Good premise; mediocre execution

Rating: 6/10 (28 February 2005)

"Ghost" is a decent film overall, but for every good moment, there's an equally bad one. It takes an interesting premise of a man returning as a ghost after his murder and muddles it with a rather silly money laundering plot. Many actions of the villains, and the reactions of side characters to various goings-on, are unbelievable.
Would the banker hand Ode Mae a cashier's check for $4 million dollars after she acts like a complete lunatic and more than a tad suspicious? And why is that bank scene so padded and long? The 'comic relief' it provides isn't worth its extreme lack of credibility.
Could the killer, Willie Lopez, be less sneaky? He's always after Ode Mae with guns blazing even though he's a hired killer and practiced burglar. I just can't believe, even with Sam's help, that Ode Mae could avoid this guy catching up with her eventually.
As for Carl, he has to be one of the most unbelievable villains I've ever seen in a film. There's absolutely nothing about him that would suggest he's capable of plotting a murder. Not only is the actor miscast, but the character is so underdeveloped, it reminds me of movies I'd make with my friends with a video camera when we were in junior high school.
A few other things that bothered me:

The subway ghost goes from psychotic to helpful in an instant.

The policewoman who coldly dismisses Moore after she tells a fairly convincing story about things Ode Mae told her. Even if she isn't convinced, would she be so rude to a recent widow that she believes has been conned?

Demi Moore's hearing seems to go on the fritz a few times also. She can't hear Willie Lopez sprinting out of her apartment after the cat attacks him? She can't hear Carl talking to and threatening Sam in the kitchen while she's out of the room for a moment (she returns to the room after the rather loud argument and says, 'Were you talking to someone?' He drops a large knife out the counter (clink!) which she doesn't hear or notice when she's 5 feet away from him.)

If ghosts are capable of moving things around with ease, wouldn't there be a more widespread phenomenon of such occurrences? Or are Swayze and the subway ghost the only ones who have ever figured it out? For a movie that tries so hard to be serious, there are far too many of these things to write off as suspension of disbelief.

I did find a some clever or satisfying bits in the film, like the floating penny, some of Swayze's learning curve of what he can do as a ghost, and the idea of the demons dragging evil-doers to their ultimate punishment (although the special effects fail here).
It's sounds like I despised this film, but I still gave it a 6 because despite its many flaws, it still entertains and the flaws aren't as glaring on the first viewing. Those who generally enjoy love stories or find pleasure (even guilty ones) in Lifetime Original Movies will more easily overlook the bad stuff.
Lastly, the performances are mediocre at best. Goldberg does the best job of anyone, but the writing is too silly to make her character truly believable. Swayze does his best work here, and it's still not so great. Moore cries a lot. Goldberg didn't deserve an Oscar in my opinion, and the film itself certainly didn't deserve its win for Writing or a Best Picture nod.
Grade: C+