Ghost Dad
| Ghost Dad | |
|---|---|
 Promotional movie poster | |
| Directed by | Sidney Poitier |
| Written by | Brent Maddock S.S. Wilson Chris Reese |
| Produced by | Terrence Nelson |
| Starring | Bill Cosby Holly Guthrie Kimberly Russell Denise Nicholas Ian Bannen Christine Ebersole Barry Corbin |
| Music by | Henry Mancini |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release dates | June 29, 1990 |
Running time | 83 mins. |
| Country | U.S.A. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $18 million |
| Box office | $27 million |
Ghost Dad (1990) is a comedy film directed by Sidney Poitier and starring Bill Cosby, in which a widower's spirit is able to communicate with his children after his death. It was critically panned, and wound up on many critics' "Worst of 1990" and "Worst of all time" lists. Despite its critical failure, it was a financial success, mostly due to its low budget.
Plot
Elliot Hopper is a workoholic widower that does not pay attention to his children or fiancee, Joan. One day he forgets his daughter's birthday and leaves in fustration. He hitches a ride in a taxi driven by a satanist. Elliot convinces the satanist that he is Satan and that he demands the driver stops. The driver is shocked by his "Evil Master" and accidently drives off a bridge. Elliot emerges from the wreckage back on the bridge and realizes that he is dead, a ghost. Elliot returns home and finds it hard touch things without going through them. He is shocked to find the children can see him, realizing he is only detectable in the dark. Suddenly, he is whisked away to England where he finds he has been summoned by a paranormal researcher named Emery Collins, who Elliot keeps on calling, "Mary". Emery tells Elliot he has until Thursday before his soul enters the Afterlife. Elliot is then confused and believes Emery is fibbing, deciding to continue as if he is not dead. He rekindles his relationship with his eldest child, Diane. He also uses his ghostly powers to stop a shallow teenager intent on seducing Diane by literally coming through his phone, forbidding him to see Diane and demonically says, "I'm from the phone company". He also has to scare away a voyeristic boy named Staurt from exposing him. One day he quits his job to help his son escape a bad magic trick during show-and-tell. Soon, Emery arrives stating Elliot will ascend that Thursday night. In panic, also revealing himself to Joan, Diane gets killed by falling down the stairs. At the hospital, Elliot speaks with Diane's ghost, he is weakened as he tries not to ascend he proclaims that "life is all there is". He then finds his body and gets back into it, ressurecting himself, Diane does the same. The family then heads home when Elliot spots the ghost of the satanic taxi driver. The satanist is overjoyed at the return of his "Evil Master" and Elliot orders him to sit on hot coal for the rest of eternity.
Cast
- Bill Cosby - Elliot Hopper
- Kimberly Russell - Diane Hopper
- Denise Nicholas - Joan
- Barry Corbin - Mr. Emery Collins
- Dana Ashbrook - Tony Ricker
- Omar Gooding - Stuart
- Arnold Stang - Mr. Cohen
Additional Voices by LaGloria Scott, Kerry Gutierrezm, Kaleena Kiff, Rocky Krakoff, Jonathan Brandis, Ryan McWhorter, Suzanne Stone, Barbara Harris, Carol King, Doris Hess, Cathy Cavadini, David McCharen, David Randolph, Greg Finley, Bryan Scott, J.D. Hall, and Joseph Chapman
Critical reaction
Since its release, Ghost Dad has been universally ravaged by critics and has a rare 0% rating on movie rating website RottenTomatoes.com.[1]
Rating the movie half a star out of four, Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert characterized the film thus:
Ghost Dad is a desperately unfunny film - a strained, contrived construction that left me shaking my head in amazement… How could Sidney Poitier, a skilled filmmaker with an actor's sense of timing, have been the director of this mess? How did a production executive go for it? Who ever thought this was a good idea?[2]
Box office
In the film's opening weekend, it earned $4,803,480. Domestically the film earned $24,707,633 and $714,000 at the foreign box office for a total of $25,421,633.[3]
VHS and DVD release
Ghost Dad was released on VHS by Universal Studios on March 1, 1992. The film was released on DVD by Good Times Video on May 1, 2001, and as a "Studio Selections" DVD by Universal Studios on March 1, 2005.
Novelization
| File:Ghost dad book cover.jpg 1990 book cover | |
| Author | Mel Cebulash |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Publisher | Berkley; Mv Tie in edition |
Publication date | July 1, 1990 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| ISBN | 978-0425124536 |
As part of the publicity for the movie, a Ghost Dad novelization written by Mel Cebulash was released the year of the film's debut.