I'm a huge fan of The Office and enjoyed Extras. I think Ricky Gervais deserves his worldwide fame, although only his podcasts have made me laugh-out-loud in recent years. And that's primarily down to Karl Pilkington, as we all know. His stand-up's pretty sharp and I appreciate he's trying to keep himself down-to-earth, but after a few cameo's in big films -- some good (Stardust), some awful (Night At The Museum) -- Ricky's about to appear in his first starring role...
In Ghost Town, Ricky plays a misanthropic dentist called Bertram Pincus, who clinically dies during a colonoscopy, before being revived -- only to discover he now has the ability to see the spirit world. And it's not long before he has to help a ghost (Greg Kinnear) prevent his widowed wife (Tea Leoni) remarrying -- by creating a supernatural love-triangle.
It sounds like a fun mix of The Sixth Sense and Ghost, but the trailer is depressingly low on laughs. Writer David Koepp, who seems obsessed with the "man can see ghosts" idea after writing Stir Of Echoes ('99), directs this NYC-set comedy. I'm just not convinced Ricky Gervais is the right performer for the material, as his dour British shtick looks like it's actually sucking the comedy off the screen.
With a comedy trailer, you expect some solid laughs and an incentive to make a mental note when this opens. But nothing here made me giggle, and I'm someone who still laughs at David Brent just wrinkling his nose. My main thoughts were: oh, this character doesn't look like a stretch for Ricky... Bertram Pincus?... hmm, it's Sixth Sense-meets-Ghost... Greg Kinnear? God, he's been in lots of duds... Tea Leoni? She's rarely in a good film... the whole "he sees ghosts" angle doesn't look very fun... and end.
I hope it's much better than this weak trailer indicates, but David Koepp just isn't known for writing comedies. He's the guy behind Indiana Jones 4, War Of The Worlds, Spider-Man, Panic Room, Mission: Impossible and Jurassic Park 2. And Ricky Gervais' talents don't stretch to rescuing weak material with a winsome performance (see: Night At The Museum). He needs a firm hand in the writing and directing, I feel. Fantasy-comedy This Side Of The Truth (which he co-writes/directs) will likely be a much better indication of Ricky's movie star potential...
Released: 19 August 2008 (US), 24 October 2008
