User reviews

I've now watched all four Bo Derek vehicles directed by her husband, John; all are quite terrible, of course, but this is certainly the pits. Featuring the usual flimsy plot, bad scripting – by the director, naturally – and acting, not to mention gratuitous nudity by the star, it deals with her losing much older husband Anthony Quinn (she accepts his shotgun suicide by saying he had always admired Hemingway!!) but who continues to appear and talk to her. In fact, he wants to come back in another, younger body…but actually does so only in the very last scene! Derek is lovely as always, and still playing naïve(!) – especially during a muddled mid-section which has her pursued by a hired killer at a spa. Quinn, too, is typically larger-than-life (read: hammy) here, but this easily constitutes his nadir; besides, for much of the duration, he acts from behind a piece of shiny plastic (presumably suggesting his being in some sort of limbo)! His 'replacement', then, is obviously a handsome-looking stud who hasn't a lick of talent or even personality. Also featured in the cast are Hollywood veterans Don Murray (as Quinn's best friend and Bo's business consultant) and Julie Newmar (as Quinn's guardian angel in the afterlife) – plus a surprising cameo appearance by billionaire Donald Trump (who presumably needed this on his resume')! It also goes without saying that John Derek was his own cinematographer on the film, that the end credits are filled with useless (and corny) expressions of gratitude to the many people who lent a helping hand, and that GHOSTS CAN'T DO IT swept the board at the 1990 Razzie Awards!

With a Bo Derek movie, the audience get just what they expect. A paper thin plot and a few shots of Mrs. Derek in no clothes. 'Ghosts can't do it' is just that. The first fifteen minutes is ordinary TV drama, as long as Scott [Anthony Quinn] is still alive. He is a very good actor with long experience in a lot of different roles, but it seems as even a famous actor need to work just for money sometimes. Bo Derek is the opposite, always playing a strikingly handsome young woman with or without clothes. The movie is a complete waste of time. If you want to see Quinn, rent Lawrence of Arabia or La Strada. If you want to see nude women or bad acting, rent any porno movie.

The Dereks did seem to struggle to find rolls for Bo after "10".

I used to work for a marine park in the Florida Keys. One day, the script for "Ghosts Can't Do It" was circulating among the trainers in the "fish house" where food was prepared for the dolphins. There was one scene where a -dolphin- supposedly propositions Bo (or Bo the dolphin), asking to "go make eggs." Reading the script, we -lauuughed-...

We did not end up doing any portion of this movie at our facility, although our dolphins -were- in "The Big Blue!"

This must have been very close to the end of Anthony Quinn's life. I hope he had fun in this film, as it certainly didn't do anything for his legacy.

The Derek's have over the 1980s produced a few decent bids to acquire the title "worst movie of all time", and this is probably their prime achievement in these stakes. In fact, this film can be regarded as belonging to the "so bad, it's good" category, right up there with the products of the likes of Edward Wood Jr. or Doris Wishman. This explains the IMDb voting pattern for this film with some people handing out top marks.

Anthony Quinn made the odd dodgy film in his time, but this performance as a randy ghost is so incredibly bad, it has to be seen to be believed.

Scott (Anthony Quinn) and Katie (Bo Derek) are happily married living on a remote ranch. Scott suffers a heart attack and cannot get it up anymore. In despair, he commits suicide by gunshot. He finds himself in an empty purgatory and able to communicate only with Katie. They work for him to possess men who have sex with her.

This deserves every Golden Razzie it won. The only shame of this is that it taints the legacy of Anthony Quinn by turning him into a talking floating head. He's not romantic. He comes off as a sex-obsessed controlling dirty old man. Bo Derek is never a good actress. This one has walking around talking to herself. She makes her naked body less attractive. I imagine this is what real life with the Dereks look like. It's a lot bickering where sex is reduced to an ugly transaction. This is simply the worst.

"Ghost" did this kind of story better.

Of course, comparing "Ghost" to "Ghosts Can't Do It" is like comparing a banquet line to a compost heap.

As much as I like a good Bo Derek nude scene (for all the umpteen times I've seen them), here they're all just so... and I can't believe I'm saying this... BORING.

Yes, you heard me.

She gets naked, yes. She dances seductively in what John Derek must have thought was a clever variation on the same type of dance scene in "Flashdance". She strips down to nothing on the beach. Dips down into a hot tub, sans clothes. And blah blah blah....

But she just stands there. Yes, she stood there in her other movies, too. But it was the WAY she stood there that got to you, if you know what I mean, guys. Yeah, sure you do.

And let's not even get into what Anthony Quinn, Julie Newmar and Donald Trump are doing in a movie where everyone is more interested in seeing how Bo is going to get naked in the next scene.

Oh, I'm sure John had his own ideas of making Bo the next Helen Hayes (snicker, snicker...), save for one big difference: BO CAN NOT ACT. Nudity. Standing around with her mouth partially open. If that were all acting were, then yes, Bo would already be the next Helen Hayes.

But here in the real world....

One star. Even I was bored by this one, and that's not easy to do with me. I'd give this one no stars but darn it, Bo, when you look at me with your mouth partially open....

"Ghosts Can't Do It" has the distinction of winning the Razzie Award for the Worst Picture of 1990. This isn't surprising, as Bo Derek has won three Razzies for Worst Actress (including one for this film). For this reason, I decided to watch this movie.

When the story begins, Kate (Derek) and Scott (Anthony Quinn) are desperately in love despite the huge age difference between them. However, when Scott has a heart attack and is unable to make love to her, he takes his own life. Out of the blue, however, he's magically able to talk with Kate and carries on a detached relationship with her. As for the audience, they can also hear him and see his giant head floating on the screen...an odd effect to say the least.

Because Scott and Katie cannot touch each other, Scott devises a plan. Despite having no assurance whatsoever that it will work, he wants Katie to make love to other guys so he can inhabit their bodies and experience her. Later, he even suggests they arrange for a studly guy to die so Scott can take over his body...and the duo can live happily ever after.

The plot is silly and it seems like it's all just an excuse for Derek to take off her clothes again and again. While she is not much of an actress, she at least handled the nude bits well...and the film is sort of like a soft core porno film with too much story.

So is it any good? Certainly not. It's an embarrassing role for Quinn...he is capable of doing better and you wonder WHY he accepted this role. The same can be said for veteran actor Don Murray. I assume both must have needed the money. The plot is stupid, the dialog is even stupider and Derek, though gorgeous, brings nothing more to the movie. A silly, misguided movie.

I think they just dug up the script for 'Plan 9 from Outer Space', buried Anthony Quinn RIP instead of Bela Lugosi RIP & dug up a future Zombie Donald Trump! Definitely the second worst HILARIOUS stoner movie EVER!

This movie is visually stunning. Who cares if she can act or not. Each scene is a work of art composed and captured by John Derek. The locations, set designs, and costumes function perfectly to convey what is found in a love story comprised of beauty, youth and wealth. In some ways I would like to see this movie as a tribute to John and Bo Derek's story. And...this commentary would not be complete without mentioning Anthony Quinn's role as father, mentor, lover, and his portrayal of a man, of men, lost to a bygone era when men were men. There are some of us who find value in strength and direction wrapped in a confidence that contributes to a sense of confidence, containment, and security. Yes, they do not make men like that anymore! But, then how often do you find women who are made like Bo Derek.

Cute and quirky. Not a total waste of time. Acting is great all around. Derek is charming. Pace is a bit sliw. Nice ending.

It doesn't matter if anybody else thinks this movie is cheesy Bo Derek has, and will always be a sexy actress. She is not afraid of showing her body whether the storyline needs it or not. She will always be sexy. Anthony Quinn does a good job in his own way of making a movie enjoyable to watch. Julie Newmar, who plays the angel did a absolute good job when she played in the Batman movies or TV shows for the youngsters that did not know that. For all the ones out there that like the Bo Derek movies cheesy or not we are all in the same boat and enjoy seeing her on screen all the time and always.

Ghosts Can't Do It (1989)

BOMB (out of 4)

Director-writer John Derek and wife Bo made a total of four films together starting with FANTASIES and then moving onto TARZAN THE APE MAN and BOLERO. All three movies were pretty bad but nothing in them was bad enough to prepare for you how downright awful their fourth and final film was. In the film, Bo plays a young woman married to a much older man (Anthony Quinn) who ends up killing himself. The old man's spirit sticks around to have conversations with his woman and soon the two of them decide it's best for his spirit to enter a younger man so that they can have sex again. GHOSTS CAN'T DO IT is without question one of the worst films I've ever seen and especially one of the worst romances I've seen. I really would have loved to have been a fly on the wall whenever the Derek's were discussing the films that they should make. There's no question that John loved his wife and was proud of her body and thankfully he wasn't a prude about showing it off. Bo has always been an amazingly beautiful woman and that's true here as she has several scenes where she's totally naked. Without this cheap nudity the film would be completely horrible so at least John was smart enough to add nude scenes but this could be said for all four of their films. As for acting, I've never quite found Bo to be as bad as many others but there's still no question she doesn't give that much of a performance here. Quinn basically stands around behind some filter meant to make him look like his in another world. His performance is pretty campy and over-the-top. Vets Don Murray and Julie Newmar also appear but add very little. Again, I'm really not sure what John Derek was trying to do here unless he was really preparing his wife for his own death since he was much older. Perhaps this was just some sort of perverted fantasy that he had about dying himself. I'm not sure what the goal was but the end result is just a complete disaster that's certainly not romantic, never funny and just a real painful experience to try and make it through.

Ghosts Can't Do It is an extremely strange movie. Unless you want a ninety-minute nude fest of Bo Derek-her then-husband John wrote and directed this shameless exploitation of her incredible body-you probably won't enjoy the film.

It starts out as a tender love story. Bo Derek and Anthony Quinn are happily married, and when he has a minor heart attack and is told it's only a matter of time before he has a fatal one, their relationship changes. In one sweet scene, Bo tries to make adjustments and protect him from any exertions, and Tony gets tears in his eyes when he says he just wants to take a walk with her. Needless to say-since the title gives it away-Tony does die. And he comes back as a ghost that only Bo can see and talk to.

Here's where the movie stops making sense. Bo and Tony are still in love, and since they can still talk anytime they want to, why is she motivated to fall in love with anyone else? Because, as the title so eloquently states, they can no longer have a physical relationship. Tony gets the idea of inhabiting someone else's body so he can sleep with Bo again. Bo needs hardly any coaxing and quickly picks out Leo Damian as Tony's body's replacement. The rest of the movie is really silly. Anthony Quinn's talent is wasted, Bo Derek's talent is nonexistent, and the only retrospectively amusing scene is when Bo goes to a high-stakes business meeting with a pre-President Donald Trump! As the closing credits roll, he gets a special mention: "Yes that really was Donald Trump".

DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not your friend. The scenes in which Anthony Quinn speaks to Bo Derek as a ghost, a filter is placed over the screen that flickers like a flame and it will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"

Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to graphic nudity, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.

Listen, Anthony Quinn is always good-even in this "B" movie. Bo Derek is still among the world's most beautiful women to ever grace the screen, This one is cute and romantic but not great, to say the least. The script and dialogue are weak. The Direction by the late John Derek is uninteresting. The movie reminded me of how much I loved watching Bo Derek, but quite, frankly, she was never as good when she was teamed with her late husband. Her career never was what it could have been. She is likable in this. Derek longs for a continued sexual encounter with her dead husband, who tries to coordinate it from the ghostly world. Silly, yes...

There are actually a lot worse movies than this. But I am biased since I am a Julie Neymar and Bo Derek fan. With that said, besides the obvious failings of the movie, poor plot, not funny, and bad acting.

But the biggest issue seems to be the way the film was edited. No character development, and entry and exit of characters that made no sense. The irony is you had to really pay attention to a simple movie in order to follow it. For me that is what made this movie bad. I think many of us can appreciate a mindless movie with hot people and famous actors but John and Bo Derek were definitely too high while making this movie. Not sure what the excuse was for the rest of the cast/staff. Too afraid to correct the director and leading lady's "vision". I just picture their studio had at least a Kilo of coke, no food while they filmed the movie. It was 1989, after all.

Well, I watched the whole movie over a 4 day period. This movie cant hold my attention. No matter how beautiful Bo Derek is, this movie DID NOT WORK... I dont even get it?? I was totally confused, the plot was terrible, as was the acting, and Quinn as Dereks husband??? I cant understand the age difference... At least in rel life, John was a decent looking guy... Quinn was not. This movie was terrible, I place it on the bottom with Myra Breckinridge... I did nothing for me (except seeing Bo dance around the beach naked talking to the clouds... that was interesting... Seeing Bo can usually capture my attention and keep me into as movie "Change of Seasons" and "10" were both good, but this once flopped...

Bo has some animal attraction to her that makes up for poor cinematic performance.

After having endured the mental torture of watching " Ghosts can't do it " that cannot be said any more.

Bo should have ended her career after "TEN" which was a funny movie, although the credits must go to Dudley Moore.