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"GHOST" (1990) (Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Mild Heavy Heavy Moderate Heavy Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Minor Mild Moderate None Heavy Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy *None Moderate Moderate Heavy QUICK TAKE: Drama: Following his death, a ghost takes action to avenge his murder and protect the one love of his life that he left behind. PLOT: Sam Wheat (PATRICK SWAYZE) and Molly Jensen (DEMI MOORE) are deeply in love. After they are mugged walking home from an evening at the theater, Sam is mortified to discover that he has been shot dead. When Molly, cradling his body in her arms, pleads for him not to leave her, Sam's ghost stays behind, ignoring the light that beckons him. But there's nothing much that he can do among the living. He has no physical form, cannot touch or communicate with Molly or others. However, as he observes life continuing, Sam soon discovers that his death was no accident. He was murdered, and to make matters worse, the killer, Willie Lopez (RICK AVILES), is after something he thinks is in Molly's possession. Sam follows the killer to learn that his best friend and co-worker Carl Bruner (TONY GOLDWYN) is somehow mixed up in this. Sam, frustrated by his inability to act, eventually meets Oda Mae Brown (WHOOPI GOLDBERG), a charlatan psychic who bilks gullible people out of their money by pretending to contact their dead relatives. But for some reason, she can actually hear Sam and he decides to use her to warn Molly and stop Carl and Willie from carrying out their plans. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Fans of anyone in the cast may want to, while older girls could be drawn by the romance. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For language, violence and a scene of sensuality. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: PATRICK SWAYZE plays Sam Wheat, a banker who is killed in what appeared to be a random mugging. His ghost remains to avenge his death and protect his girlfriend, Molly. He's a decent man who has trouble expressing his feelings and accepting happiness. DEMI MOORE plays Molly Jensen, Sam's girlfriend, who is unknowingly in danger from the men who killed him. A rising artist, she is devastated by the loss of her great love and spends a majority of her film time grieving. WHOOPI GOLDBERG plays Oda Mae Brown, a two-bit con artist pretending to be a psychic medium. That she can actually hear Sam from beyond the grave is a surprise to her and is played to great comic effect. TONY GOLDWYN plays Carl Bruner, Sam's two-faced friend and coworker who is involved in some shady dealings at the bank. He also has designs on Molly. RICK AVILES plays Willie Lopez, a murderous crook hired to retrieve something from Sam at any cost. VINCENT SCHIAVELLI plays a ghost who spends all day riding the subway trains. He helps Sam learn how to channel his energies so he might have an impact in the physical world. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this drama that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 1 "f" word, while other expletives and colorful phrases are uttered. There's a highly sensual scene between a man and a woman at a pottery wheel that leads to a sexual encounter though no nudity is shown. There are a handful of scenes where characters meet an untimely death, including one that shows a man impaled by a large shard of glass. Blood is shown. A mugging ends in a fatal gunshot and a car accident where a pedestrian is struck and killed. Some of those scenes and the ghostly material may be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers, particularly younger ones. One character drinks from a pint bottle. Other characters involve themselves in behavior that is illegal and/or immoral. One is stealing from the bank and trying to cover up his crime, while another is hustling gullible people. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Willie Lopez drinks from a bottle. BLOOD/GORE A man is shot in the chest. As he lies on the ground, we see blood on his chest and on the arms of the woman cradling him. Sam, as a ghost, is able to pass through objects. When he passes through a medical technician, we briefly see the interior of the tech from Sam's point of view. A cat attacks a man, scratching his face. We see blood coming from the claw marks on his cheek. A man is struck by a car. We see his crumpled body in the street, with blood visible on his face and torso. A man is impaled by a large shard of glass. We see his blood splatter on the glass upon impact. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Sam mentions not being able to use his "Swedish pompom girl jokes" on his new client. Sam scares Molly by grabbing her as she was leaning out of an upper story window. Another ghost feels threatened by Sam and yells at him to stay out of his territory. A character, trying to steal from the bank, sets in motion the events leading to Sam's death. Oda Mae hustles people, leading them to believe that she can speak to their dead relatives. A character purposely spills coffee on himself so he might remove his shirt and seduce the girl he's with. A ghost enters Oda Mae's body without permission. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and/or "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers. The opening titles contain a slow pan of an empty room with creepy/scary music playing. Workmen are moving a heavy statue using a rope and pulley system. They begin to reach outside the upper floor window to try to pull it inside. Tense music plays. A dangerous looking man emerges from a dark alley as a couple walks home from the theater. Ominous music plays. A woman returns home while a burglar is already inside. One ghost attacks another and shoves his head into the path of an oncoming subway train. Willy Lopez pays a visit to Oda Mae with the intention of killing her. She does not know who he is at first. On two occasions, when a "bad guy" died, shadowing demons came, shrieking and moaning, to drag the spirit of the deceased off to hell. GUNS/WEAPONS Handguns/Knife: Used to threaten or kill others. See "Violence" for details. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "She likes guys in tights," "Pimples on his ass," "Poor bastard," "Kiss my butt," and "G*ddamn you." Sam cannot bring himself to say "I love you," and instead simply says "Ditto" in response to Molly's profession of love. JUMP SCENES Sam has a dream that he awakes in bed next to a statue that looks like a corpse. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A moderate amount of ominous and creepy music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 1 "f" word, 10 "s" words, 6 damns, 1 ass, 1 crap, 1 S.O.B., 5 uses of "Oh my God," 4 of "G-damn," 3 each of "Jesus" and "Jesus Christ," and 1 use each of "Good God" and "Oh God." SEX/NUDITY Two men are bare-chested as they work together in a construction site, renovating an old building. An unmarried man and woman share a bed - he wearing pajama bottoms, she wearing the pajama top. Molly, in a sleeveless work shirt and nothing else, is at a pottery wheel working on a vase. A shirtless Sam comes up from behind her and straddles her from behind. She wets his hands and helps him to feel the clay. He ruins the vase but they continue to work the clay together. He kisses her neck. They kiss. The scene cuts to the bedroom where he picks her up. She straddles his waist, kissing him. He continues to hold her, fondling her buttocks underneath her shirt. She caresses his bare back and chest. He kisses her between her breasts (clothed). He caresses her stomach and lays her down upon the bed presumably to have sex. The sexual act is not shown nor is there any nudity other than what is described above. Molly undresses to her bra as a burglar watches her. Carl spills coffee on himself and takes his shirt off in an attempt to seduce Molly. SMOKING None, but a ghost damages a cigarette machine, spilling packs of cigarettes on the ground. He says, "What I wouldn't give for a drag." TENSE FAMILY SCENES A boyfriend is killed on the way home from a date and dies in his girlfriend's arms. The boyfriend's best friend comes to comfort his girl and tries to seduce her. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Is there life after death? Carl pretends to be a friend but is responsible for Sam's death and tries to seduce Molly. Are psychics real? How do we prepare for and handle the death of a loved one? VIOLENCE A man emerges from the shadows with a gun and accosts a couple walking home from the theater. A man backhands a woman, knocking her to the ground. A man wrestles with an armed robber, shoving him against a brick wall. In the struggle, they kick and punch each other until the conflict is ended by a gunshot (not seen). A man lies on his deathbed in a hospital. Though doctors are working on him, he dies anyway. A woman slaps a man after he says something hurtful to her. Sam, though he has no physical form, tries to fight a human burglar. His kicks and punches pass through the intruder with no effect. A cat jumps onto a man, leaving bloody claw marks streaked across his face. A ghost attacks Sam on a train, pushing him, and holding his head outside the car as another train approaches. A ghost shatters a window with his fists. Sam tries to fight Carl but his punches pass through him with no effect. As Carl and Molly kiss, Sam dives into them but passes through them, knocking over a picture frame in the process. A ghost approaches Sam in a menacing manner, tossing a newspaper and throwing a bag of groceries to the ground. A ghost shatters the glass of a cigarette machine by putting his foot through it. Oda Mae overturns a table to escape a man who has come to kill her. A man fires a gun at the fleeing Oda Mae, but the bullets pass through Sam and hit the closet door. Carl, in frustration, throws a monitor off an office desk. A man grabs a kitchen knife and threatens to cut the throat of a character. A man turns on the burner of a stove and threatens to burn a building down. Two men shatter the window of an apartment building and enter in from the fire escape. Willie shoots the lock off an apartment door. Sam throws things at Willie to chase him from the apartment and into the street. Sam pushes Willie in the chest and keeps driving him back. Willie runs into the street and is struck by a truck, catapulting him over a car. Demons appearing as black shadows arrive to drag Willie off (presumably to Hell). Carl grabs Oda Mae's foot as she climbs a ladder. He pulls her off and throws her to the ground. Molly jumps on Carl's back but he throws her off and into a pile of garbage cans. Carl pulls a gun and threatens Oda Mae by pointing it at her. Sam punches Carl and he goes flying back. Carl fires his gun blindly into the air without hitting anything. Carl grabs Molly and holds a gun to her head. Sam knocks Carl backwards and shoves him against the wall. Carl fires a gun into a door lock, opens the door, and is hit in the face by Sam. Sam overturns a piece of scaffolding which crashes upon Carl. Carl throws a turnbuckle at Sam, which swings back and crashes into a heavy windowpane, smashing it. A large sharp shard of glass falls with the window frame and impales Carl. Blood spurts onto the glass. Demons appearing as black shadows arrive to drag Carl off (presumably to Hell). Reviewed September 24, 2006 / Posted September 29, 2006