Review: "Ghost Town"
Franck Tabouring
Seen on: September 19, 2008
The players:
Director: David Koepp, Writers: David Koepp, John Kamps,
Cast: Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear, Alan Ruck, Téa Leoni, Jeff Hiller
Facts of interest: Koepp also directed "Secret Window" and wrote "Panic Room" and "Spider-Man."
The plot: When a self-centered dentist suddenly dies but returns to life seven minutes later, he starts to see a bunch of dead people who all hit him up for a favor.
Our quick thoughts: Ricky Gervais, the man behind the original “The Office,” is not necessarily the kind of actor you regularly see on the big screen. And that’s a shame, because in David Koepp’s thoroughly adorable comedy “Ghost Town,” he delivers a hilarious performance that lightens up the entire movie and generates plenty of big laughs. The funny Brit definitely fits in, and I can only hope we’ll start to see him in lead roles more often.
“Ghost Town” centers on Bertram Pincus, a selfish dentist who pretty much hates people and tries his best to avoid any type of conversation with anybody he encounters. But when he unexpectedly dies and comes back to life after seven minutes, something happens that changes his life forever: he now sees dead people. That’s when he meets the ghost of Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear), who begs Pincus to stop his widow Gwen (Tea Leoni) from marrying a human rights lawyer.
The film’s central message may be a simple and obvious one, but it’s presented to audiences with lots of humor and heart. One thing I particularly enjoyed about “Town” is how much attention screenwriters Koepp and John Kamps pay to their characters. At first, Pincus comes of as a self-centered bastard who’s rude to everybody he runs into, but his acquaintance with Frank and other ghosts give him the opportunity to learn how to approach the living and actively engage in a conversation.
This transition is intriguing to follow primarily because it’s through the dead that Pincus eventually finds a way to enjoy life and combat his solitude. Most of the dialogue and comic elements in the film are clever, heartwarming and never too pompous or conventional. Most of the jokes here may not necessarily cause you to fall off your chair laughing hard, but the well-timed, humorous interactions between these interesting characters will at least put a big smile on your face.
Even better than the sharp writing is the movie’s fantastic ensemble cast. Gervais completely shines in the role of Bertram Pincus, and he is the source of all the fun in this film. Supporting him in the role of Frank’s ghost is the brilliant Greg Kinnear (one of my favorite actors today), who does a fine job playing the annoying dead guy. Even Teo Leoni turns in her strongest performance in years. She shares quite a charming onscreen chemistry with Gervais.
Freaky quote: “The dead have a lot of unfinished business, which is why we're still here." – Greg Kinnear
The final word: “Ghost Town” is a little but ultimately charming film that should not be overlooked. It’s definitely the one with the most laughs, heart and brain this weekend. It’s not perfect, but it’s amusing. It also happens to have an incredibly beautiful ending sequence that will let you keep that smile until long after you’ve left the theater.
Article by Franck Tabouring
Reader Comments (1)
Good review. I like your format. I was planning to see and review Ghost Town this weekend, but decided to slip into another one at the last minute. I may go back tomorrow to catch Ghost Town. I like what you had to say about it.
KidReviewer