A film beyond words, although I'll supply many

Rating: 10/10 (5 December 2005)

Although often marginalized by my contemporaries, colleagues, and the world of academia at large, the character of Ode May Brown is one of the most riveting, pivotal, and important literary characters of the past two centuries and quite possibly ever. Not since Charles Dickens' character of Louis Fontaine and Shakespeare's obscure and typically underrated Thomas Jack Abercrombie has a character sparked a national revolution, packed theaters (stage, projection, or otherwise), and redefined the term "exoneration." The 1980's, similar to 1923, was a time of prosperity, indulgence, and limitless thinking. With this hotbed of bohemian sentiment and excessive wealth to invest in the outrageous, the timing was perfect for imaginative works of zaniness and the fantastical. While stock-brokers were hitting it big on Wall Street, Andy Warhol was working in his "factory" in New York with Basquiat, Robert Greenwald was directing the yet unknown glitter-encrusted light and roller-epic "Xanadu" and Ridley Scott was preparing for work on his unicorn fantasy dream known as "Legend." Nobody was prepared for the cesspool of cinema stinkers to come in a period known as "the nineties." Being the final decade of a century, one would think the world was ready for images and sounds that were out of this world. Instead, the world was treated (heavy on the sarcasm) to such gems as "Reality Bites," "The Silence of the Lambs," "The Piano," and "Basic Instinct." Not only were these films and every other film in the decade minus two completely devoid of anything spectacular or colorful, but they lacked the charm of the previous decade. In fact, the only other creative work to hit cinemas in this decade in addition to the piece discussed in this manifesto was Evita (review coming soon). The decade had the number 90 in it and was a time of grunge, filth, over-sized sweaters, garbage, flannel, and various other low-life things. The stage was set for something better for audiences to feast on.
Breaking into this "Bleak House" that was cinema in the mid-90's, 1990 brought us a revolutionary picture that nobody would ever forget yet everyone strangely already knew because it was so engrained into the fabric of their being. Tired of grit on their movie teeth, people ate up this film with such enthusiasm. This film was Jerry Zuckers, "Ghost!" (Editor's note, the actual film title does not have an exclamation point in it because the marketing person at Paramount Pictures is an idiot. The exclamation point has been added because it should have had one in the first place.). Everything from the music (who will ever hear the Righteous Brothers' Unchained Melody the same way again?) to the special effects were unfathomable.
However, while the film was superior to every film effort up until that point, the actual film paled in comparison to a small unassuming character housed within the feature presentation. Much like a priceless Merlot in a Dixie Cup or scribbles writing musings from Plato, "Ghost!" was simply a cheap container from Wal-Mart to hold something which surpassed everything anyone has ever known. That character was Ode May Brown. A character with such warm charm and charisma that anything that surrounded it was rendered meaningless and often profane.
It is well known that the actress Whoopi Goldberg won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Ode May Brown. Many of my fellow and sometimes accomplished critics feel that her performance was nothing short of, well, amazing. This is the general malaise' and rhetoric that plagues both my writings and my acceptance in the mainstream media world. But I ask, and perhaps I digress, but to what capacity was Goldberg actually participating in? Going against the grain, I feel that Ode May Brown existed before Whoopi was even born and her character was not acting at all. Furthermore, the writer of this entry loathes Goldberg and feels that she has completely the only task she was put on this Earth for and can just as well disappear for all I'm concerned. The only thing about about Ode May Brown and the only thing Whoopi can do on this Earth that is worthwhile would be to make "Ghost! 2!" I'm not sure what exec. at Paramount has not set this production into motion, but rest assured, once this article gets out, "Ghost!" sequels WILL get made which, unfortunately, will revive the career of Ms. Goldberg, but more importantly will bring back Ode May S. Brown (if you know what the S. stands for, please e-mail me!!!) and her 2 lovely sisters to the big screen. For me, this mythic character is the most enthralling..."thing" I can imagine and I would pay sums of money to learn more of her origins. Prequel anyone?