Movies: Ghost Town

Ricky Gervais is one of my favorite comedians, but even so, it's a bit surprising to see him in "Ghost Town," a fairly standard rom-com directed by David Koepp:



Gervais stars as Bertram Pincus, a misanthropic dentist who has a near-death experience, only to find that he can now see and hear the recently deceased. Greg Kinnear plays Frank, a ghost with unfinished business who "befriends" the snarky Pincus in order to take care of some unfinished business regarding Frank's widow, Gwen (Téa Leoni). When Pincus finds he has an unexpected attraction to Gwen, the plot starts to thicken.

Koepp has penned a lot of blockbuster movies ("Misson: Impossible," "Spider-Man"), and for awhile, "Ghost Town" ably rides Gervais' acerbic wit. The third act, which closely follows standard rom-com conventions, is where the film finally stumbles. Bertram is the kind of character you love to hate, so the whole thing loses air when Koepp starts to mess with that angle. Kinnear and Leoni put in okay performances, but in the end, "Ghost Town" is a movie that's more "pleasant" than "good."

Rating: 6/10