Ghost Dad - 2 stars out of 10

Ghost Dad - 2 stars out of 10

"Ghost Dad" has been hated by many and loved by few, but I didn't think that it was all that bad.  It wasn't good, but it wasn't all that bad.  Bill Cosby's name doesn't exactly line up with the term "dark comedy" but, aside from the taxi ride that awkwardly combines a sinister Satanist with jokey dialogue, Cosby's comedy managed to work in this unusual setting.  My largest complaint is that the film doesn't have a target audience.  It is difficult to justify this being a family film with some of its frightening elements and brief strong language but it definitely would not be the first choice for a young couple's date night.  The other thing that bothered me was the casting of the eldest daughter, Diane.  When she first appears onscreen, it is difficult to distinguish whether she is his wife or his high school-age daughter.  Upon further investigation, Kimberly Russell was 25 years old when she played this role so this makes sense.  I'm torn on the choice because she puts forth the most enjoyable performance in the film, but she was not a believable 17-year-old.  The entire Sir Edith subplot also bothered me, never explaining how Cosby ended up in London or how he was sent back, or why this guy has the power to control that, or how he eventually finds them, or how this is relevant to the story aside from explaining what happens when he began to flicker... As I write this review, my rating for the film is progressively dropping.  While we're at it, why does Diane suddenly decide that she wants to be a ghost?  And why didn't they develop the plot with his love interest at all?  And how does the Satanist survive the car crash?  My goodness, this movie IS terrible!  Some of the special effects and the humor in the life insurance physical sequence save this film from receiving my lowest rating, but I didn't realize how awful this was until I finally started to dissect it.  Even the taglines of the movie posters should have been a giveaway: "America's Favorite Dad in a SPIRITED Comedy!" and "Bill Cosby as you've never seen him before... invisible."  My childhood memories of this film have been dashed - it really is all that bad!