DVD Review: Ghost Town

Ghost Town
Written By: David Koepp & John Kamps
Directed By: David Koepp
Starring: Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear, Tea Leoni, & Billy Campbell

Ricky Gervais makes his leading man debut as Dr. Bertram Pinkus in Ghost Town, a somewhat romantic comedy about an extremely unlikable dentist who, after dying for seven minutes, can see ghosts. He finds himself helping ghost Greg Kinnear to break up the engagement of Kinnear's widow. Pinkus of course falls for the widow, played by Tea Leoni.

Ghost Town is a pretty formulaic movie. There aren't really any surprises (minus the F-bomb a couple of times) but it is saved from mediocrity by Ricky Gervais and Tea Leoni. Gervais in particular gives a hilarious performance. His performance turned a one note character into an extremely entertaining one. He took Pinkus from someone to hate into someone you care about with believability and laughs. Tea Leoni is equally as charming and I cannot understand why she doesn't work more. She is a great actress and is extremely likable in this. She has some great chemistry with Gervais, clearly enjoying her time acting along side him.


The cast is rounded out by Greg Kinnear and Billy Campbell, both who give good performances. I'd like to one day see something different from Kinnear. He always seems like the same character to me. I should mention SNL's Kristen Wiig's small part as Pinkus's surgeon. She is quite funny here. She is my favorite SNL cast member and it was a nice surprise to see her in this movie.

The story, like I said before, is pretty by the numbers. There is nothing too new here to point out. Ricky Gervais really carries the movie and makes it successful. It's not bad by any means and it makes for a fun couple hours to watch. Don't expect miracles here, but do expect a lot of laughs.

The DVD is a little light on special features. There is a commentary with director David Koepp and Ricky Gervais which I am sure is hysterical but I haven't heard it yet. There is also a great blooper reel showing off all of Gervais' screw ups and times he breaks down laughing. This is really funny as well.

Overall, Ghost Town is a charming, touching, and funny romantic comedy. It's certainly worth your time to watch it especially for fans of Ricky Gervais. It's well written and directed but for some reason falls short of being perfect.

Pick it up and enjoy a good laugh.

Ghost Town is available on DVD and Bluray now.