Is she a ghost? A figment of his imagination? Its up to the viewer to decide in one of many supernatural comedies to come out on the wake of "Heaven Can Wait". Twiggy isn't the bride, but perhaps the spirit of the character that she played in "The Boyfriend". Unlike her character of Polly and that musical based on the hit British musical, her character of Polly here is a pranksterish spirit, appearing to the father of the bride Tom smothers on the day of his daughter's wedding, not letting him out of her sight, and causing all sorts of havoc for him and his family.
There are a lot of guest stars, many of whom are simply window dressing for a rather mediocre comedy that is amusing, but not quite as charming as other similar films of the same genre. Smother's former in-laws are an obnoxious group, his ex wife a total shrew, and mother-in-law Hermione Baddely a carbon copy of the old school nasty mother-in-law. Then, there is his whining daughter, perplexed by her parents bickering and her father's seemingly insane notion that some beautiful woman is chasing him and happens to be one that nobody but him can see.
"Heaven Can Wait", a remake of "Here Comes Mr. Jordan", had been a smash hit several years before this had an obviously minimal release. That film had an excellent screenplay and extremely funny performances, but this film is only moderately amusing on spots. Among the guest stars that pop in and out are Phil Silvers, seemingly having no purpose there other than to add name value, Jim Backus, playing a lecherous businessman feeding line to his sexy younger secretary. When he offers her more champagne, you half expect her to respond delicious!, like his real wife Henny had in a famous comedy sketch with her husband years before. Martin Balsam plays an obnoxious relative who keeps on getting into fights with innocent passers-by, and at times I wanted to see his character totally thrown off the screen. One very funny moment has the grandfather of the bride arriving at the wrong church, and presenting the apparent other grandparents with flowers, unaware that this Spanish couple are obviously not his granddaughters other grandparents.
Getting a bit convoluted and testy in spots, it is easy to see why this was probably shelved, and only had a few bookings. Other similar films that did better than this include "Kiss Him Goodbye, a 1982 comedy with a dead husband coming back to harass his newly remarried wife, the hysterical "All of Me" with Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin apparently sharing the same body, and the sweet "Chances Are" where Cybil Shepherd's ex husband comes back in the form of the man played by Robert Downey who is about to marry her own daughter. Twiggy's character reminded me a great deal of the character that Glenn Close played in the comedy "Maxie" where an innocent church secretary is possessed by the spirit of a long dead flapper. This film has to thrive on the chemistry of its two stars, both names in the late 1960s, but barely remembered by most people when it came out.there are a few moments when they do play delightfully off of each other, but the circumstances surrounding them seem so absurd and the choreography of Struthers by himself being pulled away by the invisible Twiggy, just you not seeing as well acted as when Steve Martin get it with Lily Tomlin manipulating his every move in "All of Me".
There are a lot of guest stars, many of whom are simply window dressing for a rather mediocre comedy that is amusing, but not quite as charming as other similar films of the same genre. Smother's former in-laws are an obnoxious group, his ex wife a total shrew, and mother-in-law Hermione Baddely a carbon copy of the old school nasty mother-in-law. Then, there is his whining daughter, perplexed by her parents bickering and her father's seemingly insane notion that some beautiful woman is chasing him and happens to be one that nobody but him can see.
"Heaven Can Wait", a remake of "Here Comes Mr. Jordan", had been a smash hit several years before this had an obviously minimal release. That film had an excellent screenplay and extremely funny performances, but this film is only moderately amusing on spots. Among the guest stars that pop in and out are Phil Silvers, seemingly having no purpose there other than to add name value, Jim Backus, playing a lecherous businessman feeding line to his sexy younger secretary. When he offers her more champagne, you half expect her to respond delicious!, like his real wife Henny had in a famous comedy sketch with her husband years before. Martin Balsam plays an obnoxious relative who keeps on getting into fights with innocent passers-by, and at times I wanted to see his character totally thrown off the screen. One very funny moment has the grandfather of the bride arriving at the wrong church, and presenting the apparent other grandparents with flowers, unaware that this Spanish couple are obviously not his granddaughters other grandparents.
Getting a bit convoluted and testy in spots, it is easy to see why this was probably shelved, and only had a few bookings. Other similar films that did better than this include "Kiss Him Goodbye, a 1982 comedy with a dead husband coming back to harass his newly remarried wife, the hysterical "All of Me" with Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin apparently sharing the same body, and the sweet "Chances Are" where Cybil Shepherd's ex husband comes back in the form of the man played by Robert Downey who is about to marry her own daughter. Twiggy's character reminded me a great deal of the character that Glenn Close played in the comedy "Maxie" where an innocent church secretary is possessed by the spirit of a long dead flapper. This film has to thrive on the chemistry of its two stars, both names in the late 1960s, but barely remembered by most people when it came out.there are a few moments when they do play delightfully off of each other, but the circumstances surrounding them seem so absurd and the choreography of Struthers by himself being pulled away by the invisible Twiggy, just you not seeing as well acted as when Steve Martin get it with Lily Tomlin manipulating his every move in "All of Me".