Who you gonna call?
Stellar cast gives Netflix's 'We Have a Ghost' plenty of spirit
Following on the heels of his evil Santa turn in the surprise Yuletide hit “Violent Night,” David Harbour of the runaway Netflix hit “Stranger Things” is back with Netflix’s supernatural comedy “We Have a Ghost.” In the film, Harbour, sporting a harsh comb over, plays the nonspeaking role of a ghost named Ernest, who is discovered by a young Black man named Kevin (Jahi Di’Allo Winston), whose family has just been sold a haunted house by a white realtor (Faith Ford).
Kevin first encounters Ernest, who wears a vintage bowling shirt with his name embroidered on it, in the attic, where there is a big, colored-glass window. Kevin asks the ghost who he is. But Ernest shakes his head. He has that old stand-by amnesia and cannot remember anything of his past life. Kevin’s father Frank Presley (Anthony Mackie) might like to forget the past, too. He says that he’s looking for a “fresh start” for him and his family in the big, run-down new house and neighborhood. Kevin sarcastically asks his father Frank how many “new starts” he thinks are coming his way.
Apparently, Frank has had some failures in his past, including a “Ponzi scheme” in Houston. Kevin is an aspiring musician, who plays a Fender guitar and argues with his father about who the greatest guitar player ever was, Jimi Hendrix or Terry Kath of Chicago fame. Kevin, who has an older brother named Fulton (Niles Fitch, TV’s “This Is Us”), films footage of a semi-transparent, bellowing Ernest on his cellphone and posts it to social media, where it catches the attention of local medium Judy Ramona (“White Lotus” sensation
Jennifer Coolidge). Also intrigued by the footage is a former “ghostbuster” for the CIA (Tig Notaro), who wants to be rehired by the agency. Soon, the Presley home is surrounded by crowds of Ernest internet fans, news trucks and police cars. Kevin and his new friend, a girl-nextdoor named Joy Yoshino (Isabella Russo) are on the road seeking the truth about Ernest’s identity. Meanwhile, the newly rehired CIA agent schemes to capture Ernest and try to weaponize him,.
Written and directed by Christopher Landon (“Happy Death Day”) based on a story by Geoff Manaugh, “We Have a Ghost” boasts a scene in which Kevin tries to get Ernest to materialize by playing him “Who’ll Stop the Rain” by Creedence Clearwater Revival (we also hear the vintage Doors’ song “People Are Strange” and AC/ DC’s “Dirty Jobs Done Dirt Cheap”). Coolidge’s topbilled, albeit short supporting turn is more reminiscent of her work on “2 Broke Girls” than her more recent performances. Aren’t the C.I.A.’s ghosthunting “guns” just a little too “Ghostbusters”-like? The car chases are not very exciting. But good performances go a long way toward smoothing out the rough patches of “We Have a Ghost.” Winston and Russo are a fine team, while Harbour makes the role of the non-speaking ghost quite sympathetic. But writer-director Landon, who also incorporates elements of “E.T.: The Extraterrestrial” into the story, goes way overboard with his two-hour plus running time. This “Ghost” could use a real trim.
(“We Have a Ghost” contains sexually suggestive language, profanity and violence)