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Bookmark this pageGhost Town (2008)
Director: David Koepp
Movie review
From Time Out London
Before ‘Ghost Town’ was released in the US, writer-director David Koepp suggested that he had doubts whether Ricky Gervais would be able to carry the project. It’s an odd remark, especially when Gervais is the last person who should be blamed for the film’s failings. Assuming his usual guise as the jittery, acid-tongued malcontent, he excels as a dentist with the Groucho-esque moniker of Bertram Pincus. He dies for seven minutes during a colonoscopy and, on leaving hospital, is able to see members of NYC’s dead who have business to attend to in the land of the living. The spirit of a city slicker played by Greg Kinnear railroads him into stopping his graceful other half (Téa Leoni) marrying a smug lawyer, but when Pincus gets to know her, well, you can guess the rest…It’s not unlikeable – but no effort has been made to make anything more of the Scrooge-comes-good model. Gervais’s sweetly pathetic performance masks many of the failings of the by-the-book quirky direction and workaday script, but Leoni is decent as the romantic foil and Kinnear’s slimy-everyman act works well. Enjoyable as it is to see Gervais trying (and often succeeding) to make something of the mediocre dialogue, it’s not enough.
Author: David Jenkins
Time Out London Issue 1992: October 23-29, 2008
User reviews of this film
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- Gemma areton said...
- Posted on Nov 07 2008 16:23 I loved this movie it was really funny!!!!!!!!! I stared in James bond so any coments feel free to leave some... James Bond was a good movie to star inn and was very fun....
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- Gemma areton said...
- Posted on Nov 07 2008 16:23 I loved this movie it was really funny!!!!!!!!! I stared in James bond so any coments feel free to leave some... James Bond was a good movie to star inn and was very fun....
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- 4th of cheese said...
- Posted on Nov 03 2008 19:20 is it on the 29th?? cause umm i want to go with a m8
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- 4th of cheese said...
- Posted on Nov 03 2008 19:20 is it on the 29th?? cause umm i want to go with a m8
- Report as inappropriate
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- 4th of cheese said...
- Posted on Nov 03 2008 19:20 is it on the 29th?? cause umm i want to go with a m8
- Report as inappropriate
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- bob// said...
- Posted on Nov 03 2008 15:45 SHOCKING
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- bob said...
- Posted on Nov 03 2008 15:44 good film worth £3 from my cinima
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- Abi said...
- Posted on Nov 02 2008 14:37 great movie Ricky Gervais funny as usual the only thing that happened that should of been different was the ending that evey otgher movie always has. but well worth seeibng going for third time next week
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- Anonymous said...
- Posted on Nov 02 2008 12:26 Very funny, Gervais's character is hilarious. Definetly worth my time.
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- bigmeup said...
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Posted on Nov 02 2008 08:16
This film is basically a film-length version of `Ghost Whisperer` with a formulaic love-story overlay. It is NOT hilarious (in an Airplane sort of way), but it IS witty (like Notting Hill). There are no laugh-out moments, especially if this film is watched in Northampton, where the clientele appear to be mostly into toilet, or juvenile humour (great lovers of Mama Mia, for instance!)
Ghost Town is a conventional `romcom` with a very predictable plot line. For all that, if one is prepared to check in one’s brain at the door, its an enjoyable film in an easy-going, non-hassaldrous sort of way. The current rating of 3 stars seems about fair, even though I am giving it a four-star rating because I really liked the Gervais character (when it was at its most abrasive). - Report as inappropriate
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- Emily said...
- Posted on Nov 01 2008 14:25 goin to see it tonight hope its gd lmao
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- gemma08 said...
- Posted on Oct 31 2008 23:46 very funny film. definitely worth seeing.
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- critique said...
- Posted on Oct 31 2008 12:29 Enjoyable comedy, carried to a great extent by Gervais.
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- Guess Who said...
- Posted on Oct 31 2008 10:55 Greart comedy, worth watching !!!
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- nitin jaswal said...
- Posted on Oct 31 2008 07:55 Still in the phase of coming out of the cupboard, but Gervais is speeding things up form me. He looks rather dashing in his dentist outfit ! ;) x
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Cast & crew
Director: David Koepp
Cast: Ricky Gervais, Téa Leoni, Greg Kinnear, Aasif Mandvi, Kristen Wiig full cast
Genre(s): Comedy
Rated: 12A
Duration: 102 mins
UK Release: Oct 24 2008
US Release: Sep 19 2008
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