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Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear, Téa Leoni

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 n...( read more  read more... )ow 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 results.

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171 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 42 min.

Directed by: David Koepp

Release Date: September 5, 2008

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DVD Release Date: December 27, 2008

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Flixster Reviews (8,259)

  • PvtCaboose91
    July 2, 2009
    PvtCaboose91
    "The dead have a lot of unfinished business, which is why we're still here."


    Co-written and directed by David Koepp, Ghost Town is a pleasant little cinematic gem which perfectly balances romantic comedy and light-hearted ghost story. Despite being a commercia

    ...( read more)l underperformer (only just regaining its budget at the box office) and suffering a short theatrical run, this is a genuinely funny rom-com elevated by a top-shelf cast and a sharp script. Thankfully, Koepp's feature never goes big - there are no over-the-top comedic set-pieces, and the filmmakers never hurl fistfuls of money at the screen to distract with ornate sets or excessive CGI. Ghost Town isn't weighed down by too many characters or dangling subplots either, so it's therefore able to focus on making us laugh and tugging our heartstrings (which it does well). The film's sense of humour is dry, quippy, and superbly understated, while at the same time there's a sweetness and vulnerability on the flipside - this is a movie with a big, beating heart.


    The protagonist here is a misanthropic dentist named Bertram Pincus (Gervais). The man hates people, and he chose his profession because he doesn't have to talk to his clients. During a routine colonoscopy, Bertram unexpectedly dies for bit less than seven minutes. Following his brief departure into the afterlife, Bertram is gifted with the ability to see and interact with ghosts wandering the streets of New York City, specifically those with unfinished business from their former lives. Unfortunately for the socially awkward Bertram, the ghosts begin pestering him non-stop, seeking his help to finish their unfinished business. Bertram soon meets a recently-deceased businessman named Frank (Kinnear) who promises to get rid of the ghosts forever if he does him a favour. Frank's widow (Leoni) is about to be remarried, and Frank wants Bertram to break it up.


    Writers Koepp and John Kamps never bog down their screenplay with superfluous subplots, nor do they introduce a gaggle of characters merely for a laugh - the screenplay is instead remarkably sleek and efficient. Ghost Town is essentially a three-character piece: it focuses on Frank, Frank's widow Gwen, and the misanthropic Bertram who's inadvertently caught in the middle. The first half of this feature is a blend of amusing situations and droll dialogue as Bertram comes to terms with his new ability. A hilariously tempestuous relationship also develops between Bertram and the ghosts during this period which erodes the dentist's patience. Once the comedic and romantic elements are established, Koepp reaches for the heartstrings during a few poignant sequences. This mawkish aspect is surprisingly well-handed, although the tonal shift is a bit abrupt. During the final forty minutes, the screenplay unfortunately descends into a mire of familiar rom-com clichés.


    Bertram is a snobbish antisocial asshole, and from the outset it's obvious he'll be redeemed by the film's dénouement. The problem is that the movie is devised to be a romantic comedy, and it's difficult to embrace the romance if one half of the couple is unlikeable. Because the dentist is so horrible to Gwen initially, it's also difficult to accept the fact that she falls for Bertram...it's the quickest "frenemy" conversion in movie history.


    The core of the story is not otherworldly exploration, but Bertram slowly adjusting to the world of communication with other people. The ghosts are mainly a MacGuffin - they help Bertram realise his hollowness, and place the man on a path to redemption. Ghost Town thankfully avoids addressing concepts of spirituality and God, therefore never becoming needlessly preachy or provocative, and it's far more enjoyable as a result. However, the script stumbles in its depiction of ghosts - they can walk around on the solid floor, they can sit in seats, they can lean on walls and obviously have some form of physical presence...yet they can walk through things as well (Frank clearly moves from room to room without using a door). This aspect is ultimately confounding, and the duo of writers should've included a brief explanation. After all, explaining the abilities of ghosts in this sense is a concept overflowing with comedic possibilities.


    Ghost Town is ultimately elevated by the well-developed characters and the witty, well-written character interactions. Director Koepp handles the material with great skill, displaying a sleight-of-hand that can be funny, surprising or touching. The combination of Koepp's delicate direction and a wonderful soundtrack ensures that Ghost Town engages and entertains from the very first frame.


    Ricky Gervais pulls off the lead role with unique self-assurance. He is the exact opposite of a romantic lead - short, middle-aged, and ordinary in appearance - but he perfectly matches the character of Bertram Pincus. Gervais never forces his lines or overacts - his humour is instead dry and understated, yet caustic. Greg Kinnear is equally excellent, taking his sleazy, determined ghost role and infusing it with a convincing, regretful sense of humanity. Kinnear and Gervais play off each other wonderfully whenever they share the frame. Thanks to these endearing actors, a viewer can become comfortable with the concept of a man talking to ghosts, and therefore get comfortable with the characters. Alongside Gervais and Kinnear, there's a very watchable Téa Leoni.
    Kristen Wiig (who previously featured in Knocked Up) is given a tiny role as a meek surgeon, and provides some of the movie's biggest laughs. There's some impeccable back-and-forth between her and Gervais as she desperately tries to cover up gross malpractice.


    With Ghost Town, David Koepp grasps a familiar framework and does something remarkable with it. The writer/director's approach is understated yet devastatingly hilarious, and with a lot of heart to boot. Ghost Town may not burn up the box office, but this perfectly entertaining effort entertains and disarms with an impeccable mix of humour and pathos.
  • binky013
    July 2, 2009
    binky013
    Geez, does Greg Kinnear suck, or what? How the hell does he keep getting work?

    Sorry, I had to get that off my chest. The premise here is beautiful. Survive a near death experience, and all of a sudden you're eligible for communication with the dead who have unfinished bus

    ...( read more)iness here on earth. You become the liaison, finishing what needs to be finished in order for the dead to rest easily.

    Ah yes, it is a great premise, but this movie spends too little time exploring it. Mostly what we have is Ricky Gervais in a verbal sparring match with Kinnear. Did I say "match"? I use the term way too loosely. Kinnear couldn't deliver a pizza from the pan to his mouth, let alone any lines that demonstrate anything beyond rote memorization and over-practiced inappropriate gestures. Man he sucks hard. If only the powers that be had spent more time on Gervais and Tia Leone. The heart of the story missed -- a highly commercialized Hollywood tradition.
  • EarthlyAlien
    June 18, 2009
    EarthlyAlien
    Hospital Nurse: [after Bertram's colonoscopy] "Come back soon.
    Bertram Pincus: What a terrible thing to say in a hospital!"

    On paper, David Koepp's Ghost Town sounds like a hackneyed rehash of a premise that's been, well, done to death. But ask any c...( read more)omedian and they'll tell you: the power of the joke is in the telling. And where it counts, Ghost Town is very well told, indeed: the comic voice of Ricky Gervais comes through loud and clear, and Koepp's vision of a classical Hollywood comedy creates a confluence not only of great performers but of considerable wit and heart.

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    Through misuse, "heart" has become somewhat of a dirty word when it comes to Hollywood comedies, but Koepp cultivates sentiment that's well-earned and sincere, not canned. On the way there, Ghost Town is as funny as any film to come out this year. At its essence, it's Topper multiplied, with Gervais' misanthropic dentist Bertram Pincus seeing dead people all over Manhattan following a botched medical procedure (some of the film's funniest scenes involve the brilliant Kristin Wiig as a purposefully inarticulate surgeon and Michael-Leon Wooley as her in-house legal counsel). Greg Kinnear plays Frank Herlihy, an urbane ghost (he died with his tux on) who remains in limbo due to "unfinished" business with wife Gwen (Téa Leoni). Though Frank was a cad with a girl on the side, he's had time to reflect on the depth of his love for his wife, and fears she'll go through with her plans to marry a human-rights lawyer named Richard (Billy Campbell).

    Since Pincus is the only conduit ghosts have with the living world, he becomes a celeb to the lingering dead, and he can't hire security to keep them from hounding (aka haunting) him. Frank's force of personality puts him front and centre with Pincus, who Frank wants to use as spoiler for Gwen and Richard's engagement. As living nightmares go, it's a perfect storm for Pincus, who would rather sit at home alone with a crossword than have to suffer through a conversation with anyone ("It's not so much the crowds as the individuals in the crowds," he explains). Now he has demanding ghosts huddling 'round his bed and, worse, feelings stirring up from long-undisturbed depths. The beautiful Gwen - a mummy expert at the Metropolitam Museum - provides a strong incentive for Bertram to get back in the game.

    At 102 minutes, Ghost Town doesn't have enough time fully to develop the internal logic of a world of ghosts with no boundaries, but Koepp's approach is smart and literate, from the visual and thematic complements of the mummy trappings to the perfectly judged exchange that ends the picture. The fertile dialogue and humour emerges from strong characters with interesting foibles, performed by actors keen on both comedy and drama. Though they're an unlikely pair, Leoni and Gervais develop a credible chemistry that follows a funny and involving arc from her initial appraisal of him (well deserved) as "a little bit of a jerk." Fast-talking Kinnear uses his quirky expressiveness to full effect and downshifts as required into just the right tone of wistfulness. Kudos also to Indian actor Aasif Mandvi as Pincus' drily reactive workmate and an ensemble of ghosts led by Dana Ivey and Alan Ruck.

    Above all, Gervais (in his leading-man debut) once more proves himself a major talent, borderlining on genius. Without him, it's unlikely Ghost Town would pass the funny test. With him, the film's conversational rhythms are endlessly surprising, as Pincus falls into awkward conversational traps, makes misjudged attempts at being sociable, and generally despairs over the stupidity of his fate. Koepp's comic fantasy - of death and what happens next, of first impressions and getting deeper, of second chances - locates its own distinctive way of developing the age-old carpe diem theme. As Gwen eloquently puts it, "What happens matters. Maybe only to us, but it matters." If that's not a word to the wise, it's at least a word to the selfish and cold. And any film that can send out that word while being consistently funny deserves a wide audience.
  • ash10692
    June 9, 2009
    ash10692
    Ricky Gervais' transfer from TV to film was not a smooth one. Whereas he maintains a degree of humour, his presence jars with the american cast, most members of the latter not being too funny anyway. Poor.
  • xXxHarleyxQuinnxXx
    May 31, 2009
    xXxHarleyxQuinnxXx
    accually quite good! British actor in my opinion are better comedic actors than half of americas! i just love them (monty phython is my favortie!)
  • eiskrap
    November 20, 2009
    eiskrap
    Ricky "It's no so much the crowd, as the individuals within the crowd" Gervais sees dead people, almost dies twice and falls in love.
  • ythelastman89
    November 18, 2009
    ythelastman89
    I really liked that this was a drama with comedy thrown in rather than a comedy trying to mix in drama to seem important. Ricky Gervais was a perfect choice for a character who hates everyone because even though he's an asshole, he's lovable. I feel that it was a little cliched t...( read more)hough and it really suffered from unoriginality.
  • dfduncan
    November 17, 2009
    dfduncan
    Having seen the trailers for this movie, I was expecting a simple comedy. Instead it is a romantic comedy -- a genre I don't generally care for. But like such classics as Bringing up Baby or Send Me No Flowers, this is a romantic comedy I really enjoyed. It is a surprisingly touc...( read more)hing and serious themed story for a comedy fantasy.
  • Nenebelle
    November 14, 2009
    Nenebelle
    Recommended by DrLappos and eh4ever2000.

    This was actually quite good,i really was not interested in watching it but now i am glad i did.
  • teeja85
    November 7, 2009
    teeja85
    Ugodno sam se iznenadila kad sam pogledala ovaj film. Volim radove od Gervaisa i ovdje je njegova uloga najbolja. Preporucam.

View All Ghost Town Reviews

Critic Reviews

September 19, 2008
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

It's enlivened by the performance of Ricky Gervais as Bertram Pincus, a latter-day Scrooge for whom the living are no less annoying than the dead. full review

September 19, 2008
Claudia Puig, USA Today

Sure, it's a light comedy, but it effectively achieves what it sets out to do: amuse us and tug on our heartstrings. And best of all, it's written, directed and acted with intelligence and wit. full review

September 19, 2008
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

Leoni and Gervais are wonderful together, as much for the ways in which they wobble against each other as for the ways they ultimately mesh. full review

September 19, 2008
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

With lesser talent in front of the camera or a heavier hand behind it, the film might have crashed with a thud. full review

September 19, 2008
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

An innovative romantic comedy that is a mixture of British spice and American sugar. full review

September 19, 2008
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Gervais, a British actor whose work on television is legion, has at last found a leading role in a feature, and it's a good one. full review

September 19, 2008
Kurt Loder, MTV

...there are no real surprises. But the incomparable Gervais, buoyed by a sharp supporting cast, lends the potentially cloying story a nice vinegary tang. full review

September 18, 2008
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

The fall movie season achieves comic liftoff thanks to Ricky Gervais, a master of deadpan hilarity playing a dentist who sees dead people. full review

September 18, 2008
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

It makes good on the cliché 'it'll make you laugh; it'll make you cry' by providing clever comedy and stock sentimentality without feeling tired. full review

September 18, 2008
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine

Gervais's steady stream of cutting bon mots and regular bouts of indignant stammering keep Ghost Town more dry and sharp than broad and squishy. full review

View more Ghost Town reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments

  • ghosttownoutreach
    August 1, 2008
    ghosttownoutreach
    Here's the official Ghost Town movie website: http://www.ghosttownmovie.com
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