'Ghost:' An Appreciation (1990)

"I swear no more cheating. I'll do penance. Give me penance, but make that guy go away!"

Whoopi Goldberg as Oda Mae Brown, the psychic Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze) discovers can hear him from beyond.

Hello, one and all.

So, for February 14, there are many films we can watch with our husband, wife, spouse, partner, lover, etc. etc. A few choices would be Love Story, Pretty Woman, Titanic, An Affair to Remember, Sleepless In Seattle, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, The Notebook and my personal favorite, Casablanca. But, I've chosen a movie that, when it was released in the summer of 1990 when movies such as Die Hard 2, Dick Tracy and Total Recall were bucking for box office dollars, made quite the impression on then-lovelorn audiences - except me.

I didn't have very high expectations for Jerry Zucker's romantic drama/thriller/fantasy. Zucker's name had been synonymous with slapstick, sex-drenched, pun-overdosed comedy films like Airplane! (1980), Ruthless People (1986) and Top Secret (1984), along with his brother David Zucker ('The Naked Gun' trilogy and Hot Shots) and Jim Abrahams. The ZAZ team were the kings of comedy to me. Then, Jerry Zucker took to directing out of genre a film that put Dirty Dancing star Patrick Swayze and former Brat-Packer Demi Moore on the store magazine racks and our consciousness, and gave a struggling comic actress named Whoopi Goldberg, who had The Color Purple under her belt, a chance to redeem herself after several box office bombs. Oddest thing, the film was a smash at the box office and loved by many - except me.

Yep, I disliked the movie immensely. It was a pure cheesefest to me and didn't cast any of the stars in a good light. The Goldberg performance was the only redeeming factor of the film, but didn't sway me either way. I distinctly remember gagging loudly throughout the film and I then see two female friends sitting next to me and when the big sad ending came; they were crying....buckets! I just laughed my ass off and walked out of the theater. That was over 28 years ago.

Then, a funny thing happened. The film almost defied me to watch it again, and again, and again. I did. My opinion changed slightly. I still watch and almost chuckle at the film's cheesy factor, but what's changed is that this time, I put myself in the character's shoes. I imagined myself in what could happen if my mortality ended and went into the next world. How different would it be? Would it be Heaven, or Hell, or something in between? I won't discuss my endless theories about death and the afterlife; especially since being both gay and atheist may invite too much scrutiny. So...let's just keep the focus on the film.

The film touches a nerve. A big, open one. When someone we love is no more; do they really live on? Can we feel them? Are our hearts still alive with their spirit or are they just dust in the ground? All great questions. Luckily, the film doesn't answer them, but it gives us something that's just as infallible - hope.

A Still With the Late Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore in the Iconic Romantic Thriller/Fantasy, ‘Ghost’ (1990)

The Movie's Main 1990 Poster

Plot gist: Sam Wheat and Molly Jensen (Swayze; Moore) are a loving NYC couple; he's a banker and she's a sculptor. They're renovating their new loft with their best friend Carl Bruner (Tony Goldwyn, handsome and pre-Scandal) and are going about their usual routines. They are much in love, but strangely not planning a wedding anytime soon. The beautiful and iconic pottery love scene with the Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody" playing off the jukebox is still as effective as it was when I saw it back in 1990. It was one of the few effective scenes that still resonates to this day.

Then, a tragedy. A random mugging after an opera date changes everything for both of them. Sam is shot dead and left to linger spiritually after defending Molly from his attacker (the late Rick Aviles). He's lost and confused. Molly is borderline depressed, almost perhaps contemplating suicide. Sam is desperate to communicate a message to his girlfriend. In between, he makes an awful discovery as to who was the real man-behind-the-trigger (Any guesses? It's quite a scandal!) and tries to warn his love that she's got a similar fate in store if she stays with him. What to do? What to do? A Brooklyn storefront psychic medium (Whoopi Goldberg in a game-changing performance that netted her an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress) is the answer. Only problem is, she's never actually communed with the dead before.

No sense in going further. This is a 28-year-old film that has practically been seen by over five billion people by now, so we can assume it's very well-versed. After watching it for this appreciation piece; I still give it props for these few things. Swayze's effortless charm (he actually became one himself in 2009). Moore's poignant performance as the grieving girlfriend battling depression. Goldwyn...basically for looking as good as he did at one point. Another key performance to call out was the late character actor Vincent Schiavelli (Amadeus) as The Subway Ghost - an angry spirit haunting the NYC subway system over his premature death, which in my expert delineation was, in fact, suicide. And of course, Whoopi Goldberg, as the scene-stealing psychic.

Goldberg made the film hers. She was the comic relief; but also the beating heart and soul of the film. Yes, in my very forward criticism of the film, she was indeed the "token minority" in a film that sadly seemed to make all the minorities villains or hucksters. Just an honest opinion; did the film really need racial profiling? Aviles was the angry Latino male, Goldberg, the con-artist and Carl, the obvious Jewish money guy. Not sure why it was necessary to make all the villains minorities. But, back to the Goldberg performance. What makes her the story's potent force is that we, the audience, have the official realization that she is the only way for them to connect for the very last time before he exits the living plane. One last time through her. Deep, heavy stuff.

Writer Bruce Joel Rubin, who capped an Oscar for his original script said he was inspired by William Shakespeare's "Hamlet," as Hamlet's father wanted Hamlet to avenge his death. A great hook and I'm sure that's the reason the film got green-lit in the first place. But, as I said before, the film opens a nerve. When we lose a loved one, where does their spirit go? Are they with us even still? To share a quick story, my favorite aunt passed away in 2002 from a brain aneurysm. It broke my heart and I still miss her to this day. I went to sleep and I dreamt about her. She was smiling at me. The most beautiful smile I remember. She lingered long enough to let me know that she was happy and at peace. I awoke in tears. It was indeed her message to me from beyond. I never forgot it. The film helps me to remember her. In the end, that is what love does to us. It makes us remember...forever.

In closing, is Ghost perfect? No. Its flaws are still heir apparent to me. Grandiose and even sometimes, outright silly at times (the black ghosts from Hell...really?) but, at nearly middle-age and queer, I see it differently now. I put myself in their shoes. I felt the pain of loss, but realized that their lives are still going on in some form or another. My aunt is still with me even in death. Molly got her final moment with Sam (with Oda Mae Brown; Goldberg's psychic character bearing witness), and yes, the tears flowed out of me....freely.

I'm getting way too soft for my age.

Rest in peace, Mr. Swayze. It's the only film of yours I still watch (apart from Dirty Dancing).