Interesteg
What makes it different from others?
AboveDeepBuggy
Some things I liked some I did not.
Flyerplesys
Perfectly adorable
Freaktana
A Major Disappointment
Wizard-8
This Hollywood remake of the popular Brazilian movie "Dona Flor And Her Two Husbands" has all but been forgotten since it was first released thirty years ago. Watching it, it's easy to see why it hasn't built much of an audience, if any. Certainly, Sally Field, James Caan, and Jeff Bridges bring some charm to the movie, enough so that the movie is almost endurable at times. But the movie sinks because of a screenplay that is very lacking. The characters of all three leads are poorly written. Sally Field's character never asks obvious questions like why her deceased husband returned, what the afterlife is like, and other questions a normal person would ask in the same situation. James Caan's character doesn't come across as someone who loves his former wife, interfering in her life repeatedly so that her life is turned upside down. And Jeff Bridges' character acts like a complete idiot at times. If you see a copy of this movie in some thrift store, don't pick it up as I did - say goodbye and move to something else.
George Wright
This light comedy brings together an interesting group of actors, young and old, for an off-beat story about a widow (Sally Field) who finds herself haunted by her late husband (James Caan), just as she is about to marry a new love interest (Jeff Bridges). The movie has a series of gags in which the dead husband keeps dropping by to surprise and annoy his surviving wife. Confusion follows for her and her new love interest, who seems somewhat possessive and thus all the more alarmed by the turn of events. The movie has the added talents of Claire Trevor as Sally Field's mother, Paul Dooley as her father, and Mildred Natwick as the owner of a bed-and-breakfast in the country where the three parties head off for a weekend encounter. The movie, directed by Robert Mulligan (Love with a Proper Stranger), is entertaining enough to pass the time on a quiet afternoon. It was great to see Claire Trevor, who won an Academy Award for Key Largo in the 1940's. I didn't know she was making films this late in her career. As it turns out, the late husband was no paragon of virtue but in the end, he helps his wife make the transition to a new life.
vsapiens
All in my family love this movie! It is truly a family favorite. There are enough comments from others that describe the movie, so I will not repeat. It is one of a few movies that all of us (myself, spouse, and daughter) can watch over and over. It is light, entertaining, sweet, and funny! There are so many lines that we quote over and over -- they have become part of our family. ("You are starting to annoy Jolly!" and many others.) We also LOVE the scene when Rupert goes to the lawyer. The reactions of the lawyer and his secretary are hilarious! And the scenes previously mentioned by others: in bed with Rupert when Jolly is there, the trip to the country, the restaurant scene on the trip to the country. The movie is perfectly cast and is my favorite for many of these actors, just for the joy it has brought to all of us.
Fisher L. Forrest
You would be better advised to seek out a tape of BLITHE SPIRIT before wasting your time on this "pastiche". O.K., the sexes are reversed here, but it just barely falls short of being a scene-for-scene "remake" of BLITHE SPIRIT. Note, though, that no credit is given to Noel Coward. Some South American tale "Dona Flor and her two Husbands" gets cited. If you are familiar with BLITHE SPIRIT, the similarity leaps at you. There is even the comic "exorcism" episode, again with the sexes reversed.The question is: why does it fail? It must be the direction, because the cast work is quite good. Perhaps, too good. Too serious. There is no lightness about it. The director simply didn't understand that a ghost story that is supposed to be a light comedy, has to be light. Here, everyone and everything is so intense. They are taking this ghost business seriously, one way or another, so presumably the viewer is supposed to do so too. But when you do, the humour evaporates.The story is fairly simple, though complexities arise. Sally Field is a widow of three years who plans to wed again and open her closed house. The former spouse was something of a rake-hell dancer/choreographer; the new one is a dead serious archaeologist. Alas, the nuptials are only in the rehearsal stage when the ghost of Numero Uno appears and wreaks havoc. Now, here, we must pause a bit. Does the director want us to believe the ghost is real, or is he the product of Sally's own indecision as to whether she is still in love with the former spouse? That's what I mean about introducing seriousness. Well, finally we are about to get to the nuptials, when the spouse to be falls down the stairs, just as Numero Uno had done at a drunken bash three years previously. Again KISS ME GOODBYE is emulating BLITHE SPIRIT, because the new wife there was killed at the end, leaving two ghosts to haunt the widower. Is this a repeat? If you must know, see this film to find out. Sally Field is always worth a watch. That's the one point on which KISS ME GOODBYE doesn't fail.