THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Sometimes, you can't leave until your business is finished.
PLOT
Ghost follows banker Sam Wheat move into a newly renovated apartment in Manhattan with his girlfriend, artist Molly Jensen. Their time of happiness comes to an end when going out one night, he is shot and killed by mugger Willie Lopez (Rick Aviles). As his soul leaves his body, he becomes a ghost and sees Molly cry over his body. As a ghost, he is invisible and is unable to interact with the mortal world as he wants to. Days after his death, Willie invades his apartment in hopes to retrieve something. He is able to scare his cat Floyd into attacking the burglar, which prevents from getting what he was looking for. He retreats before Molly could realize he was there. Sam follows him to his apartment and witnesses a phone call that reveals he was sent there. As he leaves, he encounters psychic Oda Mae Brown, who has been pretending to communicate with spirits until now. She is indeed surprised to hear him for the first time because she didn't expect to have the power that has been passed down from her family's bloodline. Now aware that she's psychic, he convinces her to visit Molly and warn her that she is in danger. She does the next day and is able to convince her that her boyfriend is a ghost by retailing information only he would know. Molly does go to the police to share this information, in hopes to begin an investigation. It backfires when the police discover that Oda Mae has a felony record as a con artist and forger, and there is no record of Willie Lopez. Knowing this, she starts to believe that maybe she was lying about Sam. At night, the titular figure follows his friend Carl Bruner to Willie's apartment, which sparks the revelation that he orchestrated the mugging and claimed to not want him dead. He did this because he is laundering money for drug dealers and needs Sam’s security codes to go forward with it. By morning, he does find it when snooping around Moly’s apartment and transfers the money in an account under the name ‘Rita Miller’. When he visits Molly at night, he tries to make advances on him, but when Sam briefly intervenes by moving a picture frame, she turns him down. With the help of a subway poltergeist, he is able to master the ability to move solid objects by channeling his emotions. He then enlists Oda Mae to impersonate Rita Miller in order to withdraw the laundered money, which’ll thwart Carl’s plan. Once she withdraws the laundered total of $4 million, she donates it to charity as Sam requests. When Carl discovers the account to be empty and closed, the ghost reveals himself by typing his name on the computer keyboard. Desperate, he visits Molly again and he asks if she believes what Oda Mae said was true. She believes that it doesn’t matter since she believes her to be lying, while also acknowledging that she saw her at the bank. When he notices Sam making his presence known in the kitchen, he threatens to kill Molly if he doesn’t get the money back. So he and Willie find her home, but the deceased protagonist reaches her in time to warn her that she is in danger. He gets even with Willie by attacking him and when he flees, he gets killed in a traffic accident. Just when he becomes a ghost, he is taken away by demons from Hell. Sam and Oda Mae visit Molly again and the ghost is able to confirm his presence by moving a Penny in front of her very eyes. Their joyful embrace is cut short when Carl returns. He chases both women to a constructed loft above Molly’s apartment. When he holds Oda Mae at gunpoint, Sam is able to intervene and attack him for the last time. When he tries to flee he flings a scaffolding hook at him, which only results now it swinging back and shattering glass that impales his chest. When he becomes a ghost, he is taken by demons as well. When Sam checks on the ladies, Molly hears him for the first time. She is then able to see him when the heavenly light fills the room. Realizing that he is ready to go now that he finished his business, He thanks Oda Mae for her help and gets his proper closure with Molly when saying goodbye to her. The film ends with Sam walking toward the light, onward to Heaven.
THOUGHTS
I recall enjoying this when I was younger and now rewatching it as an adult, it goes without saying that I have grown to enjoy more than I did before. Personally, I believe that Writer Bruce Joel Robin and Director Jerry Zucker were able to share a story that is unlike anything you would imagine. Between the supernatural elements surrounding it, shown with solid visual effects of what it would look like being a ghost, you feel the theme of how love is something that is incapable of dying. As long as you know that you truly something or someone, it’ll never really be gone. I would’ve not gotten this without the two leads that had such sincere chemistry. Patrick Swayze has us fall in love with Sam so easy because he was a guy with a big heart who didn’t know how to show it. The length he went through to protect Molly, the business he had to finish, proves that he indeed loved her, but the problem is that he struggled saying it. It was difficult for him because he was afraid to lose her and little would he know that is she who would lose him. He didn’t realize that as long as he truly loved her, that fear would never happen. Demi Moore easily gives her best performance as Molly because this is a character that arguably goes through such a giant roller coaster of emotions. Losing the one she loved only destroyed her will as she felt like things were just getting started between the two. She knows that he deserved better, nor does she deserve to be alone. When you hear ‘Unchained Melody’ by the Righteous Brothers played whenever they intimate, you understood how unconditional their love is and was. In a brief minute where she breaks down and spills out her guts on how she misses him is the most raw scene she owns. And her emotions only become toyed with when hearing he is still around as a ghost. She bothered believing the truth as much as she could because that was her attempt to be hopeful for goodness to return to her life. Seeing Sam before he left for good gave her the solace she deserved because she was obviously never ready to be without him. It felt poetic for her to reply ‘Ditto’ when he says he loves her for the first time because not only is it a callback to what he used to say, but she knows that she’ll see him again in a distant future. While both leads make the film special, there were two more supporting characters that succeed on that end as well. Controversy aside, I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say Whoopi Goldberg was the best thing about this movie. She earns her Best Supporting Actress Oscar for making the most realistic character out of Oda Mae. Discovering you're psychic does not sound like an easy thing to process and she reminds us just that. Although she lived off of greed to survive, Sam was able to bring out the best of her. Now that his business is finished, I'm sure she'll continue to stay on a good path. Last but not least, Tony Goldwyn is gonna make you love hating Carl. This is a guy who had zero heart in him for the actions he made, proving what a scoundrel he was all along. It's definitely heartbreaking that he is responsible for Sam's death because no one wants to be betrayed by those they identify as friends. Every bit of comeuppance he gets is flat out satisfying because that is what happens when you have no shame in the sins you make. I really enjoyed this movie, but it still does not excuse the flaws that I caught. Like for instance, I have made clear of my strong dislike of continuity errors, so I was indeed riled up when spotting light equipment in one of the mirrors as Carl passes by. I do understand that Sam and Molly need to be isolated in order for the male lead to die, but why would they go down a treaded street? That may have been the route home, but they should've went a safer route since it was late. They likely could've gone around that street if they tried. I was in as much awe as Sam was when he sees someone go to heaven at the hospital, but why were the doctors not wearing their masks? I don't care if it's casual to not wear them, that's supposed to be mandatory so that they don't get sick. It is pretty intense when Willie invades the house and Wendy is unaware, but how did she not stay out longer? She had to have been out for at least two minutes, so Carl clearly wasn't trying hard enough to keep her out long enough for the burglary to succeed. He doesn't even give Willie a good enough schedule to do it right, which proves even more on how much he slacks. I then wonder how does he think his plan would work without killing Sam? The guy was consistent on checking the accounts, so killing him had to happen if he didn't want to get caught because he would've notice something wrong within a second. With him out of the picture, no one else would have seen him do what he wanted to do. I even flabbergasted of how he easily found the codes in the Reebok box when he helped Molly put Sam's stuff there. I don't want to root for this guy, but man is he dumb. It is intriguing when Oda Mae retails Sam's words when talking to Molly, but how did she know Willie was Puerto Rican? Sam didn't acknowledge that fact at all, so that's a very odd coincidence that she figured out his ethnicity from the name alone. Hell, I was pretty scared when Willie shoots at her, but where were the bullet holes at? He had to have aimed at the door, so where were they? That was pretty confusing compared to how he didn't check if he finished her. It even gets funny Oda signs the wrong name intentionally, but it is odd how the bank employee didn't consider a red flag on that. I was even laughing like crazy on how shook she was when discovering that Sam was getting rid of $4 million, but he could've told her at home to avoid her making a scene. The only mistake Sam makes is revealing to Carl that he is a ghost. He deserves to be taunted, but you're putting your girl at risk and should've thought about her before wanting to go any further. Moving the chair was good enough. And lastly, it is another intense moment when Molly and Oda Mae run away from Carl, but why would they go up the fire escape instead of down? It would've bought them time if they did this opposite. Other than that, this movie is fine. In short, Ghost is a fascinating romantic drama for helping viewers prepare for and/or cope with loss, being a worthy Best Picture nominee in the process. If you are in a certain predicament as you're reading this, check this out when you can.
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