REVIEW: ‘We Have a Ghost’ Delivers An Emotional Tale About Loneliness And Family

Frank Presley (Anthony Mackie) is looking for a fresh start for himself and his family. But as they move into their new home, they quickly discover that their house is haunted by a ghost named Ernest (David Harbour). Frank’s lonely son Kevin (Jahi Di’Allo Winston) soon bonds with Ernest and decides to help his new friend figure out why he seems trapped in their home. But when the world learns of Erenest’s existence, things quickly spiral out of hand in We Have a Ghost.

Kevin and Erenest’s journey together forms the heart of a fun story with a nice, emotional core. How it explores its core themes of loneliness and family are done well, and there are enough comedic moments never to let the tale get too heavy. For the roughly two hours that the movie lasts, We Have a Ghost delivers a feel-good story that sticks to its most important landings, even though it stumbles at other times.

Shortly after Kevin’s discovery of Ernest, his father and brother share a video of the ghost on YouTube, which quickly causes an uproar as the video goes viral, with many more than willing to believe the spirit is real. On the comedic side of this movie, the initial social media buzz around the specter is easily the film’s best part. This lands well because the movie accurately portrays how social media would respond. Memes are made of the mother’s hysterical reaction to seeing the poltergeist for the first time; an “Ernest Challenge” soon forms where individuals attempt to run through a wall as he is seen doing in a video. Other trappings of social media hype are delivered with just the right intensity to feel natural and make you laugh without blowing it out of proportion.

But as the excitement over this confirmed apparition builds, the government soon gets involved. A specialist, Dr. Leslie Monroe, is called to investigate the situation. The weakest link in We Have a Ghost‘s otherwise solid cast, this character did nothing but annoy me in every scene she appeared in. From the moment she shows up, she is confident that Ernest is a danger to all around him, going so far as to claim he is a terrorist. While the character’s exaggerated performance never fits right with the rest of the more grounded personalities surrounding her, the movie further hurts itself by how it ultimately resolves Dr. Monroe’s part of the movie. It just straight up makes no sense.

While the bulk of We Have a Ghost‘s narrative gets swept up in the search for truths and the government’s attempts to apprehend Ernest, there are some excellent moments of deep personal growth for its cast. And the biggest of these comes in the form of a perfect monologue delivered by Mackie.

From the movie’s outset, the viewer gets the impression that Frank is not the best dad. He’s not a horrible person by any means, but he seems too caught up in his plans and schemes to give his family the attention they deserve. During the film’s low moment, Frank approaches his son in an attempt to explain himself and how he recognizes where he went wrong. Mackie delivers this speech with a remarkable degree of reserved emotion. As he quietly explains himself, you can feel how hard it is for the character to make himself so vulnerable. The writing in this moment is thankfully worthy of the stellar delivery, as Frank acknowledges his faults, praises his son’s strengths, and resolves to be better—no excuses or requests for forgiveness. Just an explanation and his support are given.

Much like the bulk of this film, We Have a Ghost‘s ending is mostly good but with a significant misstep. Like other shortcomings, it ultimately doesn’t harm the core narrative. However, by trying to force a scene to be more elaborate than needed, a key sequence in the movie’s run to its finish left me shaking my head enough to detract from much of what should’ve been my focus.

We Have a Ghost is ultimately a fun, heartwarming story that manages to stick to all the moments that it needs to. While it has its missteps, it brings more than enough charm, fun, and emotion to paper over the occasional crack in its tale.

We Have a Ghost is streaming now on Netflix.