Ghost Town

Director: David Koepp
Cast: Ricky Gervais, Tea Leoni, Billy Campbell, Aasif Mandvi and Greg Kinnear
DVD release: 2 July 2009
Rated: M

Ghost of a chance

I have to admit I hate going to the dentist, so having one as the protagonist of a movie is a little disconcerting. Having the very funny Ricky Gervais as said dentist does help though. Despite his standing in Britain, Gervais remains something of a cult figure in the US and, to some extent, here too. While I’m the first to acknowledge his particular brand of humour is something of an acquired taste, Ghost Town has enough in the way of decent laughs – and even a little insight – to make it worthwhile.

The central premise of a living person being able to see ghosts is nothing new. What is new is that instead of being trapped in the thriller or horror genres, it’s been lifted out to provide the basis for this amiable, if light, comedy. For the most part, it works and provides plenty of funny moments. Like many such films though, it tends to run out of steam a bit towards the end when writer-director David Koepp slugs the audience with a fair dose of saccharine.

Gervais plays Bertram Pincus DDS, a rather anti-social dentist who’d rather stuff his patients’ mouths with cotton wool than have a chat with them. He doesn’t even like his fellow dentist Dr Prashar (Aasif Mandvi) much. Unsurprisingly, he lives alone. But Pincus’s recurring bowel problems cause him to seek treatment at a local hospital where he insists on having a general anaesthetic for a routine colonoscopy. As is the way of these things, he “dies” for 7 minutes due to complications with the anaesthetic. When he wakes, he finds – much to his dismay – that he can see ghosts. These spectral manifestations all want him to help them with some unfinished business. The most persistent of them is Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear), a philanderer who, it seems, is still in love with his widow, Gwen (Tea Leoni). Gwen is dating human rights lawyer Richard (Billy Campbell), and this is irking Frank no end. He makes a deal with Pincus – break up the relationship and he won’t be bothered by ghosts any more.

Koepp and co-writer John Kamps squeeze as many laughs as they can out of the I-see-dead-people scenario. Some of these moments are hilarious, although the majority are more likely to produce a smile rather than a belly-laugh. Sadly however they can’t sustain it and lapse into some pretty desperate and schmaltzy stuff towards the end of the film.

There’s nothing particularly deep about the film’s message, which can basically be summed up as “lighten up and stop being so self-absorbed”. It will come as no surprise to find that many of the characters experience an epiphany of one sort or another before the final credits roll. Many of these are predictable, but there’s enough acuity in the script to save it from being entirely banal.

Since he has the lion’s share of the screen time, your reaction to this film will depend largely on what you think of Ricky Gervais’ performance. Personally – after getting over the fact he was playing a dentist – I liked him in the role. His slightly smarmy and rather impish manner is fairly endearing, and thankfully, he shows enough chops to allow his character to grow as the film goes on. Greg Kinnear doesn’t have a lot to do as the conniving Frank; who becomes essentially the straight man to Gervais’ comic. Tea Leoni provides good support as Gwen, as do Aasif Mandvi and Billy Campbell in smaller roles. Look out though for Kristen Wiig and Michael-Leon Wooley, who become a hilarious hospital double-act in two key scenes.

Although it’s no classic of modern cinema, Ghost Town is one of those likeable little movies that come along every so often. It’s inoffensive, enjoyable while it lasts and even has some decent writing at times. So while you’ll probably have forgotten about it within 24 hours of pushing the eject button, it’s nonetheless a passable diversion.

David Edwards

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