Movie Review: Ghost Town
Ghost Town
Director: David Koepp
Starring: Ricky Gervais, Téa Leoni, Greg Kinnear, Billy Campbell
Rated: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
Theatrical Release: September 19, 2008
Synopsis: Bertram Pincus (Ricky Gervais), is a man whose people skills leave much to be desired. When Pincus dies unexpectedly, but is miraculously revived after seven minutes, he wakes up to discover that he now has the annoying ability to see ghosts. Even worse, they all want something from him, particularly Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear) who pesters him into breaking up the impending marriage of his widow Gwen (Téa Leoni). That puts Pincus squarely in the middle of a triangle with spirited result. (Written by Studio Approved Synopsis)
Ghost Town could have easily been mediocre. The premise of one person being able to see dead people while everyone else looks at them like he/she are crazy has been done numerous times before (Ghost immediately comes to mind) but Ghost Town actually makes it interesting and with talented comedians like Gervais and Kristen Wiig, you will be laughing throughout the film.
The acting in the film is great, Gervais plays curmudgeon to perfection here. He actually loves his job for the very fact that he can stop people from talking to him by inserting various dental items into their mouths. The tagline for the film is actually “He sees dead people… and they annoy him.” Most of the humor comes from his hatred of being annoyed by people (dead or alive). Also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the awesomeness of Kristen Wiig from Saturday Night Live, any scene she’s in is hilarious.
Ricky Gervais is a huge star in the British comedy world, but hasn’t yet made the same impact here in America, which is unfortunate, but my hopes are he continues to make good movies like Ghost Town and gain popularity here in the states. If you like Extras or The Office (UK) then you will feel right at home with this comedy.
In lesser hands, this could have been a paint-by-numbers generic ghost comedy (Ghost Dad, Over Her Dead Body, etc.) but with Ricky Gervais, you can be sure this one won’t vanish anytime soon.
The Good: Ricky Gervais and Kristen Wiig
The Bad: Anytime Gervais isn’t on camera
The Ugly: The Dentist’s Tools (cringe) that Gervais uses as he works on his clients.
