Ghost Town

Getting tired of the recent string of comedies that all seem to prescribe solely to the Judd… Getting tired of the recent string of comedies that all seem to prescribe solely to the Judd Apatow brand of humor? ‘ ‘ ‘ Then consider ‘Ghost Town’ the antidote you have been so desperately craving. ‘ ‘ ‘ Imagine ‘The Sixth Sense,’ minus the pretentiousness and gloom and packed with laughs, and you have the general idea the film is aiming for. ‘ ‘ ‘ The movie stars Ricky Gervais, finally proving his leading-man capabilities, as Bertram Pincus, a lonely Manhattan dentist with an outlook on life as miserable as anything recently seen in a film of any genre. He is rude, blunt and occasionally downright nasty, but it is one of Gervais’ unique charms as an actor that makes the character someone we grow to like and commiserate with as we laugh at his misfortunes. ‘ ‘ ‘ Early on, Pincus undergoes a not-so-routine colonoscopy, and after leaving the hospital unaware of any problems, he begins to see dead people begging odd favors of him in regards to their previous lives. But despite their annoyance to Pincus, they are absolutely hilarious to the audience. ‘ ‘ ‘ One particular ghost is Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear), whose demise we witness in the opening scene of the film. Frank is a man so engulfed in his own narcissistic ego that the audience once again becomes surprised when they begin to give into his smarminess and start to like him, too. ‘ ‘ ‘ Frank has a specific agenda for Pincus. His widowed wife Gwen, played by Tea Leoni with equal parts wit and inner-pain, lives in Pincus’ apartment building, and even though he has been not-so-kind to her on several occasions, Frank needs him for a romantic intervention between his late wife and a supposed scumbag lawyer (Billy Campbell). ‘ ‘ ‘ As the audience learns more about Pincus, we come to understand the repellant exterior he puts on. Gervais earned his acting chops long ago, but the way he skirts between comedy, drama and romance is like watching a gymnast on the balance beam ‘mdash; he has perfected the art of graceful transitions, and he always sticks it when he lands in whatever genre is called for. ‘ ‘ ‘ Witnessing the exchange of dialogue between these main actors is quite the treat. The film’s script is witty without delving into self-indulgence, smart without being self-important. The funny bits will have you scaling the laughter charts from a small chuckle to all-out belly laughs, and the equilibrium achieved between the script, direction and acting is unlike any comedy in recent memory. ‘ ‘ ‘ Judging by the film’s trailers, one could expect the laughs, but what cannot be predicted are the sheer number of genuinely moving dramatic scenes. One such scene has Frank, a notorious cheater while still alive, at a restaurant with Pincus and his late wife, and what starts out funny ends in the revelation that Gwen knew about his infidelities. The scene is handled so delicately, and played with such subtlety, that what could have been bland or melodramatic plays out as simple, sad honesty. ‘ ‘ ‘ There are many other scenes similar to this sprinkled throughout the movie (there were more than a few tears around me at the screening), and this well-handled shift to dramedy territory turns out to be the film’s greatest strength. The last two lines of the film are the cheesiest and most romantic I can recall in the past few years. ‘ ‘ ‘ While the three main players make the movie, the supporting cast is hysterical. ‘Saturday Night Live’ player Kristen Wiig, a personal favorite of mine, shows up as the doctor who performs Pincus’ colonoscopy, and she keeps the audience in fits of laughter. The scene in which Wiig explains to Pincus that he died for seven minutes during the procedure should be added to the textbook on comic timing, because it is impeccable. ‘ ‘ ‘ One serious drawback to the film is its occasionally lagging narrative. There are scenes that seem to last a little too long and laughs that don’t play off as well as the director had hoped, but in the end, it is a minor and forgivable flaw, because the rest of the film is so good. ‘ ‘ ‘ Not that I believe that it is necessarily a bad thing, but recently, it seems like every comedy worth seeing has Seth Rogen in it, is blithely self-aware and proudly wears the vulgarity badge on its forehead. ‘ ‘ ‘ Seeing ‘Ghost Town,’ while a treat for so many reasons, was simply incredible because it came off like the antithesis to these kinds of comedies. If there is any cinematic justice in the world, it will be the sleeper hit of the fall season ‘mdash; it’s already one of my favorites of the fall season. ‘ ‘ ‘ While there is no McLovin, rest assured you will most likely love this film.