| Ghost | |
|---|---|
| |
| Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jerry Zucker |
| Produced by | Steven-Charles Jaffe Bruce Joel Rubin |
| Writen by | Bruce Joel Rubin |
| Starring | Patrick Swayze Demi Moore Whoopi Goldberg |
| Music | Maurice Jarre (score) Alex North (Unchained Melody) |
| Release date | July 13, 1990 |
| Running time | 126 minutes |
Ghost is a 1990 American romantic fantasy thriller film starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, and Whoopi Goldberg. It was written by Bruce Joel Rubin and directed by Jerry Zucker.
The plot centers on a young woman in jeopardy (Moore) and the ghost of her murdered lover (Swayze), who tries to save her with the help of a reluctant medium (Goldberg).
The film was an outstanding commercial success, grossing over $505 million at the box office on a budget of $21 million, and was the highest-grossing film of 1990. It was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Score and Best Film Editing. It won the awards for Best Supporting Actress for Goldberg and Best Original Screenplay. Swayze and Moore both received Golden Globe Award nominations for their performances, while Goldberg won the BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Saturn Awards in addition to the Oscar.
Plot[]
Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze), a banker, and Molly Jensen (Demi Moore), a talented potter, are a loving couple who move into a New York City apartment. At work, Sam discovers a major discrepancy in a couple of bank accounts (too much money) and confides this to his good friend and colleague Carl Bruner (Tony Goldwyn). Carl offers to investigate the matter, but Sam decides to investigate himself.
Later that night, an armed thug named Willie Lopez (Rick Aviles) attacks Sam and Molly on a desolate street corner. Sam struggles with Willie before Willie fires his gun. The viewer then sees Sam chasing Willie across the street and then returning to Molly, only to realize that he has been shot to death; a distraught Molly weeps over his corpse. He frighteningly realizes that he is a ghost and therefore, living people cannot see nor hear him.
One day, the audience sees Sam glancing at Molly and Carl at his former apartment where Carl urges Molly to take a walk for the sake of her mental health; Molly hesitantly agrees. Sam remains alone at the apartment where he tests his ability to walk through doors. Then Willie suddenly comes in, looking for something. Sam is unable to stop the killer but spooks Molly's cat, Floyd, into scratching Willie and he immediately flees. Sam follows Willie to his place in Brooklyn and realizes that he will return to the apartment when he sees Willie glancing at Molly's driving license. Sam loudly warns Willie to stay away from Molly despite Willie's deafness and blindness to Sam's presence. A bewildered Sam walks through the city when he sees the office of Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg), a local con artist who poses as a medium for people who have lost loved ones. Oda Mae fakes her abilities to a older female client when Sam suddenly criticizes Oda Mae for scamming the client. Oda Mae hears Sam, but she initially dismisses Sam's voice as an illusion before hearing Sam state his name repeatedly. A frightened Oda Mae retreats into her room. When her concerned sisters ask her what is wrong, Oda Mae simply screams "Sam Wheat."
The viewer then sees Oda Mae's sisters tending to her while Sam explains his situation. Oda Mae refuses to help at first because she believes that Molly will not believe her, but Sam forces Oda Mae by singing an annoying song nonstop for many hours. Oda Mae comes to Sam's former apartment to tell Molly that she is in danger, but Molly is disbelieving. Oda Mae manages to establish some credibility by stating facts about Molly that only Sam knew, but Molly still refuses to give Oda Mae credence. After Molly shares this news with a skeptical Carl, he later implies to Molly that Oda Mae is a fraud preying on her grief. However, Carl does agree to investigate the matter himself.
A questioning Molly talks to the police about her concerns but they confirm that Oda Mae is a known confidence trickster with a lengthy record whereas Willie Lopez has none. A motivated Sam follows Carl to Willie's apartment, only to find out that Carl is involved in a money laundering scheme at the bank and that Carl had hired Willie to kill Sam to acquire Sam's security codes, so he can transfer the money from the many accounts to one at another bank. A horrified Sam silently scolds Carl for betraying his friend.
A desperate Sam learns how to move solid objects by willpower from an aggressive New York City Subway Ghost (Vincent Schiavelli) he meets in the subway. He persuades Oda Mae to thwart Carl's money laundering scheme. Following his instructions, Oda Mae impersonates the owner of Carl's fake bank account, closes the account, and reluctantly gives its $4 million contents to a homeless shelter. Carl, having promised to transfer the money to a correspondent bank overseas, becomes desperate when he finds the account closed and empty.
Sam taunts Carl in the deserted office by moving objects and making accusations appear on his computer screen, typing "MURDERER," then his name "SAM," which he types repeatedly. An anxious Carl visits Molly and declares to Sam that he will kill Molly unless the money is returned that evening. He and Willie then rush to Oda Mae's apartment to find her. Sam manages to arrive first and warns Oda Mae and her two sisters, who quickly escape and take refuge in a neighbor's apartment. Sam uses his powers to separate and distract Carl and Willie during their attempt to ransack Oda Mae's apartment in search of the money.
Sam then corners Willie and horrifies him by moving objects and writing the word "BOO" on a foggy mirror. A panic-stricken Willie flees from the apartment while Sam continues to knock Willie down repeatedly. The chases leads to Willie intercepting two motorists on a road, who kill him in a traffic accident. Willie's ghost arises and sees his corpse. Sam tells Willie that he is dead before a group of howling Shadow Creatures emerge from shadows of ordinary things, and they all pull a screaming Willie into the shadows, while Sam watches in horror. It is implied they take him to Hell. Afterwards, Sam and Oda Mae return to Molly's apartment to warn her about Carl, but she refuses to let her in and breaks down in grief.
Sam finally convinces her that Oda Mae is genuine and he is truly present as a ghost by having Oda Mae push a penny underneath the front door, which Sam levitates in front of Molly. An astonished Molly lets Ode Mae inside and while they wait for the police, Oda Mae allows Sam to use her body to share a final dance with Molly. Unfortunately for the trio, Carl arrives to murder Molly and Oda Mae, and they flee. Sam is left momentarily weakened, as possession wipes a ghost out.
Carl chases the two women to a storage room, manages to get a hold of Oda Mae, and threatens to kill her, but Molly comes to her aid and holds Carl off long enough for Oda Mae to escape his grasp. Carl then grabs Molly and holds her at gunpoint for the money, but Sam recovers in time to disarm Carl and attack him. As Carl attempts to flee through a plate glass window, he flings a scaffolding hook in Sam's direction which swings back and partially shatters the glass in the upper part of the window; the window slides down and kills Carl before he can climb out.
Carl's ghost arises from his corpse much to his astonishment and to Sam's grief. Sam then watches in silence as the Shadow Creatures arrive and drag a screaming Carl away into the darkness. When Sam goes to Oda Mae and Molly and asks if they are all right, Molly suddenly realizes that she can hear him. A heavenly light fills the room and Sam becomes fully visible to both Molly and Oda Mae.
Sam looks behind him and sees hundreds of people, presumably angels, in a portal to Heaven; he can move on now that he has completed his task. Sam bids an emotional farewell to Molly, thanks Oda Mae for her help, and departs for the afterlife.
Cast[]
- Patrick Swayze as Sam Wheat
Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze, in one of the most famous scenes from the movie
- Demi Moore as Molly Jenson
- Whoopi Goldberg as Oda Mae Brown
- Tony Goldwyn as Carl Bruner
- Rick Aviles as Willy Lopez
- Stephen Root as Police Sgt.
- Vincent Schiavelli as subway ghost
- Armelia McQueen as Oda Mae's sister
- Gail Boggs as Oda Mae's sister
Reception[]
Ghost has received generally favorable reviews[1] and has a "Certified Fresh" rating of 81% on Rotten Tomatoes based on reviews from 44 critics. It has an average rating of 53% on the review site Metacritic, indicating mixed or average reviews. The film has been criticized for featuring the Magical Negro stereotype with Oda Mae Brown.[2] However, in spite of this, Goldberg's performance was highly praised. Janet Maslin in her review for The New York Times comments, "Ms. Goldberg plays the character's amazement, irritation and great gift for back talk to the hilt. This is one of those rare occasions on which the uncategorizable Ms. Goldberg has found a film role that really suits her, and she makes the most of it." Even some writers who gave negative reviews of Ghost extended praise to Goldberg's work in the film.[3] Goldberg went on to win the Academy Award, BAFTA, and Golden Globe for her performance.
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References[]
- ↑ "Ghost". Variety. 1989-12-31. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
- ↑ Gabbard, Krin (2004). Black Magic: White Hollywood and African American Culture. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. p. 154. ISBN 0-8135-3383-X. OCLC 53215708.
- ↑ Podgorski, Daniel (October 15, 2015). "A Ghastly Script: The Mediocrity of Jerry Zucker’s Romantic Classic, Ghost". The Gemsbok. Retrieved February 20, 2016.