2023 | PG-13 | starring Jahi Di’Allo Winston, Anthony Mackie, David Harbour, Isabella Russo, Tig Notaro, Jennifer Coolidge, Faith Ford | directed by Christopher Landon | 2h 6m |
I’ve long been an advocate for Christopher Landon, whose built a career on repackaging novel fantasy ideas into slasher/horror movies from the time loop film to the body swap film. But from public disinterest (his, yes, masterpiece Happy Death Day 2U being criminally ignored) and bad timing (his body swap comedy Freaky debuting during Covid lockdowns), he’s fallen on hard times, caught by the higher-tolerance platform of Netflix with his latest film, a hyper-modern ghost comedy while we all wait for “Happy Death Day, Tree”.
Instead of turning a comic fantasy premise into a slasher movie, We Have a Ghost attempts to turn a haunted house movie into a comedy, featuring a likable specter in a bowling shirt named Ernest, who befriends a teenage boy of the new house owners. Just after moving into their new run-down home, Kevin (Jahi Di’Allo Winston, Queen & Slim) captures the hapless ghost on his cell phone camera, uploads it and turns Ernest into a viral sensation. This evidence that ghosts are real sparks a debate, turns his dad (Anthony Mackie, highlight of the film) into a media huckster and arises the ire of the government, particular disgrace paranormal hunter Dr. Hunter (Tig Notaro), all of which seize upon the family’s haunted home to get a glimpse of Ernest.
We Have a Ghost is a premise without a follow through. It doesn’t quite know what it wants to say or where it wants to go. It’s two silly to use the ghost evidence to satirize the political divide or media hysteria. It’s too serious about it’s family dynamic to be as truly wacky as great Landon movies go for. As you can probably imagine by it’s over 2 hour run time, the film’s biggest problem is pace. It herks and jerks from one vignette to another, trafficking in different characters and actors to vamp. Landon tries to get in on the post-White Lotus Jennifer Coolidge renaissance by giving her a moment as a TV Medium looking to disprove the ghost. Before it’s over the whole thing is going to get cluttered with father/son drama, the now cliche woke love interest who lectures other characters about the gender binary (Isabella Russo), Kevin’s brother (Niles Fitch) trying to get into college and a full blown murder mystery plot with twists on top of twists.
Ultimately, Landon and co-writer Geoff Manaugh decide to turn the story away from haunted houses entirely and into an 80s hidden alien film, with a secret government organization trying to get their hands on Ernest for – some reason, the movie waives that away with a line of dialog as well. “Whatever we want!”. I don’t know maybe to make a ghost army of international spies that can walk through walls. Hell, something. As in Army of the Dead, Tig Notaro’s dry delivery is a stand-out here. The third act reveal of her secret government goons with large spinning laser guns is a glipse of the kind of Landian madness We Have a Ghost could have been.
Pure speculation here might suggest that Christopher Landon is a guy who works better under constraints and pressure, where budget and length mandates force him to be more creative. My assumption has always been that Netflix is allows creators more freedom than Universal Studios does and if that’s true it sounds like this movie gave him so much freedom he got lost in all the ideas and possibilities. Or maybe this is exactly what Netflix demanded: make an over 2 hour comedy that is part The Frighteners and part Mac and Me.
2.5