Ghost Town - Movie Review

Ghost Town, a romantic comedy starring Tea Leoni, Greg Kinnear, and Ricky Gervais just released on DVD and Blu-ray on December 28. Bertram Pincus (Ricky Gervais) is a dentist whose people skills are almost completely lacking. Worse, this is almost a conscious decision on his part as if the hurts of others are an annoyance in his life. However, when Pincus dies unexpectedly during a colonoscopy to be revived after seven minutes, his life undergoes a serious transformation. Pincus wakes up to discover that he now has the ability to see ghosts, and they all want something from him.

Once the ghosts realize Pincus can see and hear them, they begin to follow him, especially Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear) who pesters him into breaking up the impending marriage of his widow Gwen (Téa Leoni). Apparently her fiance is not a good fellow, and Herlihy tells Pincus if he'll break up the marriage, Herlihy will get the other ghosts to stop bothering Pincus.

The movie starts off slowly, so slowly I actually dropped off to sleep during it. However, I woke up for the second half of the movie and didn't feel like I had missed much. If the movie revealed why Gwen's fiance was a bad guy or why Pincus was such a jerk, I missed it. I did, however, find the last of the movie to be pleasant and even sweet as Pincus comes to realize he is headed nowhere with his attitude and is loosing his one tenuous chance at happiness and companionship with Gwen if he doesn't change. He discovers the truth of Einstein's words: "Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile."

The movie is derivative of "Ghost," as well as "A Christmas Carol," and it is slow moving in parts, but I found the quiet desperation of the departed to set things right to be evocative, and I thought Pincus' transformation was believable and touching. I think there was some mild language, but if there was anything really offensive, I slept through it. I find myself giving it a sleepy thumbs up just for the sweetness of the story as Pincus, much like Ebenzer Scrooge, begins to discover what he's been missing in life.

Running Time: 102 minutes

PG 13

Special Features:

Commentary by David Koepp and Ricky Gervais

The Making of Ghost Town

Ghostly Effects

Some People Can Do It

Gag Reel

More Movie Reviews by Kathryn E. Darden

Also see:

Top Ten Most Amazing True Ghost Ship Stories