GHOST
A film review by Laurie Mann
Copyright 1990 Laurie Mann
No, you will *not* believe in ghosts after seeing GHOST, unless you were predisposed to believe in them already. But, you will see a movie that is a wonderful blend of love story, thriller, and comedy. And, yes, I think it worked.
The plot is simple, though it has a few interesting twists. Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore move into a big old loft apartment. Swayze is in finance at a bank, and Moore is a sculptor. Swayze is murdered, and his ghost runs into the movie. While it appears to be a random killing at first, the ghost learns that one of his co-workers was out to get some computer security codes, and that he may now be out to get Moore. In order to reach Moore, he finds Whoopi Goldberg, a "spiritualist."
The movie is at its best when it plays with people's beliefs about ghosts and the afterlife. Goldberg is a charlatan until Swayze finds her, and she isn't sure what to do with him. Moore desperately wants to believe that Goldberg has contacted Swayze, but the evidence is stacked against her. And Swayze wants to reach Moore, in order to save her life, but he can't contact her directly, since he's a ghost.
This is *not* an "actors'" movie. Whoopi Goldberg is on hand, playing her classic smart-mouthed, street-wise broad with an attitude and she's a hoot. Both Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore are ernest, adorable, and moving. A character actor who played one of the patients in Cuckoo's Nest and one of Salieri's servants in Amadeus gives a great performance of a ghost trapped in the New York subway.
The biggest flaw in this movie is the editing. Many scenes run on too long. The director and film editor should have shaven about 10-20 minutes from the movie, and would have made a better, tighter movie.
*** Laurie Mann ** harvard!m2c!jjmhome!lmann ** lmann%jjmhome@m2c.m2c.org *** *** Laurie_Mann@es.stratus.com *** uunet!lectroid!es!Laurie_Mann ***
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