't seem like a simple robbery when the mugger Willie Lopez (Rick Aviles, THE STAND) turns up at his apartment. He tries to contact Molly and his best friend Carl Bruner (Tony Goldwyn, THE LAST SAMURAI) but can't warn them. He eventually goes to con artist psychic Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg, THE COLOR PURPLE), who ends up being the real thing, for help.
The film efficiently sets up the romance and then moves into the thriller elements. But just the nature of Sam's desire to protect Molly from beyond the grave is grandly romantic and serves as the simple tension driver of the plot. For the mystery investigation, the pairing of Sam and Ode Mae is a wonderful odd couple. Ode Mae is not use to having to help others without something in it for her, but Sam makes it impossible for her to resist. As Sam and Ode Mae get more information about what really happened, the stronger the fear for Molly's safety grows because we know things that she doesn't.
For Swayze, DIRTY DANCING made him a star, but GHOST solidified that status. It's also the best performance of his career. He balances between tenderness, so wonderfully captured in the classic erotic pottery making scene, and his anger for revenge. Moore too gives one of the best performances of her career, capturing the loss of a loved one with a painful vulnerability, which only adds to the overall tension. Goldberg won a deserved Oscar for her performance as the sassy psychic. Her comedic timing is impeccable. But she's not just telling jokes or "being funny," she develops the character fully. She's a mix between pure attitude and a pure charmer.
Zucker, one of the men behind spoof flicks like AIRPLANE!, would seem like an unlikely choice as the director of this material, but his balance of the various tones is impressive. The film makes the hope that love transcends this life feel real. When you're in love the greatest fear about dying is leaving your loved ones alone. This fantasy captures those real feelings and gives a moving fantasy where love can protect those loved ones even after death. Both women and men can relate to that.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
