The idea of a loved one's ghost coming back to taunt, tease or help one who misses her or him, is as old as story-telling and the making of movies. Sometimes it works, and other times it doesn't. Unfortunately, for 20th Century Fox, this one didn't work. In spite of a considerable cast of the day - Sally Field, James Caan and Jeff Bridges, "Kiss Me Goodbye" is lacking in most of what it's touted for - comedy and romance.

There is so little comedy in this film that it might be false advertising to bill it as such. And there's about as much spark of romance between Kay and Jolly, and Kay and Rupert, as there is between the animated cartoon characters Tom and Jerry. One can understand James Caan's later dismay over having made this film. His role as Jolly is rueful. He seems to be going through his lines rote, with no life or feeling, and only a smile pasted on his face. And, if he had any more energy in his brief tap dancing bits, one might thing he actually could have been on stage in Broadway.

It's hard to understand how Sally Field received a Golden Globe nomination for her role as Kay. The best thing to say about her role is that she over acted most of the time. At least that showed some life compared to the rest of the cast. But it stood out like a sore thumb, and gave the film an aura of amateur theater. Jeff Bridges came close to giving a capable performance as Rupert. But his character is so uncertain and wishy-washy with no passion for Kay. The rest of the cast play into the pale of poor performances, for the most part.

Director Robert Mulligan received an Oscar nomination for "To Kill a Mockingbird" in 1962. He directed a few other good films, but he clearly can't guide comedy to fulfillment. That may be a little harsh on him, because the screenplay for this film is very poor. This film was based on a 1976 Brazilian comedy-fantasy. That had significant changes including its setting and time, and it was a huge success. But this is a film that is best forgotten - by audiences as well as the cast.

Kay (Sally Field) lost her charmer husband Broadway choreographer Jolly (James Caan) when he fell down the staircase at home. Three years later, she is finally ready to move back home. She wants to marry stiff Egypt archaeologist Rupert (Jeff Bridges). He is concerned about her past with Jolly and then his ghost shows up. Only Kay can see him and he's not satisfied with Rupert.

Sally is adorably flustered. She works really hard to sell this. Jeff Bridges is in a tougher position. He has to stay adorable despite disbelieving Kay. James Caan is perfectly good as the charming cad. It does get a bit sitcom-like at times. The movie is basically sold on the three legged acting foundation. This is a remake of a Brazilian film which I have not seen.

On the heels of the 1978 supernatural comedy "Heaven Can Wait", Hollywood once again used a dead character as the antagonist in a screwball comedy. A great cast but just an average script dominates the story of widow Sally Field on the verge of marrying Metropolitan Museum of Art Exhibit designer Jeff Bridges and returning to her old house for the first time since the death of her first husband, Broadway director James Caan. But Caan hasn't left even though he's deceased, and hangs around as Field and Bridges plan their future. Caan's ghost apparently has the ability to follow Field and Bridges everywhere they go, which includes escorting Field by herself to the Broadway Theater where his last show is still playing and to the country where they encounter a bunch of confused guest at the bed-and-breakfast run by the delightful Mildred Natwick.

There's a sense of deja vu and "I've seen this plot before" (only done better) in films such as "Heaven Can Wait" and the "Topper" series (both on film and TV),but the trio of stars seem to be having such a delightful time that it is fun to watch their insane antics. Field once again proves herself to be a natural funny lady, and Caan (who ironically played Broadway producer Billy Rose in the Fanny Brice movie sequel "Funny Lady") is delightfully over-the-top. This leaves Bridges with the least interesting of the characters, but somehow he plays this nebbish man so brilliantly that it hardly seems like he is acting.

Veteran Oscar-winning actress Claire Trevor makes a triumphant return to the screen in a delightfully catty role as Field's opinionated mother and pretty much steals every scene that she is in with what she says and with what she wears. Natwick is delightfully befuddled in her lengthy portion of the film, a testament to her performance in "Blithe Spirit". A beautiful title song written by Peter Allen is heard over the opening and closing credits but unfortunately did not get an Academy Award nomination due to the abundance of movie songs written at the time. While this is far from a perfect film, it is still extremely likeable in many aspects and most importantly has managed to stand the test of time.