In the middle of “Ghost Town”, Bertram Pincus (Ricky Gervais) remarks after having his gag reflex tested by a dog and air spray, “Let’s get some air, with some oxygen in it.” That is what this movie feels like: air, without the oxygen. Sure, Gervais (from Britain’s version of “The Office,” “Extras”) delivered the line perfectly with his serious deadpan and brilliant sense of comedic timing, but still, this movie could not be saved from being haunted by the past. While the movie is sometimes funny and charming, it never really picks up
Betram Pincus prefers to live life alone. He does not like other people and has no real relationships. He won’t congratulate his co-worker on having a new baby, and he is known as the neighbor who steals taxi cabs from others. After leaving the hospital for a colonoscopy with the scene- stealing Kristin Wiig (“Saturday Night Live”), Betram learns he has died for seven minutes, which gives him the ability to see ghosts everywhere he looks. The ghosts, who have unfinished business on earth, haunt Pincus and ask him for help. One ghost in particular, Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear, “Feast of Love”) promises Pincus the ghosts will go away if he can break up his widow Gwen (Tea Leoni, “Fun With Dick and Jane”) and her new fiance. Pincus needs to repair his already damaged relationship with Gwen and ends up falling in love with her in the process. But with Frank talking into Pincus’ ear all the time and other ghosts still haunting him, Pincus needs to learn about himself and others before he finds love.
Ghost Town was written by David Koepp (“Spider Man,” “Jurassic Park,” “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”) and John Kamps (“Zathura: A Space Adventure”), a partnership which yields less than heavenly results. The film gives the viewer the idea that two guys simply watched “The Sixth Sense” and decided to give it a comedic spin, minus the blood and adding the fact that everyone knows they are dead. The script offers a witty line here and there but never gives anything new. In fact, the obvious debt to “The Sixth Sense” makes the film entirely predictable. Koepp — also the director — films a script with some funny lines and static camera angles, creating a film that pales in comparison to its inspiration.
The single accomplishment of this movie is providing Ricky Gervais with his first leading role. While Gervais makes an extremely unlikeable person a character everyone can appreciate, he never tries overtly to be funny, which makes him hysterical. Nearly every line his character says makes you chuckle. Gervais skyrocketed to fame when he created “The Office” for BBC, playing David Brent, who later became Michael Scott in the American version. However, in this movie, Gervais doesn’t make use of his characteristic energy, which prevents him from accessing all of his comedic talent. The dramatic contrast between Gervais’ portrayal of the characters David Brent and Bertram Pincus is extremely reminiscent of a younger, Python-esque John Cleese, who was just as versatile as Gervais.
Although “Ghost Town” was an ironic choice for a first major film role, as this cliche high-concept romantic comedy seems perfect to spoof on his second BBC show “Extras,” (which is brilliant) one thing is for sure: Ricky Gervais has arrived in Hollywood, ready to revolutionize comedy.
The only problem with Gervais’ low energy style is his costars’ effort to overcompensate. Tea Leoni comes off as very harsh while attempting to be sweet. Yes, Pincus makes her laugh, but there is really no chemistry between them because Leoni never lets it happen. The worst though, is the usually decent Greg Kinnear, who completely overacts and rarely delivers any funny lines. Because neither of these actors could handle Gervais’ unique and brilliant style of acting, they overact and give nothing to each other in their scenes. It’s as if they did not trust Gervais, but should have.
In the end, this movie was funny on and off, but it took a used premise and a dated feel to create a bland film. And while this film won’t necessarily hurt the careers of Kinnear and Leoni, “Ghost Town” marks the beginning of a long career for Gervais.
2 stars out of 5
