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By
WADE GOSSETT
It has been easily dismissed
as one of the 1990's premier tear-jerkers, an
unserious chick movie. I think "Ghost" is an
absolutely superb movie, and I'm not ashamed to
admit how much I like it.
In case you've never seen it, Patrick Swayze (at
his most gorgeous, before his accident and age
changed his face) is a corporate banker with a
good career, a devoted girlfriend (a very young,
pre-surgeries Demi Moore), good friends and a
great apartment. When he gets killed he remains on
earth as a ghost, and discovers that his
girlfriend is in grave danger. But how can he help
her when nobody can see or hear him? Enter Whoopi
Goldberg (at her funniest) as a phony psychic who
is astonished to discover that her powers are
indeed authentic.
"Ghost" is a supernatural thriller, a comedy and a
love story, and at the able hands of director
Jerry Zucker it succeeds as all three. The script
by Bruce Joel Rubin is smart and witty, and the
performances are excellent. Swayze surprised
everyone by showing he's had what it took to play
more than a down-and-out hillbilly brawler. He is
perfect as a decent man caught in limbo between
two worlds. Whoopi is hilarious (she snatched an
Oscar) and Moore has never been more seductive.
This special edition looks fantastic. On my HD TV
it looks almost high definition. Great transfer.
The only caveat, are the special effects that look
cartoonish -- it's almost a 20-year-old movie, and
we've been spoiled by state-of-the art FX.
Lots of supplemental materials too. There are
commentaries by: Zucker and Rubin, a photo gallery
and the trailer, the making-of featurette "Ghost
Stories: The Making of a Classic," "Inside the
Paranormal" featurette, "Alchemy of a Love Scene"
featurette, and my favorite, "Cinema's Great
Romances," a compilation of other great love
stories from Paramount, which were included in the
AFI 100 list. |
