Ghost Town (2008)

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

US TV Schedule:

Wed. Dec. 30

3:10 AM

MAX

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:

Factual errors: In the elevator talking to Gwen, Dr. Pincus told her to check the mummy for something he saw on the slide show: "...some bone loss on the upper left mandibular gumline." If there was bone loss on the upper jaw, it would be the maxilla. The correct verbiage should be "...some bone loss on the upper left maxillary gumline." The mandible is the lower jaw. Additionally, upon examination of the mummy in a later scene, the upper RIGHT side of the mouth was examined.

Quotes:

[about the mummified remains of Pepe]
Bertram Pincus: They even put his penis in a big jar. I mean why... why would they do that?
Gwen: Well... you saw that penis; it wouldn't have fit in a little jar.

Movie Connections:

References "I Love Lucy" (1951)

Soundtrack:

The Heart of Life

Not exactly "laugh out loud funny", but very well done.

While this movie is comedy, it's not really a major "laugh-fest" or anything - but it is very well done and interesting to watch. If you're a fan of Ricky Gervais, he's only an actor here, not the writer or producer - so don't expect lots of Gervais-inspired humor. However, do expect a clever and charming romantic comedy.

Basically, the movie is about a dentist (Gervais) who temporarily dies during a routine medical procedure. This experience gives him the ability to see all the dead people who are milling about. One of them is resourceful enough to get Gervais' character to interfere with his former wife's engagement ... and the story progresses from there.

Gervais puts in a great performance as the socially repugnant dentist. Unpleasant as he is, he's fun to watch and you want to see what his every next move will be. Greg Kinnear (who plays the ghost pressuring Gervais) does a good job too; he's pretty believable in his role. The other characters are more or less one-dimensional and not quite as interesting. However, together with Gervais and Kinnear, everyone more or less of shines.

While the story is a bit predictable, the interesting characters, charming nature of the tale and all-around quality of movie-making make this film worth a watch.