Ghost Town
Ghost Town should’ve capitalized on the spectral tone of the film and opened up closer to Halloween. Instead it opens up in the doldrums of September, barely making a peep in the b.o. chart, and sinking from sight as if it was one of the ghosts who fulfilled their wish. That’s too bad as there is some charm found within this movie.
Ricky Gervais, and his British shtick which he perfected on shows such as Extra and The UK Office, is the leading man to try and right the wrongs of ill fated Tea Leoni and Greg Kinnear. Gervais is supposed to make the ending to Leoni and Kinnear’s marriage final so that Kinnear can join the great shmucks in heaven or hell or somewhere in the afterlife that is not on Earth. Gervais is a crack up and his wit is perfect for the role of a dentist who wants nothing more than to be left alone. I imagine this will be the way some dentists imagine their humor to be. You really can’t be belly-laughing or guffawing while your dentist is drilling teeth. You can only tee-hee and force a smile through the fingers in your mouth.
I would watch anything with Tea Leoni in it, and I did. She’s one of the more unsung comediennes that never get the right role. She’s almost there, but her Egytologist doesn’t really register until her heart is broken. Someone save her and make her smile. Perhaps the dentist.
Kinnear is Kinnear. Smug. He gets Gervais to be his mouthpiece to reconcile with his ex. You can bet Kinnear is going to crack smart on Gervais. It was fun to watch American comedy versus British comedy. With Tea Leoni right in the middle. I was waiting for Rita Mae to show up or The Specials to sing their song, but it wouldn’t have happened. Too bad it may have lively up the scene.
While not a perfect romantic comedy (did the courting couple even kiss once?), it has its charms. Don’t expect too much, and you get not enough. Ghost Town was just as ephemeral as the dead guys in it.
3 of 5 stars.
8 Replies to “Ghost Town”
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I really dug this as a sweet romantic comedy and felt it was above the usual. Besides it’s got my boy Gervais from the REAL Office.
Oh, I’d give it 4 stars just for Gervais.
i wanted to see it coz the trailer was ok, but i feared that it was going to be the 2008 version of RDJ’s Heart and Souls. it was pretty different except for two things: the part where he had to do something to redeem these souls and its a love story.
I’m not so sure that it is a romantic comedy. Did they kiss?
but its still a comedy leading to romance. =)
I’m being serious. Did they kiss? Because I don’t remember?
It’s not about the story. Isn’t there only 3 stories ever told?
It’s all in the telling is why it felt a little different then the average Romantic Comedy. For instance, Browser doesn’t even know if they kissed.
I know she said the word “dick”.
Yes. I felt happy in the end. In fact that was a nice ending: “I can help you smile.” That line is so loaded because it comes from a dentist.
But did they kiss? I don’t remember if they do which is the strangest for a romantic comedy and romance in general.