{"id":611492,"date":"2023-02-24T08:49:12","date_gmt":"2023-02-24T14:49:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sellorbuyhomefast.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/24\/we-have-a-ghost-review-supernatural-fun-with-a-comb-over-casper\/"},"modified":"2023-02-24T08:49:12","modified_gmt":"2023-02-24T14:49:12","slug":"we-have-a-ghost-review-supernatural-fun-with-a-comb-over-casper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/24\/we-have-a-ghost-review-supernatural-fun-with-a-comb-over-casper\/","title":{"rendered":"We Have a Ghost review: Supernatural fun with a comb-over Casper"},"content":{"rendered":"<article id=\"dt-post-content\" itemid=\"post-content\" itemprop=\"articleBody\">\n<div>\n<p><img onerror=\"dti_load_error(this)\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/we-have-a-ghost-01.jpg?p=1\" alt=\"David Harbour, as a ghost, peeks out from behind Anthony Mackie in a scene from We Have A Ghost.\" decoding=\"async\" skip_size_classes=\"1\" ignore_aspect_ratio=\"1\"  >\t\t<\/p>\n<div>\n<blockquote><p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\u201cWe Have a Ghost doesn&#8217;t break any new ground, but it still delivers a fun, satisfying adventure supported by a great cast.\u201d\n\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tPros\t\t\t<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tGreat cast in fun roles\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDavid Harbour keeps it silly\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJahi Di&#8217;Allo Winston is a standout\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tCons\t\t\t<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tShaky story logic\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tStretched thin over at two hours\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>It\u2019s easy to forget that films can be fun. They don\u2019t all need to be emotionally complicated or packed with shocking moments, narrative twists, or allegorical and metaphorical themes. In fact, it\u2019s OK if a film doesn\u2019t aspire to do more than bring a talented group of storytellers together to entertain you for a little while.<\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s what <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/movies\/new-on-netflix\/\">Netflix<\/a> delivers with <em>We Have a Ghost<\/em>, a silly, supernatural comedy that doesn\u2019t break any new ground, but manages to offer plenty of laughs with just the right amount of heart.<\/p>\n<figure><img src=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/we-have-a-ghost-04.jpg?fit=720%2C405&#038;p=1\" onerror=\"dti_load_error(this)\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A transparent ghost played by David Harbour sticks his head out a car window in a scene from We Have A Ghost.\" previous-src=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/we-have-a-ghost-04.jpg?fit=720%2C405&#038;p=1\"><\/figure>\n<h2><a id=\"dt-heading-scared-silly\" aria-label=\"Scared silly\"><\/a>Scared silly<\/h2>\n<p>Written and directed by Christopher Landon (who previously helmed the criminally underappreciated <em>Freaky<\/em> and <em>Happy Death Day<\/em> films), <em>We Have a Ghost<\/em> casts <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/movies\/stranger-things-season-4-review-volume-1\/\">Stranger Things<\/a><\/em>\u00a0actor David Harbour as the film\u2019s titular, restless spirit, who\u2019s discovered by a teenage boy after his family moves into a new home. Instead of being scared, lonely teenager Kevin (<em>Charm City Kings<\/em> actor Jahi Di\u2019Allo Winston) befriends the ghost, Ernest, and sets out to help him move on to the afterlife. Kevin\u2019s efforts are complicated by his father (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/movies\/falcon-winter-soldier-disney-series\/\"><em>The Falcon and the Winter Soldier<\/em><\/a>\u2018s Anthony Mackie), who sees Ernest as a moneymaking opportunity, as well as by an ambitious ex-CIA agent played by Tig Notaro.<\/p>\n<p>There are plenty of familiar influences to be found in <em>We Have a Ghost<\/em>, which offers yet another tale of kids befriending a friendly outsider with powerful abilities in the vein of <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/movies\/henry-thomas-et-extra-terrestrial-interview\/\">E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial<\/a><\/em> and, yes, <em>Stranger Things<\/em>. It\u2019s a well-worn narrative with some modern twists, as Kevin \u2014 a contemporary teenager with plenty of exposure to horror movies \u2014 doesn\u2019t find anything frightening about Ernest, and social media turns the ghost into a viral sensation instead of a scary secret.<\/p>\n<p>While Kevin\u2019s adventure with Ernest holds few surprises for anyone familiar with this particular subgenre of family-friendly supernatural and sci-fi adventures, <em>We Have a Ghost<\/em> is\u00a0still rewarding, thanks to Harbour and Winston\u2019s performances, and the fun the rest of the cast are clearly having with the film.<\/p>\n<figure><img src=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/we-have-a-ghost-02.jpg?fit=720%2C404&#038;p=1\" onerror=\"dti_load_error(this)\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The family of characters in We Have A Ghost stares in disbelief. \" previous-src=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/we-have-a-ghost-02.jpg?fit=720%2C404&#038;p=1\"><\/figure>\n<h2><a id=\"dt-heading-we-have-a-terrific-cast\" aria-label=\"We have a (terrific) cast\"><\/a>We have a (terrific) cast<\/h2>\n<p>Harbour is particularly entertaining as the film\u2019s central, spectral character, who sports the sort of old-school bowling shirt favored by grandparents and ska bands, and one of the most egregiously terrible comb-overs in cinematic history (right up there with Bill Murray and Woody Harrelson\u2019s <em>Kingpin<\/em> coiffures).<\/p>\n<p>Unable to speak, but able to become tangible, turn invisible, and transform his appearance at will, Ernest is a narrative Swiss Army knife in Kevin\u2019s adventure, getting him and his family in and out of trouble as the story demands. The rules pertaining to Ernest\u2019s abilities feel fuzzy at best, but Harbour sells the silliness of it all without a hitch. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/movies\/violent-night-review\/\">The\u00a0<em>Violent Night<\/em> actor<\/a>\u00a0does a lot with the limited range of expressions the character allows, and his talent turns Ernest into a character both sympathetic and silly in equal measure.<\/p>\n<p>Winston also does well as the film\u2019s angsty teenage hero, who finds purpose in investigating the mystery of Ernest\u2019s death, and in doing so, finds a way out of his shell. Like the films that clearly inspired it,\u00a0<em>We Have a Ghost<\/em> is a coming-of-age story wrapped in a fantastic, kid-empowering adventure, and Winston comfortably carries the emotional arc of the story as Kevin\u2019s experiences help him figure out more about life, love, and his relationship to his family.<\/p>\n<p>Mackie, Notaro, and Jennifer Coolidge all contribute to the film\u2019s fun factor, too, with Mackie playing a hapless dad with decidedly less swagger than his Marvel alter ego, and Notaro flexing some different acting chops as the film\u2019s villain. Coolidge makes the most of a brief appearance as a sketchy television medium, with some hilarious moments that offer a nice reminder about her ability to steal any scene she\u2019s in.<\/p>\n<figure><img src=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/we-have-a-ghost-03.jpg?fit=720%2C404&#038;p=1\" onerror=\"dti_load_error(this)\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Anthony Mackie and Jennifer Coolidge sit in chairs, looking astonished, in a scene from We Have A Ghost.\" previous-src=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/we-have-a-ghost-03.jpg?fit=720%2C404&#038;p=1\"><\/figure>\n<h2><a id=\"dt-heading-too-much-and-too-little\" aria-label=\"Too much and too little\"><\/a>Too much and too little<\/h2>\n<p>Even with all of the fun, uncomplicated performances to be found in\u00a0<em>We Have a Ghost<\/em>, though, the film still feels a bit overextended with a runtime of over two hours. By the third act, the novelty of Ernest\u2019s ghostly hijinks begins to wear a little thin. This could explain why new manifestations of Ernest\u2019s powers begin appearing with increasing frequency late in the film, but it\u2019s never quite enough to distract from a shtick that starts to feel a bit old by that point.<\/p>\n<p><em>We Have a Ghost<\/em> also struggles a bit to maintain its own background material at times, with Kevin\u2019s troubled family history never explored enough to support the level of angst that defines his character early on. Similarly, the backstory of Notaro\u2019s character informs some major plot points in the film, but her entire history \u2014 which apparently involves an <em>X-Files<\/em>-like covert government paranormal investigation agency \u2014 is essentially relegated to a few lines of exposition.<\/p>\n<p>That combination of elements that could benefit from more exploration and an overly long running time that could use some narrative belt-tightening ultimately leaves <em>We Have a Ghost<\/em> with a bit of an identity crisis, but it remains entertaining thanks to the fun everyone involved seems to be having with it.<\/p>\n<p><em>We Have a Ghost<\/em> isn\u2019t going to leave you pondering life\u2019s mysteries, your own mortality, or any other heady topics, but it accomplishes what it set out to do: generate plenty of laughs. Sometimes that\u2019s enough.<\/p>\n<p><em>Written and directed by Christopher Landon, <\/em>We Have a Ghost<em> premieres February 24 on Netflix.<\/em><\/p>\n<div data-location=\"below-content\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/dt-daily-logo.png?fit=430%2C140&#038;p=1\">\n\t<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\n\t\t\tToday&#8217;s tech news, curated and condensed for your inbox\t\t<\/p>\n<div data-recipient-list-id=\"63cefa9b42d5ee001edfb994\">\n<p><i><\/i><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tCheck your inbox!\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\tPlease provide a valid email address to continue.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\tThis email address is currently on file. If you are not receiving newsletters, please check your spam folder.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\tSorry, an error occurred during subscription. Please try again later.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h4>\n\tEditors&#8217; Recommendations<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/movies\/crimes-of-the-future-review\/\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tCrimes of the Future review: David Cronenberg hails the old flesh\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/movies\/ghost-in-the-shell-review\/\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\u2018Ghost in the Shell\u2019 review\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span id=\"publisher-md\" itemprop=\"publisher\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Organization\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop=\"url\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop=\"logo\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<meta itemprop=\"url\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.dtcn.com\/dt\/dt-logo-small.png\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"0\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"0\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Digital Trends\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<span itemprop=\"image\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<meta itemprop=\"url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/we-have-a-ghost-01.jpg?p=1\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/movies\/we-have-a-ghost-review\/\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><br \/>\n Rick Marshall<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cWe Have a Ghost doesn&#8217;t break any new ground, but it still delivers a fun, satisfying adventure supported by a great cast.\u201d Pros Great cast in fun roles David Harbour keeps it silly Jahi Di&#8217;Allo Winston is a standout Cons Shaky story logic Stretched thin over at two hours It\u2019s easy to forget that films<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":611493,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2459,661,46],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-611492","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ghost","8":"category-review","9":"category-technology"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=611492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611492\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/611493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=611492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=611492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=611492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}