Ghost

What the hell is this movie and how did it get nominated for the following Oscars: Picture, Director and Screenplay? It’s not just that Ghost has a severe identity crisis as a film, which it does, but it just isn’t very good. It’s pure Hallmark-style wish fulfillment with a hollow emotional core. I always think that it’s a good idea to ignore films that try to offer something for everyone, and Ghost tries to have it every which way that it can. There’s the central romance, the heaven-can-wait fantasy, the corporate intrigue and darker murder mystery elements. They never successfully come together, instead causing the film to zip wildly and unevenly between moments of almost farcical comedy and mawkish melodrama.

Maybe if the romantic chemistry between Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze had existed it would’ve fixed most of these problems, or if more time had been spent making us care or invest in their relationship. Instead, Moore spends much of her time staring off into the void and doing variations of the pretty-cry. Tony Goldwyn is also largely wasted in a supporting role that switches gears so quickly I’m surprised you can’t actually hear a loud noise detailing how rough it is. So what we’re left with is a great movie star turn from Swayze, who earnestly believes in every minute and change in his character’s journey, and some great scene-stealing work from Whoopi Goldberg. It’s not hard to see why she won the Oscar that year. The role feels tailored made to highlight her gifts as both a dramatic and comedic actor. Her back-and-forth with Swayze was also wildly entertaining, giving a fairly dull and sleepy film a large dose of energy.