Film

Kiss Me Goodbye

Name: Kiss Me Goodbye
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
Released: 1982
Cast: Sally Field, James Caan, Jeff Bridges, Claire Trevor, Mildred Natwick

Romance

A widow moves back into her old home with her new fiancé, only to discover her dead husband's ghost haunting the place—and determined to sabotage her remarriage. It's a romantic comedy that plays the supernatural premise straight, finding warmth in grief and second chances while James Caan's invisible husband becomes an increasingly frantic third wheel.

TMDb rating

3.0

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy light, old-fashioned romantic comedies with a supernatural wrinkle, where the jokes come from awkward social moments and a flustered heroine rather than from slapstick or sharp-edged cynicism.

Skip it if you want a brisk, tightly plotted comedy, since this one is leisurely, leans on its premise more than its punchlines, and can feel thin and repetitive over its roughly 100 minutes.

What it asks of you: Settle in for a gentle, unhurried runtime of about an hour and forty minutes, with a soft tone throughout and little need for close attention beyond following the central romantic tangle.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Topper1937

The template for comedic ghosts in Hollywood: a deceased couple returns to meddle in the living world with charm, slapstick, and genuine affection. Cary Grant and Constance Bennett are luminous.

But The pacing is theatrical rather than cinematic, and some of the humour relies on 1930s sensibilities that haven't aged perfectly.

Beetlejuice1988

A recently deceased couple must haunt their own house to drive out intruders, leading to spectacular set pieces and Michael Keaton's manic genius. It's louder and darker than Kiss Me Goodbye but shares the central joke: dead spouses as obstacles.

But The horror elements are real, not just window dressing, and some scenes push harder than you might expect from a supernatural comedy.

Always1989

A pilot returns as a ghost to guide his grieving fiancée toward a new love, wrestling with letting go. Spielberg made it earnest and emotional rather than funny, but the core—dead man, living woman, new romance—is identical.

But It trades comedy for sentimentality, and if you're not in the mood for melodrama dressed up as magical realism, it will feel slow.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Kiss Me Goodbye

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Topper Takes a Trip1938

Both films find their emotional core in a marriage that doesn't end at death—the real conflict is about whether a ghost should let the living move forward or cling to what was.

The sequel where the ghost wife goes to Paris without her husband to prove she's more interesting dead than alive. It's a richer, funnier film than the first Topper—leaner, faster, with better jokes about marriage and identity.

But It assumes you've seen the first film, and its particular brand of 1930s screwball is not everyone's comedy language.

Ghostbusters II1989

When supernatural hijinks threaten New York, the team reassembles to stop an evil ghost from possessing a woman. It's got the otherworldly interference angle and earnest comedy mixed with genuine stakes.

But It's a sequel that feels like it's going through the motions, and the plot is essentially a retread of the first film with a different coat of paint.

Defending Your Life1991

Albert Brooks dies and must defend his life choices in a cosmic courtroom, finding unexpected romance along the way. It's a ghost story about confronting yourself, with real intelligence and pathos beneath the comedy.

But It's more interested in philosophical questions than plot momentum, and that introspection may feel slow if you want narrative propulsion.

It Came from Outer Space1953

An alien shapeshifter adopts human form and romantic attachment complicates everything. Not a ghost story, but it captures that anxious 1950s tension of invisible threat and impossible attraction.

But Science fiction conventions of the era feel quaint now, and the emotional stakes are secondary to the invasion plot.

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir1947

A widow rents a cottage and falls in love with its resident ghost. It's romantic without being saccharine, and the chemistry between Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison feels genuinely earned across the supernatural premise.

But The pacing is deliberate, almost dreamlike, and modern viewers might find it too gentle and slow to engage with.

Audrey Rose1977

A grieving parent becomes obsessed with a child he believes is the reincarnation of his dead daughter. It takes the supernatural seriously and asks hard questions about obsession and loss masquerading as love.

But It's genuinely creepy and unsettling rather than comforting, and the ending divides audiences sharply on whether it earns its darkness.

The Poseidon Adventure1972

A disaster film where a diverse group fights for survival aboard a capsized ship. It has nothing to do with ghosts, but it shares Kiss Me Goodbye's ensemble ensemble energy and that 1970s earnestness about mixing genres.

But It's nearly three hours, the spectacle is dated, and the emotional beats feel overwrought by modern standards.

The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave1971

The surface premise is identical to Kiss Me Goodbye—a man can't accept that his wife is dead and his living romantic interest must contend with her ghost—but this film asks what happens when a ghost is actually a symptom of madness, and makes that terrifying instead of funny.

An Italian Gothic horror film where a man haunted by his dead wife (or is he?) descends into obsession and madness. It's lurid, beautifully shot, and genuinely disturbing, operating in the space where grief becomes pathology.

But It's a giallo—lurid, violent, and interested in psychosexual horror rather than romance. The plot is deliberately baroque and refuses to clarify what's real.