Ghost Town
Movie Review
"Ghost Town"
Review by Eric D. Snider
Grade: B
Rating: PG-13
Released: Friday, September 19, 2008
Directed by:
Cast:
At first you think "Ghost Town" is about this jerk named Frank, played by supreme jerk-player Greg Kinnear. We meet him as he's on the phone, chewing out his Realtor for getting his wife mixed up with his girlfriend. ("Does 'Amber' sound like the wife of a man my age?!") Next thing you know, he's dead, his spirit stuck wandering Manhattan, still wearing the tuxedo he had on at the time of his demise.
But no, "Ghost Town" is actually about a dentist named Bertram Pincus, though I don't believe anyone in the movie ever calls him by anything other than his last name. He's played by Ricky Gervais, whom you know from "The Office" and "Extras," and Pincus is a variation on those brilliant characters: snarky, discourteous, and wholly misanthropic, yet also very funny -- not just to the audience but occasionally even to the other characters. It turns out he's the kind of misanthrope who can really make you laugh once you get to know him.
Pincus dies for a few minutes while undergoing a minor hospital procedure, and when he comes back he has the unique ability to see and hear the hundreds of ghosts, like Frank the jerk, who haunt New York. As usual with these stories, the ghosts have unfinished business for which Pincus' help is required; the twist is that Pincus has no interest in helping anyone, living or dead, for any reason.
[To read the rest of the review, please visit Cinematical.]
Grade: B
Rated PG-13, two F-words, moderate profanity
1 hr., 43 min.
Copyright © Eric D. Snider.
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This item has 2 comments
September 21, 2008 at 7:10 am
Saw this yesterday & loved it!! I've loved Ricky Gervais since "The Office", & "Extras" just proved how genius he really is. The whole theater was laughing at this movie, & it ended up being a sweet movie. Definitely going into my dvd collection when it comes out.
September 22, 2008 at 4:14 am
I too love Ricky Gervais, and for anyone who loved him on 'The Office' and 'Extras' like I did should look into his podcasts and old radio show with Stephen Merchant. I just discovered them recently, and I've been listening to it nonstop ever since.