There is heart in "Ghost Town." It might not be terribly deep or revolutionary or explored as thoroughly as it could have been, but its there. Co-writer and director David Koepp saves it for the final scene, a sequence between Tea Leoni and Ricky Gervais which allows the film to go out on a positive note. See, Frank (Greg Kinear) was cheating on Gwen (Leoni) and, through a twist of fate, is killed by happenstance. He has unfinished business on Earth, so he asks Bertrum Pincus (Gervais), a man who was technically dead for a couple minutes and can see dead people with similar unfinished business, to stop Gwen from marrying a seemingly good guy. The problem with Pincus, though, is that he's not a people person. To put it mildly.
Much will inevitably be written about the first Hollywood starring vehicle for Ricky Gervais. And all that press should be positive, based on his performance here. Gervais is eerily at ease playing a recluse, someone who says all the wrong things at the worst possible times. There is never the sense the actor is trying to be funny or something he's not. There is a natural emotion within him for the part. When he walks in on a fellow dentist (Aasif Mandvi) and a patient looking for torture techniques, Pincus begins by asking if he's from one of those scary places. We get the innuendo (Mandvi the actor was born in India); any normal person would have caught themselves before uttering such a line. It just slips out of Pincus' mouth, his brain catching up afterwards.
There is an attempt at explaining why Pincus is the way he is. A girl he was in love with left him for another man, leading to a life of anti-social behavior. He steals cabs, purposely closes elevator doors, has no compassion for his patients or fellow man...that sort of thing. To him, talking to someone is to risk his emotions again. Of course, that much is never said, so the script wants us to fill in the blanks. That would be a problem in other films, but not here. "Ghost Town" is a comedy which doesn't reach too far for the humor. You won't find an Adam Sandler gag here; rather, it's more restrained, slightly more sophisticated and sublime than most entries in the genre. Even "Burn After Reading," I think, has more potty humor laughs than "Ghost Town."
When Kinear and Gervais share the screen, a palpable dichotomy emerges. Here is Pincus, a man who doesn't want anything to do with people, and Frank, a man who is most at home being the center of attention, the ringleader if you will. Whether on purpose or by accident, the script presents these two men (to illustrate the difference perhaps?) as two parts of the same coin. The actors play off one wonderfully in either the comedic moments or in the serious ones. A banter crosses between them, engaging the audience and allowing us to feel comfortable with a ghost and man who can talk to ghosts. In other words, comfortable with the characters.
"Ghost Town" finds itself rushed, though, when Leoni's Gwen is given screen time. The theory is she can begin to take a liking to Pincus, "forcing" her to break off the engagement with Billy Campbell's Richard. Previous in the film, we see the dentist be downright mean to Gwen (this is obvious just by seeing the trailer). So why would it ever strike him as a possibility she'd dump the civil rights attorney and shack up with a stodgy dentist? I don't know and I suspect it's one of the questions Koepp and writing partner John Kamps don't want us to think about too much.
Why? Simple, really. The boy chases girl part of the story flashes by entirely too fast. What aspect of Pincus does Gwen find remotely amusing? And how does she forgot about being stuck in the rain with a package when he takes her cab? How about that elevator door he purposely closes? Um, yeah. Who cares. One moment she rips him to shreds; the (seemingly) next, they're talking about his ex Sarah. It's the quickest "frenemy" conversion in movie history.
To be sure, it's a minor problem in the grand scheme of the entire production. By the time it rears its ugly head and we realize what's going on, the story has us in hand. At only 102 minutes-it feels shorter-"Ghost Town" could easily have added a subplot or two based around all the ghosts looking for help. At least in regards to those stories, I'm divided. Is "Ghost Town" better for keeping its eye on the proverbail ball or should it have edited a scene or two earlier in order to allow potential comedic moments where Pincus introduces himself to strangers? (This isn't a spoiler because, let's face it: movies of this nature usually end with the protagonist making an abrupt about face and becoming a Really Good Guy.) I'd have to commend the script for not meandering, no matter how ripe with potential side stories might have been. It is a shame, though, that Alan Ruck (Cameron of "Ferris Bueller" fame) is relegated to a bit player.
I´d still have to recommend "Ghost Town" even with the issues I´m bringing up. There´s a charm to the production, an offensive inoffensiveness if you will, entertainment most of the family can enjoy together. A script problem here or there really isn´t that big of a problem as long as the audience is laughing, now is it? The film rates a 7 out of 10.