Ghost Town DVD Review

"Ghost Town" reviews

DVD

Ghost Town

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2009-03-06 10:00:28

Provider

DVD Review

Ricky Gervais gets his first lead Hollywood role. A supernatural rom com that presses all the right buttons - including when you click on the extras!

Bertram Pincus is an obnoxious New York dentist. He likes his work, but not his clients or colleagues, or for that matter anyone! When he has to go for some routine surgery it transpires he died for seven minutes during the operation. The after effect is he can see dead people and becomes mobbed by New York's undead, all of whom have requests for him to resolve matters they never had the chance to when they were alive. It's the irrepressible (despite being recently deceased) Frank Herlihy that sticks with him and offers up a deal that if Pincus will stop his wife, Gwen remarrying Frank will get the rest of the ghouls to leave him be.

Pincus agrees, but then his problems really start as he becomes enamoured by Gwen. With his poor person skills it makes for a hilarious, but rocky road to success and the chance of peace for Pincus.

Gervais excels. There's plenty of Ricky in the character of Pincus, but his deadpan delivery and timing makes the film much more than it was just written on the page. He has a host of foibles and ticks for the role making Pincus into a potential classic comedy character up there with Peter Sellars' Inspector Clouseau - his gag reflex alone will have you on the floor. Greg Kinnear as Herlihy is a great straight man to Pincus and Tea Leoni loads up her slightly skittish style to play Gwen. Director Koepp keeps the pacing high and the effects subtle to let you forget about the supernatural and focus on the rom and the com.

Make sure you catch the DVD extras too. Gervais behind the scenes is just as good. The gag reel will have you in stitches and alone easily worth getting this DVD for.