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Gervais and Koepp Saves Ghost Town |
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Written by STEVIE STYLES
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Friday, 26 December 2008 |
Ghost Town is a surprisingly good romantic comedy that doesn’t go for the cheap laughs. Bertram Pincus (Ricky Gervais) is a dentist that hates people. After a surgical procedure that left him dead for seven minutes, Pincus awakes to find out he can see dead people. Pincus is already not a fan of the living and soon learns he equally hates the dead as well. The recently deceased Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear) finds Pincus to help him breakup his widow Gwen’s (Tea Leoni) new fiancée. So is the premise of the film that is coming to blu-ray.
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Ghost Town
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 Entertainment
 Art
 Special Features
Directed by David Koepp
Written by David Koepp and John Kamps
Starring Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear, Téa Leoni, Aasif Mandvi, Billy Campbell, Alan Ruck, Kristen Wiig
Rated PG-13
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On the surface, the premise seems like another cheesy comedy about people seeing ghosts. Yet Ghost Town is more then another Ghost rip-off. Ricky Gervais’s portrayal of the grumpy loner Manhattan dentist is perfect and is what makes this film from going into a mediocre Hollywood romantic comedy. The other VIP in this film is the director and co-writer of the film, David Koepp. An accomplished screenwriter with such acclaimed film credits such as Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible, Spider-Man, the last Indiana Jones film and the upcoming Angels and Demons, Koepp is at the top of his game helming the director’s chair. Koepp had mix results directing suspenseful thrillers in the past but with Ghost Town, he has proven he can find the right balance shooting a comedy.
Ricky Gervais takes his first leap onto the big screen as the lead in a major feature film. The results are successful and his dry deliveries seem to mainly be responsible for saving the film. Yet, the supporting cast needs some accolades as well. Greg Kinnear is perfect as the charming but wife cheater Frank Herlihy and Tea Leoni is equally strong as the love interest.
Along with the feature, we have a few bonus features for you to enjoy as well. First up is a great commentary track with the direct and actor. Koepp and Gervais are great giving us constant insight in the making of the film. The commentary works because they don’t take themselves too serious yet they are giving us some little nuggets along the way. The three featurettes are kind of throw aways but are still worth checking out. The one entitled “Some People Can Do It” is about how hard it is for Gervais to keep a straight face through a scene. His laugh is so infectious it’s worth watching for it alone.
Although Ghost Town may be the romantic comedy equivalent of Ghost, it also has a nod to the old classic Topper movie where the ghost is always there looking over your shoulder. Ghost Town is a film that’s humor is very dry and catches you by surprise and it is there that makes the film transcend the Hollywood convention.
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