[8]

A surprisingly effective blend of romance, comedy, and supernatural horror, Ghost stars Patrick Swayze as a murdered man who works through a flim-flam psychic (Whoopi Goldberg) to save the life of his endangered girlfriend (Demi Moore). Ghost became so popular, I think a lot of us take it for granted today. But in the summer of 1990, full of sequels and overproduced action pics, this weird, unassuming, genre-bending love story from one of the directors of Airplane (Jerry Zucker) flew in like a breath of fresh air and took the world by surprise. And I really dig that about Ghost. Watching it again after so many years, I still laughed at Goldberg’s performance, and still teared up when Maurice Jarre’s tender score cues the ethereal light. Maybe part of it also has to do with the fact that Swayze is no longer with us. Tony Goldwyn and Vincent Schiavelli are solid in their supporting roles, and Adam Greenberg’s cinematography is also a stand-out. Bruce Joel Rubin won the Oscar for original screenplay and good old Whoopi took home the trophy for supporting actress. The film was also nominated for best picture.

Academy Awards: Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress (Whoopi Goldberg)

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Best Film Editing (Walter Murch), Best Score (Maurice Jarre)