Ghost Town
He sees dead people... and they annoy him.
Bertram Pincus (Ricky Gervais) 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. Even worse, they all want something from him, particularly Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear), who pesters him into breaking up the impending marriage of his widow Gwen (Téa Leoni). That puts Pincus squarely in the middle of a triangle, with spirited results.
Member Reviews
Funny with a plot that hangs together well. - Filmaholic
If you have not yet seen Ghost Town, it is well worth watching.
Ricky Gervais gives a very funny performance. The interplay between Greg Kinnear and himself just works.
I did not know what to expect, and let me tell you that this will be a film you will not mind watching again and again.
A Must See!A Nice, Funny Ghostly Romance - revsdd
Essentially, this movie features a good performance from Ricky Gervais as Dr. Pincus, a not particularly nice dentist who hates dealing with people (and who says he became a dentist because he can work with people who have cotton stuffed in their mouths and therefore can't talk to him.) This unlikable (and essentially very sad) character has ironically a certain likable quality from the start thanks to Gervais' work, and the movie turns truly amusing (as opposed to downright funny) when Pincus "dies" during some routine surgery and wakes up able to see and interact with ghosts, all of whom want help from him in dealing with unfinished business. The ghost who keeps him busiest is Frank (Greg Kinnear) - who wants him to break up his widow's upcoming marriage. Kinnear himself was quite good in the role; Tea Leoni as Gwen (his widow) faded a bit into the background compared to Kinnear and Gervais. Ultimately, of course, Pincus falls for Gwen, and the story follows his attempts to overcome his anti-social nature and win her heart for himself.
The movie is a little bit reminiscent of "Ghost," in the sense that it deals with the issue of the unfinished business of life, except that "Ghost," while it had some funny moments, was a very dark story while "Ghost Town" (although somewhat sad at times) is primarily a romantic comedy. It raises some of the silly question that any ghost movie will raise - why can the ghosts (who pass through anything solid) walk around on the upper floors of an apartment building and not fall through the floors and why can they sit on chairs? Just part of the mystery of the afterlife I guess! The plot here isn't especially original, and it certainly doesn't blow you away, but because of the good performances it actually all works together quite nicely and is a pleasant movie to watch.A quirky little comedy.... - Dakos
that really does get to you. Gervais' character is really interesting as a loner who really does not want to associate and just wants to be left....alone! What a concept. After he "dies" for 7 minutes on an operating table, he finds that he can see dead people. All these dead people want him to complete their final wishes/desires before they go to heaven. As you can imagine, people think he is loony because they cannot see what he sees. He becomes close with one of the ghosts and his predicament and finds a lot about himself and humanity in the course of making things right. Off beat comedy but well worth a watch.
Member Reviews
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Funny with a plot that hangs together well. - Filmaholic
If you have not yet seen Ghost Town, it is well worth watching.
Ricky Gervais gives a very funny performance. The interplay between Greg Kinnear and himself just works.
I did not know what to expect, and let me tell you that this will be a film ...A Nice, Funny Ghostly Romance - revsdd
Essentially, this movie features a good performance from Ricky Gervais as Dr. Pincus, a not particularly nice dentist who hates dealing with people (and who says he became a dentist because he can work with people who have cotton stuffed in their mouths and ...A quirky little comedy.... - Dakos
that really does get to you. Gervais' character is really interesting as a loner who really does not want to associate and just wants to be left....alone! What a concept. After he "dies" for 7 minutes on an operating table, he finds that he can see dead people. ...