Ghost Dad

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Ghost Dad

PG,

1990,

1h 24m,

Kids & Family/

Fantasy

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Watchlist

6%

31 Reviews

Tomatometer

32%

25,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

6%

Tomatometer

31 Reviews

32%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Elliot Hopper (Bill Cosby) is a widowed single dad who is utterly fixated on his family's financial well-being. He spends all his time working to secure a crucial business deal that would put his accounts in the black. However, this leaves his three children pining for his attention. After a fatal car accident, Hopper -- now a ghost -- must clinch the deal from the afterlife to secure his children's futures. Along the way, he discovers all the bonding he'd been missing when he was alive.

Critics Consensus

A startlingly misconceived effort from director Sidney Poitier and star Bill Cosby, Ghost Dad is a listless, glacially-paced comedy that's alternately schmaltzy and incomprehensible.

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Peter Rainer

Los Angeles Times

May 21, 2013

1.5/5

I suppose you can't blame the star of one of TV's most popular series for attempting to conquer the movies -- yet again. What's perplexing is that Cosby keeps choosing vehicles that seem designed to sabotage the conquest.

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John Hartl

Seattle Times

May 21, 2013

1.5/4

Ghost Dad may be the dumbest major-studio movie of this none-too-bright summer.

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Desmond Ryan

Philadelphia Inquirer

May 21, 2013

2/4

The comedy represents a step up from the inane debacle of Leonard Part 6, but one has to concede that no other direction was possible.

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Richard Freedman

Newark Star-Ledger

Jan 14, 2026

1/4

Even under the direction of so distinguished and experienced a movie man as Sidney Poitier, "Ghost Dad" simply doesn't shape up as a really professional entertainment.

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Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

Nov 18, 2022

It's embarrassing to watch, due to how bad it is. [Full review in Spanish]

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Kathey Clarey

Fresno Bee

Aug 5, 2021

[The screenplay] veers all over the place from slapstick comedy to serious discussions to downright ickiness.

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Poe S

Mar 13, 2017

bill cosby before he was a sad rapist. loved this flick as a kid, and it's meant for kids, right? the reviews are brutal!

Theodore R

Mar 8, 2017

Best movie GHOST DAD 2016

Rey L

Feb 18, 2017

A classic great movie

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Sidney Poitier

Director

Bill Cosby

Elliot Hopper

Kimberly Russell

Diane Hopper

Denise Nicholas

Joan

Ian Bannen

Sir Edith Moser

Salim Grant

Danny Hopper

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Synopsis

Elliot Hopper (Bill Cosby) is a widowed single dad who is utterly fixated on his family's financial well-being. He spends all his time working to secure a crucial business deal that would put his accounts in the black. However, this leaves his three children pining for his attention. After a fatal car accident, Hopper -- now a ghost -- must clinch the deal from the afterlife to secure his children's futures. Along the way, he discovers all the bonding he'd been missing when he was alive.

Director: Sidney Poitier
Producer: Terry Nelson
Screenwriter: Phil Alden Robinson, Brent Maddock, S.S. Wilson
Production Co: Universal Pictures
Rating: PG
Genre: Kids & Family, Fantasy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 24, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $20.9M
Runtime: 1h 24m
Sound Mix: Surround

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