‘Ghost Town’ | 3 stars
We knew Ricky Gervais was a funny fellow.
But who would have guessed that the round-faced creator and star of the over-the-pond version of “The Office” has the makings of a romantic leading man?
“Ghost Town” is a blisteringly funny and pleasantly sentimental romantic comedy with a winning blend of dark humor and heart.
It may not be quite in the league of “Groundhog Day” or “Defending Your Life,” but the combination of the right cast (Gervais, Greg Kinnear, Tea Leoni) with a nifty screenplay and solid direction (both by David Koepp) makes this one of the highlights of the fall movie season.
Bertram Pincus (Gervais) is a brusque misanthrope who embodies our worst fears about dentists. He has a busy Manhattan practice, and he must be a wiz with a drill because his chairside manner is atrocious.
Bertram doesn’t think much of his fellow man. He’s supercilious and contemptuous of just about everyone — allowing Gervais to deliver some of the funniest, gaspingly rude put-downs heard in ages.
Bertram’s life changes after he awakens from surgery and discovers that he can now see dead people. Ghosts are everywhere, and because he’s the only one who can communicate with them, the spirits want the dentist to pass messages to the living.
For a man who relishes solitude, being saddled with a dozen morose ghosts who can show up at his bedside unsummoned is perfectly hellish. His surgeon (“SNL’s” Kristen Wiig, very funny in a brief role) finally admits that Bertram died under anesthesia and was revived after several minutes. That explains how he became clairvoyant, but it doesn’t help get rid of the condition.
The most persistent of Bertram’s ghosts is Frank Herlihy (Kinnear), a businessman who died beneath a city bus. During his life Frank routinely cheated on his wife, Gwen (Leoni), but now that she’s about to remarry he’s suddenly all possessive. He coerces Bertram into scuttling this new romance, and it doesn’t take a degree in screenwriting to foresee that the antisocial dentist will fall for Frank’s former Missus.
What does surprise is the ease with which Gervais delineates his character’s arc from egocentric boor to ill-equipped lover to, finally, something of a hero.
You could accuse “Ghost Town” of being assembled from parts of other movies (not least of which is “A Christmas Carol”). True enough, but that doesn’t take away from its pleasures.
The movie works as a comedy, as a curious glimpse into the afterlife (the dead wear whatever they had on when they passed — which explains Frank’s tuxedo and the naked guy who keeps showing up), as a buddy picture (Gervais and Kinnear engage in some world-class bickering) and a love story (Leoni has no peer in portraying vaguely ditzy middle-aged women with a touch of tragedy).
In short, “Ghost Town” works so well you just want to sit back and say “Ahhhh.”
‘GHOST TOWN’ ★★★
Director: David Koepp
Cast: Ricky Gervais, Tea Leoni, Greg Kinnear
Rated: PG-13 for some strong language, sexual humor and drug references
Running time: 1:42
butler’s favorite funny ghosts
Who says death isn’t a laughing matter? Many memorable screen comedies are also ghost stories:
•“Topper”: Socialites Cary Grant and Constance Bennett are high-spirited bon vivants who continue partying after death. This 1937 screwball classic spawned a TV series in the ’50s.
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| Robert W. Butler, The Star
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