Three decades on, this weepie classic retains an innocence and earnestness that makes it as delightfully comforting as ever
Veteran producer-screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin created a comfort-food weepie classic with his gem Ghost, the story of a murdered young man who sticks around as a ghost to watch over his grieving artist girlfriend. It is now rereleased in
UK cinemas for the 30-year anniversary. This is a film that for its global army of fans attained a new level of sadness when its star, Patrick Swayze, died of pancreatic
cancer in 2009 at the age of 57.
Rubin’s script is a lethally effective tragicomic fantasy. Ghost looks more Spielbergian every time I watch it, and Rubin must surely have hoped that the man himself might have been interested in directing – he has candidly admitted to being disconcerted when the studio put
comedy specialist Jerry Zucker at the helm. But that choice was inspired. Zucker is a genius at spoofing certain genres in the service of deadpan gags; with Ghost he proved himself a master craftsman, knowing how to tell the story well and play it absolutely straight while also delivering the comedy where necessary.