Heart Condition

As "Heart Condition" was made at roughly the same time as "Ghost", it was not a "copy". It ("Heart Condition") isn't a "love story" (as "Ghost" is), which let it's comedic portrayal overshadow "Ghost", in my opinion.

GREAT movie!

An easy way to tick off Hoskins or Washington when you meet them may be your mentioning of this movie to them. I saw it at it's Los Angeles premiere and it contained ONE funny scene, which consisted of Hoskins trying to wrest a cheeseburger from spirit Washington. The movie was unfunny, racially offensive(I didn't appreciate the "endowment" comment that Washington made) and dramatically untrue in spots(if a mother just lost her son, would she be discussing her child's sexual habits with ANYONE, especially a stranger?).

It would have been a completely forgettable experience had it not been for Hoskins and Washington. They do not elevate this movie, for no one really could, but it sticks in the mind as a film that makes you wonder why these talented actors decided to do it in the first place.

People are comparing this to "Ghost" and that is indeed not without merit, however, for more enjoyable movies with ghosts, I would suggest "The Ghost Goes West" with Robert Donat and Eugene Pallette or for a more romantic turn, "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.

Hollywood has been exploited this thematic buddy comedy where the living interacts with dead ones countless times, likewise GHOST, MY BOYFRIEND'S BACK, DEAD HEAT, 18 AGAIN just to name a few, this time shorty-fat-sloppy cop Bob Hoskins that used to be eat crap food, smoking hard and also drinking while pursuing a black lawyer Denzel Washington in service of an infamous pimp-gangster who has his former girlfriend Chloe Webb as prostitute, due his bad health behavior and strenuous job allied a mental strain he ends up at hospital on heat attack, guess is the heart donor, yes nothing less the fancy black lawyer Washington, dead by suspicious circumstances.

Upon learning such outrageous news the bigoted cop going mad than never, now nolens volens Bob has to dealing with Washington's shadow wherever he goes, worst such ghost demands a help to find out a clue that might lead the slippery pimp in the jail, in return he offers an aid to get back his naïve girlfriend, nonetheless everything went upside down when the jealous cop discover that his beloved Chloe has a little child of the womanizer Washington, well it's an average comedy, somehow the prearranged formula did work out plenty, although nothing despicable whatsoever.

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First watch: 1999 / How many: 2 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 6.25.

Not many shootouts no car chases but a few funny bits ok doesn't sound like the best film ever but its not that bad. Bob Hoskins plays detective Jack Mooney one night he has a heart attack and has to have a heart transplant sadly for him the heart of his worst enemy is the only one available.

This little known fantasy action comedy released in 1990 is most notable for being an early screen appearance of Denzel Washington. Savaged by critics upon release, it has the distinguished honor of being one of a handful of films with a stunning 0% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. Misunderstood by critics and audiences alike at the time it came out, I think this film deserves to be reappraised. It's a great film, entertaining, funny, interesting for the concept alone, and maybe even a little moving depending on the mood you're in.

This film is weird though, for sure. It tries to be a little bit of everything: A buddy cop movie, a comedy, a romantic drama, and an action movie. It actually succeeds, at least somewhat, even if it's not perfect. I totally get the hate for this movie, I understand why it was savaged, and maybe it's just my love of Denzel that makes me soft to this, but I didn't mind it.

This film occurred during Denzel's strange string of films during his rise to success in the 80s and 90s. Denzel was obviously being nudged in the action star direction by his agent, which makes sense looking at his early career. It seems like for every successful, important film he did, he did another less successful, more exploitative action/thriller film; Mo' Better Blues/Heart Condition (1990), Mississippi Masala/Ricochet (1991), Much Ado About Nothing/The Pelican Brief (1993), Devil in a Blue Dress/Crimson Tide/Virtuosity (1995), He Got Game/The Siege (1998), The Hurricane/The Bone Collector (1999). Notice the pattern? Basically Denzel made a lot of great underrated films on his rise to success.

Bob Hoskins and Denzel Washington are both great in their roles, and Denzel is definitely likable even if his character is supposed to be sleazy and despicable. Hoskins isn't exactly likable, at least until halfway through the movie, but he does grow on you, and both actors definitely elevate the material above a dumb made-for-TV piece of crap.

This is described as an action comedy, but it's definitely more of a comedy with action in it. There're two action scenes, the car and foot chase in the beginning, and the final shootout. In between it's basically comedic dialogue and romantic drama. The film's drawn-out climax definitely feels like it belongs in another movie, and Hoskins isn't the first actor I'd've picked to see in a shootout (then again, I wouldn't've picked Denzel to play an obnoxious but funny ghost).

The movie's main problem is its tonal shifts. Any genre-hybrid movies will often have this problem, and this film does too. A light fantasy comedy sometimes, a heavy drama at others, and the violent climax all don't fit incredibly well-together, but it's fun so who cares? It just gave itself too many things to juggle at once, and a film shouldn't have to work too hard to achieve its purpose.

You have to go into this movie with low expectations, like me, and you'll probably be surprised, or you just have to be in a good mood.