Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 30, 1990 TAG: 9006300390
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRIS GLADDEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
This time, Cosby is capitalizing on his TV image - that of the good and wise father who spends a lot of time coping with the problems his children bring home.
His name is Elliot Hopper and he is a widower with three children who stretch from elementary school to high school.
In a fit of guilt and generosity, Elliot promises his just-turned-17 daughter (Kimberly Russell) the family car for her birthday. Elliot's good intentions put him in a taxi driven by a demented satan worshiper. This is truly one of the movie's funniest moments, with the hapless executive held prisoner in a cab by a raving lunatic. It's something that would befall Dan Rather. The actor with the theatrical name of Raynor Scheine who plays the cabbie takes the role full-tilt and Cosby's reactions showcase perfectly his comic timing.
At the end of the ride, Elliot, of course, is a ghost. He can be seen in the dark and if he concentrates he can manage to make himself tangible. He is informed by an expert in the paranormal (Ian Bannen) that he has been trapped on earth through a malfunction and probably has three days at tops. Elliot - in one of the script's vaguer passages - hopes to make his children financially secure in that time. This - and the growing pains of his children - bring on the movie's parade of mishaps.
"Ghost Dad" is not dazzling technically nor is it particularly sharp in its humor. There's a lot of Cosby cuteness in it along with a heavy dollop of sentimentality. On the other hand, it doesn't turn out to be a major disappointment like some of the big summer movies. Cosby is solid in the role but the rest of the cast members don't emerge as full-blown characters. Russell has the next largest role but she's not all that effective in pulling off the age-old conflict between the teen daughter and the fearful dad. The younger children are played by Dakin Matthews and Salim Grant: they're are cute but they're not the kind of scene stealers W.C. Fields feared.
No, this is Cosby's show and he and director Sidney Poitier play it that way. Cosby mugs for the camera and plays well off of the other performers. The result is an agreeable, unsubtle and unassuming supernatural comedy. VIEWER `Ghost Dad' A Universal Picture at Salem Valley 8 (389-0444) and Valley View Mall 6 (362-8219). An hour and 24 minutes. Rated PG for some bathroom and bedroom humor.
by CNB