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.
The Truth
What would seem to be a cute little movie, at first glance, will only disappoint you ten minutes into the film. Ghost Town is neither original, nor amusing and does little with the talented cast and crew starring in the film.
You see, we’ve seen this film years ago, only it was done much better. We’ve seen identical movies twice actually, and they were called Ghost and Always. This movie resembles Always in so many aspects, I’m surprised they were not sued for stealing the content.
Here’s the quick summary. Man dies, man needs to tell living wife something, he contacts comedic lead character Ricky Gervais to do so. Wife falls for Ricky Gervais, everyone moves on to the afterlife. Remember this plot from Ghost? Always? Yeah, me too, only this film is less funny.
The Laughs
You’d think there would at least be a pile of laughs with the comedic magic of Ricky Gervais. There isn’t. Instead of using the strengths of one of the funnier men in showbusiness, they decided to use Gervais as the lead male, who entices the gorgeous woman. Yeah, it didn’t work for us either.
What’s good about it?
I’m a sucker for Téa Leoni, she is the only bright light in this film. There’s really nothing good about this movie. There’s no real message that hits home, no love interest that grabs you.. and certainly no attachment to the characters or their situations.
What’s bad about it?
There’s no way in hell, Téa Leoni falls for an overweight, ugly, tightass like Ricky Gervais, don’t even think about leading me down this path. I’d believe movies about alien invasions before this love scenario ever breaths an ounce of reality.
Theres no real laughs, the gags that are present are old and boring and you are often wonder just what the heck you are watching? Is it a Drama? A comedy? I just can’t fathom the need to remake this genre of film, without any new twists brought into the story.
You’ll Like It If
If you have never seen Ghost, or Always, you may enjoy Ghost Town. If you demand very little effort put into the writing, plot or laughs, you’ll love it. If you desire a film to fall asleep to, this is perfect.
Reminds me of
Ghost, Always
The Verdict
Ghost Town isn’t a good movie, nor is it entertaining or original. If you lack any of these basic qualities in a movie, you may like it, but I didn’t.
Tags: Comedy, Dec 08, Fantasy, Greg Kinnear, Ricky Gervais, Romance, Téa Leoni, Worst of 2008