Rating summary
| Movie |  | 1.5 |
| Video |  | 4.0 |
| Audio | | 4.0 |
| Extras |  | 0.5 |
| Overall |  | 2.5 |
Ghosts Can't Do It Blu-ray Movie Review
Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 6, 2017
John Derek's "Ghosts Can't Do It" (1989) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout Factory. The only bonus feature on the disc is an original trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Katie
John Derek’s final film,
Ghosts Can’t Do It, deserves all of the negative reviews that it has received during the years. There a lot of famous people that contributed to it, but my guess is that they did it only out of respect for Derek and his legacy. It is a real stinker that should have never been greenlighted.
The plot is so dull that aspiring scenarists can actually study it to see how not to write if they are serious about having a meaningful career in the film business. At the center of it is the young and beautiful Katie (Bo Derek,
Bolero) whose life can’t be any better -- she is healthy, incredibly rich, and madly in love with her older husband Scott (Anthony Quinn,
Revenge). But when Scott suffers a heart and then dies Katie’s life is turned upside down and she suddenly realizes that perhaps she has been taking a lot of different things for granted. Then a miracle happens and Scott’s ghost reappears determined to reunite with Katie. A kind angel (Julie Newmar,
Batman: The Complete Classic Batman Collection) clarifies that this could be a tricky job, unless Katie and Scott are willing to work together and find the right body that Scott can use to become a new man. The rest of the film is about Katie looking for the right donor in various exotic places while Scott teaches her how to be a smart shopper.
The film could have turned out a lot better if Derek had a younger partner to play the part of the ghost. It would have balanced their relationship and perhaps even added a dramatic element to make it a bit more intriguing. (Jerry Zucker’s
Ghost is a lot easier to stomach for this very reason). As it is, however, Derek is essentially left to shine alone while Quinn repeatedly exposes the obvious flaws of her constantly evolving plan to secure a body for him. It is really quite painful to watch because the discussions that move the action from one location to another could not be any more irritating.
There is one pretty funny segment in the second half of the film where Derek has a couple of business meetings and bumps into Donald Trump. It seems like the future President of the United States reads her intentions correctly, but she makes the final call and then exits the room with confidence. The whole thing is pretty entertaining because at one point the Donald looks straight into the camera and it feels like he is trying very hard not to fire Derek.
*
Ghosts Can’t Do It has a prominent spot in John Wilson’s very entertaining
The Official Razzie Movie Guide: Enjoying the Best of Hollywood's Worst, a must-read for serious film aficionados.
Ghosts Can't Do It Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p, John Derek's Ghosts Can't Do It arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout Factory.
The master that was used was probably prepared sometime during the DVD era, but it is free of horrendous digital adjustments and the overwhelming majority of the film looks very good in high-definition. There are a few segments where light is restricted and depth isn't optimal, but the visuals never collapse. (Keep in mind that the tiny bits with Anthony Quinn's ghost are deliberately made to look softer. You can see an example in screencapture #14). The daylight footage and well-lit close-ups typically look quite wonderful (see screenacaptures #1 and 3). Grain is well exposed and even though it should be better resolved it never appears smeary or frozen. The primary colors are unmanipulated and there is a decent range of nuances. There are no traces of problematic sharpening adjustments. Image stability is very good. A few tiny flecks can be spotted, but there are no distracting large debris, cuts, damage marks, or torn frames. All in all, this is a rather surprisingly strong presentation of Ghosts Can't Do It. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
Ghosts Can't Do It Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
There are no technical anomalies to report. If the audio is fully remastered most likely there will be some balance improvements that could positively affect the mid/high registers, but depth and clarity probably will remain the same. I thought that the dialog was exceptionally easy to follow and there was even some fairly decent dynamic movement in some of the group scenes.
Ghosts Can't Do It Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras
- Trailer - original trailer for Ghost Can't Do it. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).
Ghosts Can't Do It Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation
I guess the highlight of this notoriously bad film is the short segment where the Donald pops up and nearly fires Bo Derek for trying to look like a legit widow. The rest is quite awful. It is good that Shout Factory included it with Bolero in this double-feature release, but my advice is not to waste your time with it. The technical presentation of the film is surprisingly good.
