Whoopi Goldberg – Site

Director: Jerry Zucker

Writer: Bruce Joel Rubin

Cast: Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Goldwyn

A love that will last forever.

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Buy the movie:  USA CAN UK FRA DEU AUT

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See the trailer:

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Sam Wheat and Molly Jensen are a happy and loving couple living in New York City. The only problem in their relationship is Sam’s apparent discomfort with saying “I love you” to his girlfriend, only responding to her saying it with “ditto”. This bothers Molly, who feels she needs to hear him say “I love you” in return.

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One night, while walking back to their new apartment after going to the theatre, they encounter a thief named Willy Lopez He pulls a gun and Sam is shot. Sam chases Willy, but loses him; when he returns to Molly, he sees her cradling his own corpse, and realizes that he is now a ghost, trapped between worlds. Lights descend to take him away, but he flees.

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Sam realizes that the robbery was planned when Willy sneaks into the house and rifles through his belongings. Sam follows Willy home and learns that his close friend and co-worker, Carl Bruner, hired Willy to rob Sam in the apparent robbery that went wrong in order to get his office computer password; Carl is involved in a money laundering deal at the bank where he and Sam worked. Sam had recently changed his computer password, locking Carl out of the phony accounts where Carl had stashed the money. Sam lashes out in frustration at his supposed best friend, but realizes that, as a ghost, he can do little.

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Sam fears that Molly is in danger but is helpless, unable to communicate with her in his spiritual form. As fate has it, however, he encounters Oda Mae Brown, a con artist posing as a medium who ironically discovers (through hearing Sam say that her business is a “crock of shit”) that she really does have her family’s power to hear ghosts, though she cannot see them. Seeing her as his only hope of communicating with Molly, Sam endlessly pesters Oda Mae until she eventually gives in and agrees to help him.

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Oda Mae reluctantly calls Molly and tells her she is communicating with Sam, but Molly is understandably skeptical. Molly is convinced only when Oda Mae tells her several private things that only Sam could know, most importantly Sam’s use of the word “ditto”.

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Sam encounters a troubled ghost haunting the Subway, who teaches him how to touch and move objects by focusing his emotions on his intended target. He also learns that Oda Mae is now being plagued by ghosts coming from as far away as New Jersey to speak to their living relatives. One briefly possesses her, but it is seen that this greatly saps a ghost’s energy. He promises that she will no longer be bothered if she helps him.

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Meanwhile, Molly visits the police, having become quite skeptical of Oda Mae’s claims. The desk sergeant assures her that she’s right to be suspicious, as there’s no file on any ‘Willy Lopez’ — but there is an amazingly large file on Oda Mae Brown, who is well-known to local police as a huckster and small-time fraud.

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Sam and Oda Mae move to thwart Carl’s plan. Carl had stolen $4 million and put it in a fraudulent account. Under Sam’s instructions, Oda Mae poses as ‘Rita Miller’ — the name on the account – to withdraw the money, and grudgingly gives the large cheque to two nuns collecting for charity. Carl panics when he realizes the account has been closed, and is tormented by Sam, who, invisible, behaves like a poltergeist and types the word “MURDERER” on his computer.

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Carl traces the missing money and ends up at Molly’s door, asking about Oda Mae. Molly slips and reveals that Oda Mae was Rita Miller, and that she knows about the secret ’slush fund’ that Carl has been frantically trying to access. Carl realizes that Sam’s ghost is present and tells him he will be back to kill Molly if he doesn’t get the money back. Sam runs off to warn Oda Mae, but Willy arrives soon after. Oda Mae and her sisters escape as Sam terrorizes Willy, prompting Willy to run out into the street in a panic. Willy is hit by a truck, but only realizes he is dead when he sees his own corpse. As he does so, the shadows around him rise from the ground and take the shape of demons, which drag him into darkness as his screams echoes away .

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Molly is still unsure about Oda Mae, but she is convinced after Oda Mae agrees to let Sam use her body. Sam then uses Oda Mae’s body to share a passionate moment with Molly, but an outraged Carl storms in and threatens to kill Molly and Oda Mae if he does not get his money. Sam is forcefully ejected from Oda Mae’s body and tries to stop Carl, but, buy Female Sexual Tonic online as seen before, the possession has left him drained.

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Molly and Oda Mae escape to a loft above the apartment, with Carl in pursuit. He tries desperately to catch up with the women and finally gets to Oda Mae, pulling out a gun. Molly comes to Oda Mae’s defense, but Carl overpowers her and he takes her hostage instead. Sam’s energy is restored and he forces Carl to throw the gun away, enabling Molly to escape unharmed. Fighting in vain to stop Sam’s attacks, Carl foolishly swings a hanging hook at him. The hook completely misses Sam and swings back, shattering an open window, which falls and kills Carl while he is trying to escape. Sam expresses regret as the demons take Carl’s terrified spirit away.

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When Sam returns to Oda Mae and Molly, Molly can hear and see him, as he has assumed a partly visible form. After saying a final goodbye to Oda Mae, he tells Molly he loves her, to which she responds with “ditto”. Sam then walks off into the bright light to heaven, saying “It’s amazing Molly. The love inside, you take it with you. Goodbye, Molly”. Sam then walks to heaven and Molly’s final words are, “See ya..”. the screen then fades to black.
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The story has also inspired a musical stage version which will open in the West End in 2010.

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Trivia provided by The Internet Movie Database:

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• At theatrical showings in Monterrey, Mexico, women in the audience were given envelopes marked “Solo para mujeres” (for women only) containing tissues.
• Molly Ringwald (a fellow Brat Pack member) auditioned for the role of Molly, which went to Demi Moore.
• The role of Oda Mae Brown was not written with Whoopi Goldberg in mind, but Patrick Swayze, an admirer of hers, convinced the producers that she would be right for the part.
• Patti LaBelle auditioned for the role of Oda Mae Brown.
• Writer Bruce Joel Rubin’s mother makes a cameo, as the nun who faints over the size of the check that Oda Mae endorses.
• Paul Hogan was among the long list of actors to decline the lead role. Paul Hogan instead made Almost an Angel (1990).
• The horrific sounds made by the “shadow demons” are really the sounds of babies, played at extremely slow speed.
• Jerry Zucker described the effect he wanted when Sam passes through walls by dipping a napkin in coffee.
• When the movie was first released on VHS in 1991, the tapes were light or “ghost” grey.
• Nicole Kidman originally auditioned for the role of Molly.
• When Sam follows Willie to his apartment, he learns that his surname is ‘Lopez’ from the name tag on the apartment call button. Sam passes this info on to Oda Mae. However, the name ‘Lopez’ is a ‘Dynotape sticker’ obscuring the real name of the occupier. This probably explains why ‘Willie Lopez’ has no police record when Molly passes this info on to the Police detective.
• When it came time to cast the film, writer Bruce Joel Rubin suggested Patrick Swayze for the role of Sam Wheat. Director acomplia acomplia Jerry Zucker felt that Swayze was completely wrong for the part. Many actors that included Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Kevin Bacon, Al Pacino, Bruce Willis, Harrison Ford and Alec Baldwin were all offered the part but all turned it down feeling that playing a ghost would be cheesy. Zucker then decided to audition Swayze though he thought he would blow the audition. To Zucker’s surprise, Swayze did a great audition and he was cast immediately in the part.
• The scene where Whoopi Goldberg meets two nuns is very prophetic. A couple of years after Ghost, Goldberg played a nun in Sister Act (1992). One year later, she repeated the role in Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993).
• Meg Ryan turned down the part of Molly.
• Producers originally offered the role of Sam to Bruce Willis, Demi’s husband at the time. But he turned it down, because he didn’t think the film would work.
• The subway scenes were filmed on the abandoned lower level of the 42nd St. station of the IND 8th Ave. line. Trains appearing in the film wrong railed through the station; that is, they ran in the opposite direction of normal operation.

Memorable quotes from the movie:

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Molly Jensen: I love you.
Sam Wheat: Ditto.

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Oda Mae Brown: He’s stuck, that’s what it is. He’s in between worlds. You know it happens sometimes that the spirit gets yanked out so fast that the essence still feels it has work to do here.
Sam Wheat: Would you stop rambling?
Oda Mae Brown: I don’t think I’m rambling, I’m just answering the question. He’s got a’ attitude now.
Sam Wheat: I don’t have an attitude.
Oda Mae Brown: Yes, you do have an attitude. If you didn’t have an attitude, you would not have raised your voice at me now would you?
Sam Wheat: God dammit…
Oda Mae Brown: Don’t you “God dammit” me. Don’t you take the Lord’s name free cialis in vain with me. I don’t take that!
Sam Wheat: Would you relax?
Oda Mae Brown: No, you relax, you’re the dead guy!
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Oda Mae Brown: I know you don’t think I’m giving this 4 million dollars to a bunch of nuns!
Sam: Think of it this way, you’ll go to Heaven.
Oda Mae Brown: I don’t want to go to Heaven, I want to go to the bank and cash a GODDAMN CHECK!-
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Oda Mae Brown: Why don’t you go haunt a house? Rattle some chains or something.
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Oda Mae Brown: I don’t know you! I don’t know Sam, but let me tell you what he did to me. He kept me up all night singing “I’m Henry the Eighth I Am.”
Molly Jensen: That’s how he got me to go out with him.
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[Oda Mae just gave a four-million-dollar check to some nuns]
Sam Wheat: I’m proud of you, Oda Mae!
Oda Mae Brown: You know something, Sam? I don’t care if you’re proud of me. You just stay away from me from now on. What is that nun going to do with it? She can’t even buy underwear.
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Sam: Molly, you’re in danger.
Oda Mae Brown: You can’t just blurt it out like that! And quit moving around, because you’re starting to make me dizzy. I’ll just tell her in my own way.
[pause; then, to Molly]
Oda Mae Brown: Molly, you in danger girl.
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[When handing the check to the nuns]
Sam: Hand her the check.
Oda Mae Brown: I will!
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Sam Wheat: Write it down.
Oda Mae Brown: [to Molly Jensen] He wants you to write it down.
Sam Wheat: No, YOU write it down!
Oda Mae Brown: I ain’t no DAMN secretary!
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Oda Mae Brown: [spiritually possessed by Orlando] Ortisha? Where you at? I can’t hardly see!
Ortisha: Orlando? Orlando!
Oda Mae Brown: Damn baby, what’d you do to yo hair?
Ortisha: Orlando, you like it? It’s “autumn sunrise.”
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Oda Mae Brown: [to Sam] You’re white. I knew it. Why me?
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Oda Mae Brown: Do you hear me talking to you?
Workman in Loft: I hear you!
Oda Mae Brown: Ah shut up, nobody’s talking to you.
Workman in Loft: Didn’t you ever hear of a phone?
Oda Mae Brown: Wanna kiss my butt?
[pause]
Oda Mae Brown: I’m not gonna stand out here forever!
Workman in Loft: Thank god!
Oda Mae Brown: Ah man, shut up!
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Oda Mae Brown: He’s cute. White, but cute.
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[to the bank employee after messing up the signature card]
Oda Mae Brown: I’m sorry, but, could I get another one? I… uh… signed the wrong name.
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Oda Mae Brown: Now are you going to go away Sam? ‘Cause you know what, I got work to do.
Sam Wheat: No.
Oda Mae Brown: Fine then stay there.
[Turning to her customers who are not paying attention]
Oda Mae Brown: Eh, excuse me, EXCUSE me! You ready yet?