‘Ghost’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Amanda Dobbins
July 28, 2020 · Ghost (1990) · Drama · Fantasy · Romance · 1:22:29 · ▶ Listen on Spotify
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Most Rewatchable Scene
Amanda DobbinsAgrees with pottery scene discussion, emphasizes the ending goodbye scene between Sam and Demi Moore where she says 'ditto'▶ 43:43
Bill SimmonsThe pottery scene, Sam gets shot scene, Willie breaks into Molly's apartment, Whoopi comes in the movie 40 minutes in, Sam gets revenge on Willie and Carl dies and goes to hell▶ 36:50
Chris RyanAgrees with pottery scene as crucial to sexual education/awakening, highlights Sam inhabiting Otome's body scene as potentially most rewatchable▶ 44:00
Joey Pants Award
Amanda DobbinsStephen Root — Steven Root - nominates him as the detective, calling it 'the birth of that guy' in his pre-fame stage▶ 57:03
Bill SimmonsRick Aviles — Rick Aviles (Willie Lopez) - argues he's the ultimate 'that guy' because he's only known as Willie Lopez from Ghost▶ 56:54
Chris RyanRick Aviles — Rick Aviles (Willie Lopez) - makes the case for him as Joey Pants Award winner▶ 56:34
Half-Assed Internet Research
Bill SimmonsMultiple trivia facts: dark shadow ghost sounds made from babies crying played slow/backwards, Swayze chewed ice to prevent visible breath during cold chase scene, video/Laserdisc sales figures, 20 ghosts appear in movie, Biggie Smalls credited with popularizing 'I'm Swayze' phrase▶ 59:31
Chris Ryan'I'm Swayze' has huge hip-hop ramifications as a way of saying 'I'm out' or 'I'm leaving the verse', transcending Ghost itself and proving post-structuralism▶ 1:00:56
Apex Mountain
Amanda DobbinsPatrick Swayze — Agrees on Swayze, argues Vanity Fair cover for Demi Moore's apex, Sister Act in 1992 for Whoopi Goldberg▶ 1:02:24
Bill SimmonsPatrick Swayze — Yes for Swayze, Yes/Maybe for Demi Moore (this movie or Vanity Fair cover), No for Whoopi Goldberg (Sister Act instead), No for Tony Goldwyn (Scandal instead), Yes for Jerry Zucker, Yes for Unchained Melody, Yes for depiction of going to hell▶ 1:01:30
Chris RyanPatrick Swayze — Agrees on Swayze, mentions Point Break as his last best work, questions the going to hell premise▶ 1:01:41
Probably Unanswerable Questions
Amanda DobbinsDiscusses the afterlife rules and explains that Carl and Willie aren't criminal masterminds, commenting on the logistics of their poor planning and low payout ($80,000). Questions whether there's choice in negotiating with the light versus the shadow demons.▶ 1:04:23
Bill SimmonsMultiple questions: Was staging a street crime really the best way for Carl to get passwords? Why would Willie return to break into Demi Moore's house after being sketched by police? Why doesn't Demi Moore ask more questions when communicating with Sam through Whoopi? Why can Sam touch Willie Lopez but not Demi Moore? Does Carl really deserve hell for unintentionally causing Sam's death?▶ 1:05:41
Chris RyanWhat happens to okay people in the afterlife - do they get trapped in purgatory forever since it's either shadow demons or light beam? Also explains that Carl is clearly a coke addict involved with the mob, which contextualizes his poor decisions.▶ 1:03:43
Who Won the Movie
Amanda DobbinsWhoopi Goldberg — Whoopi Goldberg - cites her Oscar win and calls it the biggest and most memorable performance▶ 1:19:36
Bill SimmonsPatrick Swayze — Patrick Swayze - argues he's the only male actor from that era who could have made the movie as successful, citing his unique physicality and presence▶ 1:20:01
Chris RyanAcknowledges strong cases can be made for each of the three leads but doesn't commit to a specific pick▶ 1:19:29
Movies Referenced (42)
| Title (year) | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dirty Dancing (1987) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 10 | Amanda Dobbins, Bill Simmons | ▶ 6:30 |
| Titanic (1997) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 8 | Amanda Dobbins, Chris Ryan | ▶ 6:04 |
| Pretty Woman (1990) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Bill Simmons, Amanda Dobbins, Chris Ryan | ▶ 4:57 |
| Back to the Future (1985) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 5 | Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons | ▶ 5:47 |
| Point Break (1991) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons | ▶ 8:11 |
| Sister Act (1992) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Bill Simmons, Amanda Dobbins | ▶ 1:02:32 |
| Goodfellas (1990) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan | ▶ 16:31 |
| Gremlins (1984) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Amanda Dobbins, Bill Simmons | ▶ 26:49 |
| Jaws (1975) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons | ▶ 3:28 |
| A Few Good Men (1992) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons | ▶ 59:13 |
| Dances with Wolves (1990) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan | ▶ 31:12 |
| Nope (2022) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 42:13 |
Directors Referenced (5)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerry Zucker | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 5 | Bill Simmons | Airplane!, Ghost | ▶ 28:05 |
| Kevin Costner | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Bill Simmons, Amanda Dobbins | Dances with Wolves, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves | ▶ 9:42 |
| George Clooney | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | The Ides of March, Michael Clayton | ▶ 24:23 |
| Mel Gibson | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | Braveheart, Lethal Weapon 3, Conspiracy Theory | ▶ 55:05 |
| Steve Nash | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 20:20 |
Actors Referenced (57)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick Swayze | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 56 | Bill Simmons, Amanda Dobbins, Chris Ryan | Dirty Dancing, Ghost, Point Break | ▶ 6:36 |
| Whoopi Goldberg | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 28 | Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Amanda Dobbins | Ghost, Sister Act, The Color Purple | ▶ 2:39 |
| Demi Moore | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 27 | Bill Simmons, Amanda Dobbins, Chris Ryan | Striptease, Indecent Proposal | ▶ 18:59 |
| Naked Eyes | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 28:17 | |
| Tom Hanks | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan | Cast Away, Big, Forrest Gump | ▶ 8:30 |
| Kevin Bacon | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons | Footloose, Hollow Man | ▶ 54:57 |
| Kevin Kline | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan | Wild Wild West, Dave, A Fish Called Wanda | ▶ 55:10 |
| Seth Rogen | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons | This Is the End, Superbad, Pineapple Express | ▶ 0:03 |
| Brad Pitt | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | Fight Club, 12 Monkeys, Mr. & Mrs. Smith | ▶ 24:41 |
| Bruce Willis | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | Die Hard, Pulp Fiction | ▶ 19:21 |
| Gwyneth Paltrow | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | Shakespeare in Love | ▶ 24:41 |
| John Travolta | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | Pulp Fiction, Get Shorty, Saturday Night Fever | ▶ 55:14 |
Writers Referenced (4)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roger Ebert | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 35:27 | |
| Bruce Joel Rubin | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | Ghost, Deep Impact | ▶ 27:49 |
| George Lucas | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, American Graffiti | ▶ 52:56 |
| Mark Bulow | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | Molly's Game | ▶ 33:37 |
Cinematographers Referenced (1)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Macbeth | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Chris Ryan | ▶ 1:16:50 |