I wonder what could have possessed Kate Jackson to attempt a role that requires a "madcap" attitude. This is beyond her range. Even her voice doesn't vary much in intonation, while Topper requires personalities that are exemplified by the "flapper" of personality so prevalent in movies that depict the Roaring Twenties.
Nobody in this film fits their roles. Rue McClanahan is sleepwalking. I like her, but she should have bought Blanche Deveraux to this role. Jack Warden...I like him in serious roles; comedy also not his strong point.
I keep thinking someone just decided to do a remake for the heck of it, and Kate Jackson decided to try her hand at comedy. Not a good fit for her. Her manner is too stiff and wooden for comedy. . And Stevens is no better. For a movie about ghost trying to reach Heaven, it's completely earthbound and plodding. I wish I could find something funny about it, but that would be quite a reach. I imagine it will be okay for those who never saw the original, or for whom the concept of "zany" is a term they cannot fathom. Guess you had to be there, in this case!
A completely forgettable remake.
