Year: 2008
Director: David Koepp
Whose Netflix Queue: Jon's
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Allie's Review:
Rating - 4 out of 5
I'm not a huge fan of British humor... in fact, I mostly hate it. All of it makes me think of Benny Hill.Ugh. Even though it is the original and the US version is one of my favorite tv shows of all time, I didn't like the British version of "The Office" at all, so I wasn't dying to see "Ghost Town" (both star Ricky Gervais).
In "Ghost Town," Gervais' character, Bertram Pincus, is a rude, narcissistic dentist who hates people. He just does not like people. He goes into the hospital for a medical test and dies during the procedure. The doctors bring him back to life, but for some reason he can now see ghosts – spirits that have unfinished business and are still hanging around. He is now pestered by several ghosts wanting his help. The most aggressive ghost is a man wants Pincus to prevent his widow from marrying a new guy who is kind of a douche bag. Pincus agrees to try to stop the relationship, mostly get the ghosts to leave him alone, and decides he'll make the widow fall in love with him instead. Unfortunately for Pincus, he's mostly a jerk and he is a hard sell. Through some really funny scenes, he and the woman form a quirky relationship, and both grow to love each other. Pincus hasn't really changed from his self centered ways though, and he looses her. He finally learns that life isn't worth living without other people, and helps a lot of the other ghosts solve their unfinished business. This was one of the best parts of the whole movie. You could see a real change in his character. In the end, he pretty much gets the girl, allowing the ghost to move on.
The movie was very creative in that even though it dealt with such serious topics, it was really light hearted and very funny. The only thing that wasn't completely believable was how quickly Pincus and the woman fell in love. I wish they would have taken a bit more time to develop their relationship. At times, it felt more like a good friendship rather than a romance. Overall though, I really liked the movie... and I now think Ricky Gervais is quite funny.
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Jon's Review:
Rating - 5 out of 5
Ricky Gervais, (creator of The Office, and star of the UK version) in his first leading film role, plays a misanthropic dentist who inadvertently gains the ability to see and communicate with the recently deceased. As it turns out, they all have unresolved issues with the still-living, and he's the only one who can help. This film was very funny and also at times very touching as we watch Dr. Pincus' (Gervais) antisocial facade melt away as he falls in love with Tea Leoni's character. I loved Gervais' acting in this film and sincerely hope it leads to more! Almost as funny as the film itself is the outtakes reel, which revealed Gervais to be very giggle-prone.
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