Ghost Town (2008)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

David Koepp

Writers (WGA):

David Koepp (written by) &
John Kamps (written by)

Release Date:

19 September 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

Tagline:

He sees dead people... and they annoy him.

Plot:

Bertram Pincus, is a man whose people skills leave much to be desired. When Pincus dies unexpectedly, but is miraculously revived after seven minutes, he wakes up to discover that he now has the annoying ability to see ghosts.

Plot Keywords:

Ghost | Dog | New York City | Penis | Medical Receptionist

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Greg Kinnear	...	Frank Herlihy
Jordan Carlos	...	Young Husband
Dequina Moore	...	Young Wife
Joseph Badalucco Jr.	...	Accident Bystander #1 (as Joe Badalucco)
Brian Hutchison	...	Accident Bystander #2
Tyree Michael Simpson	...	Sneezy Cop (as Tyre Simpson)
Julia K. Murney	...	Sneezy Lady
Ricky Gervais	...	Bertram Pincus D.D.S.
Claire Lautier	...	Upper East Side Lady
Aasif Mandvi	...	Dr. Prashar
Bridget Moloney	...	Receptionist
Raymond J. Lee	...	Greenpeace Guy (as Raymond Lee)
Joey Mazzarino	...	Food Delivery Guy
Brad Oscar	...	Day Doorman
Kathleen Landis	...	Resident

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some strong language, sexual humor and drug references.

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44426) | UK:12A | Australia:M | Ireland:12A | Sweden:7 | Sweden:Btl | Finland:K-7 | Singapore:PG | New Zealand:M | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

The New York Times crossword puzzle seen within the first 10 minutes when Dr. Pincus (Ricky Gervais) first comes home is the puzzle from Monday, October 1, 2007 (Created by Allan E. Parrish).

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): At the end of the movie, Gwen came to visit Dr. Pincus in his office. The doctor was just finished with a patient, who then left the room. The doctor picked up a few of the now unsterile and contaminated instruments with his bare hands which would not be done without gloves on. Furthermore, he invited Gwen to sit in the chair so he could look at her sore tooth without first cleaning the room and putting out sterile instruments.

Quotes:

Surgeon: Everybody dies.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "At the Movies: (#6.1)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

The Heart of Life

Ghost Town

Ghost Town is a new film that sounds like it either is a western, or a horror film, but it is actually neither. Instead it is a romantic comedy that has ghosts in it. The story revolves around a socially awkward and obnoxious dentist named Bertram Pincus, who after a medical procedure can see ghosts and one in particular named Frank, who tries to set Bertram up with his now single wife named Gwen. Frank coaches Bertram along, but ultimately to get Gwen to fall for him, Bertram, will have to shed his icy image and become more of a caring and helpful person. Ghost Town opened to really good reviews pretty much all around, but unfortunately it is doing really poorly at the box office. I think this is a romantic comedy that will appeal to a really large number of people because it is a feel good film, has some really good comic moments and because of the good performances, especially by Ricky Gervais who plays Bertram. The premise of the film is almost like The Sixth Sense meets Cyrano de Bergerac, but at the same time it also does have a lot of originality and some neat plot twists and turns. A lot of the comedies that have come out this year and that have been successful were more or less cruder more adult fare comedies, and while I enjoyed a lot of them personally, I realized that they would definitely not be for everyone. Ghost Town on the other hand will work for both crowds because it is still very entertaining and funny, but not overly crass, crude or risky enough to prevent more conservative viewers, or even kids from seeing it. I think a lot of people will like the romantic part of the film and I think a lot of people will also enjoy Ricky Gervais as Bertram and just how un likable he is and how funny he is to watch. The subplot with the ghosts is also a neat twist to the film that adds a lot of laughs and originality to the film as well. This is one of the best feel good comedies of the year, that like I said, will appeal to many different people and I think once it is rediscovered on DVD that it will become a sleeper hit because of how good it is and I can really seeing this being a crowd favourite and for obvious reasons because of the great performances and the feel good yet funny script. This is definitely one to see if it is still playing in theatres near you, or rent it in five months when it hits video shelves.