Director: Brad Silberling | Writer: Joseph Oriolo
Starring: Christina Ricci, Bill Pullman, Malachi Pearson, Cathy Moriarty
Year: 1995 | IMDb: 6.2/10
Revisiting a throwback from when I was 12, Casper is a tween movie that was a big deal when it came out but hasn’t held up well since. It’s one of the most poorly written movies you will ever sit through, an exact example of what not to do when making a film. And that’s before the acting comes into play, which is even worse. We must not have had very high standards back then, or maybe I was just 12, because Casper, although cute, is a letdown on rewatch, and that’s too bad.
A greedy heiress inherits a creepy house, and believes that its ghosts hide its treasure. So, in order to exorcise the mansion, she hires Dr. James Harvey, a bereaved man who is in search of his wife’s spirit. In tow comes his daughter Kat, who has been dragged from haunting to haunting. But in this house, there may just be someone she’ll enjoy meeting. The three ghosts who terrorize the place are twisted and not worth while, but a timid young poltergeist named Casper just wants to be best friends.
It’s a bit of 90s fluff, and we loved it then, but it doesn’t work so well now. One thing is the script, which is simply bursting with bad ideas and half-formed plot points. Most of the stuff the story touches on is dismissed in the next scene, it’s a waste of thought from the very beginning, and almost nothing has focus enough to be interesting. And the actors don’t help, they’re awful, seemingly more in a skit then an actual movie. Still, there’s room for nostalgia and a little patience, as Casper still pleases young audiences and can still be seen as fun. Just don’t peer too closely.
My rating: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆