Sam Wheat          Patrick Swayze
Molly Jensen         Demi Moore
Willie Lopez          Rick Aviles
Oda Mae Brown    Whoopi Goldberg
Carl Brunner         Tony Goldwyn
Subway Ghost      Vincent Shavelli
 
I rented Ghost this past weekend after not having seen it over 10 years.  It brought back many memories because I was 13 when I first saw this way back out on VHS.  I'd always been someone that believes in the afterlife, ghost, the supernatural, and it's rare, even nowadays, to find a classic that contains equal amounts of drama, romance, comedy, (fantasy) and action.  It also contains the famous romantic pottery scene playing the song Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers

Ghost was directed and produced by the Zuckers Brothers, the same guys that brought us Airplane and the Naked Gun satires.  It's about a young couple named Sam and Molly (Swayze and Moore).  Everything seems to be in store for them: they're young, good-looking, kind-hearted, have good lucrative careers, and have their whole lives ahead of them.  One night Sam is killed in a mugging.  Molly's and Sam's dreams are obviously shattered.  However, Sam is left on earth as a ghost.  Nobody can see him, hear him, or feel him.  Like if he tries to open a door with his hand, his hand goes through it.  When he tries to punch and kick his killers as a ghost, his feet and punches aren't felt by them. 

One day as a ghost, Sam realizes that he was not just accidently killed, but that his death and robbery were set up by someone close to him.  (I don't want to say who; it's a surprise).  Feeling helpless, he runs into Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg) who has made a living conning and scamming people, but she actually now has the power to hear ghosts.  Sam needs her help, but Oda Mae is reluctant at first until she realizes that Sam's killers are after her as well.  He needs Oda to talk to Molly and warn her that she might be the next victim and that he knows the name of the guy who mugged and killed him.

I love Whoopi the best.  Without her, this movie would have been too serious.  It's funny when she's talking to Sam's ghost and having hissy fits with him since he is invisible and only she can hear him; it looks like she's crazy.  The bank scene towards the end was my favorite!  "Make sure this goes straight up to the 3rd floor file.  I have a transfusion to make" and "I don't want to go to Heaven.  I want to go to the bank and cash the god d*amn check!"

Another thing I liked was that each character seems to grow.  Sam, while in his previous life, didn't believe in heaven, hell, god, the afterlife, etc, and neither did Molly or Carl (Sam's Friend) or perhaps even the bad guy.  Heck, even Oda Mae didn't believe in ghosts. I also liked the part where Sam learns how to move things and touch things as a ghost, so he can protect Molly from the bad guys and be able to haunt the bad guys.  Molly doesn't believe Oda Mae until Oda Mae tells Molly things that only Sam and her said to eachother and things that nobody would know at all.  "Ditto" and "Sam says you're wearing the shirt that he spilled the margarita on and the earrings he gave you for Christmas."   You get a feeling of justice at the end when he is haunting the bad guys and their spirits are taken off by demons into Hell, I'm assuming.

One thing I don't get, and I'm not convinced by the director's commentary, is the issue of Sam as a ghost.  He can't move things, he can walk through walls and doors, but how come when he sits in a chair or on a window ledge he doesn't fall through it?  The commentary's answer was that because he (Sam) had been conditioned himself to believe that if he sat in a chair he wouldn't go through it.  Well, why doesn't the same rule apply to him being able to move things and being able to be seen, heard, and noticed by the living world?  Wouldn't he have been used to that?  Seems inconsistent.  It was interesting on the commentary when they said that Swayze was going to turn down the role if Goldberg didn't get the part.

The ending part was good, though sad.  Molly finally believes Oda Mae is real and that Sam really is there, that Sam can haunt the bad guys and protect Molly, and that the bad guys get what's coming to them. Everytime I've watched it with a female (no offesive to you ladies reading this, ha ha) they always cry at the end when his ghost is going off to heaven.  If you're recently lost someone close to you (a lover, family member, friend, etc) then that scene may be touchy for you.  This is the only time as a ghost that is seen and heard by Molly.  Well, he's also seen by Oda Mae.  The last line he gives is, "It's amazing, Molly. The love inside you take it with you.  See ya."  Then he walks off into Heaven.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older