Every once in a while there is a romantic comedy that doesn’t make you want to pull your hair out. David Koepp (director of the Johnny Depp thriller Secret Window) manages to make one of these rare films in his latest, Ghost Town (Dreamworks).
Ghost Town‘s main charm, and the number one reason to see it, is the fantastic performance of British funnyman, Ricky Gervais (Stardust).
Gervais plays dentist Bertram Pincus, a loathsome man who lives by himself, has no friends and gets pleasure from stealing cabs from other people and stopping his patients from talking on the job.
After a mishap at the hospital involving a misuse of anesthesia, Pincus starts to see people who no one else can see. He discovers that he died for seven minutes during his operation, putting him in a half-dead, half-alive state in which he can communicate with the ghosts of people with unfinished business on earth. The ghosts all want Pincus to help them, but he isn’t necessarily the helpful type.
One ghost, a man named Frank (Greg Kinnear, Little Miss Sunshine), is able to get Pincus’ attention. Frank has no idea why he is still on earth, but he thinks it is because his widow, Gwen (Téa Leoni, Fun With Dick & Jane) is about to marry a man he doesn’t approve of. Frank convinces Pincus to try and break up Gwen’s engagement, and Pincus, in classic movie fashion, falls for her.
There’s one problem, however. Pincus is a self-loving, stuck-up ass, and it takes a long time for Gwen to truly warm up to him.
The movie’s highlight is certainly Gervais, an actor whose wit and dry humor is consistently hilarious. Pincus is the kind of character that you feel bad for one minute and want to punch the next, but Gervais skillfully manages to always keep him likeable.
Leoni holds her own as the romantic interest. There are a lot of scenes where Leoni and Gervais seem to be effortlessly playing off of each other, and having fun doing it.
Ghost Town is one of the most pleasant surprises of the year thus far, and its blend of British humor and American charm make it a worthwhile experience.
