Ghost Town (2008)

Can the dry, sardonic,  British wit of Ricky Gervais find a cross the pond audience? Or will England's funniest export since Monty Python only find a place as a character actor, limited to roles like his uptight museum manager in Night At The Museum. If the box office reaction to Ghost Town is any indication, Mr. Gervais better keep that museum gig.

Though Ghost Town is a witty and smart comedy for adults, the appeal of Ricky Gervais as a leading man is elusive to most audiences.

Bertram D. Pincus (Gervais) doesn't like people. He can barely raise the ability to tolerate even those who could be friends, like a friendly fellow dentist in his office. Dealing with his dental patients, Pincus takes every opportunity to shove something into the patients mouth in order to avoid small talk. Elevators? Forget having him hold the doors, he couldn't possibly stand the awkwardness.

His aversion to others made his medical visit all the more unnerving. He needed a colonoscopy. When he awakened after the procedure everything seemed okay. However, a walk home finds Pincus surrounded by strangers acting strangely. The strangers are ghosts trapped on earth until their business is complete. When they realize Pincus can hear them it's no end of irritation for Bertram.

One ghost in particular, Frank Herlihy, is really aggressive in pursuing Bertram's help. He promises to keep the rest of the ghosts at bay if Bertram will help him with his widowed wife Gwen (Tea Leoni). She is about to remarry and Frank is convinced the guy is wrong for her and that stopping the wedding is why he is still on earth. When Bertram and Gwen finally get to know each, after Bertram had repeatedly done horribly rude things to her, they find they have a lot in common and Frank has another man to worry about.

Director David Koepp, working from a script he co-wrote with John Kamps, strikes just the right tone of amused observation. Yes, there are cliched moments, a lesson is learned and good deeds performed but in the end Koepp let's Ricky Gervais be Ricky Gervais and the British funnyman strikes the perfect balance of discomforting neurosis and sly humor.

Watch the scenes between Gervais, Leoni and Billy Campbell as Leoni's fiancee. These scenes are Gervais at his best, off the cuff, quick witted and yet terribly awkward all within the space of a single scene.

Gervais and Kinnear make a terrific comic team. Kinnear with his easy charm and Gervais with his nervy discomfort are polar opposites who fit perfectly together. The energy between Kinnear and Gervais gives the film a real kick that gets the plot past the required moments where Bertram has to learn lessons and become a better person.

Better still is the chemistry between Gervais and Tea Leoni. On the surface one might never imagine the chubby dentist who hates people hooking up with the sexy scientist but Gervais and Leoni find a terrific vibe. These two characters are on the same wavelength and when it finally seems as though they could be a couple you believe it.

Final

Ghost Town is likely too sly and understated for the average audience more trained to the joke a minute style of Adam Sandler. Ghost Town is witty, erudite even. Gervais is not a classic leading man and he doesn't have the funky charm of your typical romantic comedy star. What he has is a razor wit and an ear for just the right mix of jokes and discomfort.

For the discerning comic audience, Ghost Town is a welcome alternative.