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

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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

Color:

Color

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: When Pincus and Gwen are together with the mummy she says King Pepi was buried in the typical New Kingdom (c.1570-1070 BC) style, but there was no New Kingdom King Pepi of Egypt. There were 2 king Pepi's but not in the New Kingdom. They were both kings in the Old Kingdom (c.2345-2181 BC) of Egypt. Also the king's penis was left in place on the body during mummification.

Quotes:

Gwen: You don't like crowds?
Bertram Pincus: It's no so much the crowd, as the individuals within the crowd.

Movie Connections:

References The Thin Man (1934)

Soundtrack:

Please Be Patient With Me

See it in the Theatre. It's Worth It!

The story: A dentist, played by Ricky Gervais, is sick of dealing with people. Not just a few people; everyone. Social niceties annoy him and "just being friendly" is out of the question. But this doesn't prevent annoying chatter from following him to his dental practice or even to the hospital where he must undergo his first colonoscopy. While the doctors roll him down a corridor on a gurney, chatting about frivolous nonsense, he interrupts and insists on full anesthesia for the examination.

The Problem: Once back on the street, he realizes he can see people that others cannot. He returns to the hospital and asks the doctor if anything unusual happened during the procedure. The doctor's reticence does not deter him from wrenching the truth from her that, technically speaking, he was dead for "almost 7 minutes". As a result, he can now see ghosts. And of course, they all want something from him.

The "something" that one particular ghost, Frank (Greg Kinnear), wants is for him to intervene in the romance of Frank's widow. At first reluctant to take on the task, he finally is blackmailed into to trying to break up her relationship and soon, he begins to enjoy the challenge.

The film rises above the hackneyed "invisible man" jokes and plays out as a fresh comedy romance. Not fresh on plot, admittedly, but on Gervais' style. True, it's the same character he always plays, but seeing it long-form and with the love interest,it's satisfying. The romance in the plot calls for a performance that offers more than a tortured look or a snarky comment - and Gervais delivers.

There are no weepy "But I love you" scenes. There are touching moments, however, that are more akin to "classic" Hollywood, rather than the big-budget, ruin-the-characters, 4th-installment, CGI festivals that are the hallmark of Tinseltown these days. Worth seeing. Our packed-house audience laughed out loud and applauded the ending.