Set in a house in the Chicago area, one year after the previously family fled without explanation, the house is now occupied by the Presley family consisting of father Frank (Anthony Mackie), mother Melanie "Mel" (Erica Ash), and Fulton (Niles Fitch) and Kevin (Jahi Winston) the older and younger sons respectively. Kevin is none too thrilled at the prospect of having moved yet again as Frank has made a habit of going for ill-advised business ventures that necessitate their moving from place to place. While exploring the attic Kevin encounters a ghost of a man in a bowling shirt with the name "Ernest" (David Harbour) stitched on the breast who tries in vain to scare Kevin who records the apparition on his phone. As Kevin tries to communicate with Ernest in the hopes of getting to know him better, the two strike up a friendship. However Kevin's brother and father soon find the video on his phone and posting the video on the internet turns Ernest into a social media sensation much to Kevin's annoyance. As Ernest can't remember anything from when he was alive, Kevin works with his next door neighbor Joy Yoshino (Isabella Russo) to track down clues to Ernest's identity as Dr. Leslie Monroe (Tig Notaro), an agent of the CIA paranormal program "Wizard Clip" attempts to get Ernest into CIA custody.
We Have a Ghost is the latest film from writer director Christopher Landon who had previously made a name for himself with the two Happy Death Day films as well as the body switch slasher Freaky. Based on the short story Ernest by Geoff Manaugh, Landon taps into more high concept territory as he takes the familiar premise of comic haunted house movies (such as 95's Casper and especially Burton's Beetlejuice) and puts his own spin on it for the modern age. Like Landon's previous efforts, he takes a well trodden formula and makes it feel fresh thanks to a smart script, strong direction, and good performances from the ensemble.
At the center of the film is undeniably David Harbour as the titular ghost and it's a fantastic performance from Harbour in spite of the fact he can't speak. Harbour was hesitant to take on the role as it would be challenging to create a compelling character without words, but Harbour shows just how versatile and charismatic of a presence he is not only scoring big laughs from his physicality and the pantomime nature of his performance, but also eliciting some strong emotional resonance and a sense of sadness and tragedy that makes you really care about him. Outside of Harbour, the movie is supported by a terrific ensemble. Jahi Winston is very good as the co-lead and he makes a solid audience proxy whom we enjoy seeing go through the supernatural shenanigans. Winston does a good job of making his interactions with Ernest and his neighbor and love interest Joy played by Isabella Russo very endearing and when the three of them are together in the movie they play off nicely against each other. Anthony Mackie, Erica Ash, and Niles Fitch get some good mileage playing Kevin's family and their varying reactions to how the ghost affects their lives with Frank booking TV appearances, Fulton using it for popularity and Mel at her wits end with the crowds of Ernest fans and TikTokers camped outside their house leads to some fantastic comic set pieces. Tig Notaro is also very good as Dr. Leslie Monroe who serves as our primary antagonist and serves as a more nuanced take on the role Walter Peck played in Ghostbusters. Tig brings a lot of humanity to the role and does well playing a driven and quirky CIA agent.
At it's core the movie is essentially a mash-up of Beetlejuice by way of Starman or E. T. (particularly in the second half). While the stuff around centered around the house is very good with the satire of internet fame and haunted house trappings, Landon takes the action on the road in a creative way as Kevin, Joy and Ernest search for more clues to Ernest's identity and we get some really creative and humorous sequences that often had me giving solid belly laughs. We Have a Ghost runs strongly for a good 75% of the runtime, but around the last 25% I started to notice some things began to drag. I personally think the movie runs a little long at two hours, and while it does stay funny there is a "flabbiness" in the structure that made the comic rhythm stumble a bit. I also felt like the movie had two different ideas of how it wanted to end because they introduce a secondary antagonist towards the end of the second act and it feels like it deviates a bit too far from the established pieces in my opinion and it probably could've been tied up better by having a singular antagonistic force.
We Have a Ghost is a strong high concept comedy that features a great comedic performance by Harbour and a likable ensemble strongly directed by Landon. Landon's script remains funny for a good chunk of the running time, but does feel like it loses some integrity around the 90 minute mark and feels like the third act could've done with a bit of tweaking. A solid recommendation especially if you've an affinity for the likes of Beetlejuice, Ghostbusters, or Starman.
