Bertram Pincus is a man whose people skills leave much to be desired. When Pincus dies unexpectedly, but is miraculously revived after seven minutes, he wakes up to discover that he now has the annoying ability to see ghosts.
A radio journalist and his technician get in over their heads when they hatch a scheme to fake their own kidnapping during a rebel uprising in South America and hide out in New York instead.
A camera crew catches up with David Brent, the former star of the fictional British TV series The Office (2001), as he now fancies himself a rock star on the road.
Andy Millman is an actor with ambition and a script. Reduced to working as an extra with a useless agent, Andy's attempts to boost his career invariably end in failure and embarrassment.
Stars:
Ricky Gervais,
Ashley Jensen,
Stephen Merchant
Bertram Pincus is a man whose people skills leave much to be desired. When Pincus dies unexpectedly, but is miraculously revived after seven minutes, he wakes up to discover that he now has the annoying ability to see ghosts. Even worse, they all want something from him, particularly Frank Herlihy who pesters him into breaking up the impending marriage of his widow Gwen. That puts Pincus squarely in the middle of a triangle with spirited result.Written by
Studio Approved Synopsis
The WWII nurse ghost is played by Betty Gilpin. She became famous for portraying a doctor - Dr. Carrie Roman in Showtime's 'Nurse Jackie'. See more »
Goofs
When Richard shows up to have Dr. Pincus look at his tooth, the tray of instruments and materials next to him changes completely after Dr. Pincus leaves and returns to the room. See more »
Quotes
[about the mummified remains of Pepe]
Bertram Pincus:
They even put his penis in a big jar. I mean why... why would they do that?
Gwen:
Well... you saw that penis; it wouldn't have fit in a little jar.
See more »
Crazy Credits
Directly after the end titles fade to black, there is a brief outburst of near-hysterical laughter. See more »
Sideways
Written by Citizen Cope (as Clarence Greenwood)
Performed by Citizen Cope
Courtesy of The RCA Records Label
By Arrangement with SONY BMG Music Entertainment See more »
The main character, Bertram Pincus (Ricky Gervais) is a Manhatten Dentist and a misanthrope. When the Dentist he shares an office with invites Bert to some cake and champagne to celebrate the birth of his child, Bert looks at him like he's a panhandler asking for change and tells him to "start without me".
When Bert gets a routine colonoscopy, he reacts adversely & dies for 7 minutes, but is revived. However, the result is he is able to see dead people. These aren't just any ordinary ghosts, but ghosts who continue to haunt their previous Manhatten neighborhoods, where they died, until something happens in the real world that will allow them to move on.
One such ghost is Frank (Greg Kinnear), a philandering Manhatten playboy type, who is pestering Bert to intervene on his behalf to get his widow, Gwen (Tea Leoni) to break up with her fiancé, because Frank "thinks he's just after her for her money".
Bert agrees, but then falls for Gwen himself, and gradually is transformed from a curmudgeon into a much better person (shades of Ebeneezer Scrooge!).
This may sound like a tired plot that's been overdone many times before, but somehow it works very nicely here.
I thought Ricky Gervais, Tea Leoni, & Greg Kinnear were all excellent. Gervais was particularly good as the lead. His understated British comedic talents were well suited to the role. The supporting cast was great also. Kristen Wiig (from SNL) turned in a hilarious role as the surgeon who botched the colonoscopy.
What I liked most about this was that it worked on a number of levels, as a very good comedy, a ghost story, a romance, and a story of redemption.
Go check it out at the theater. You'll be glad you did.
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The main character, Bertram Pincus (Ricky Gervais) is a Manhatten Dentist and a misanthrope. When the Dentist he shares an office with invites Bert to some cake and champagne to celebrate the birth of his child, Bert looks at him like he's a panhandler asking for change and tells him to "start without me".
When Bert gets a routine colonoscopy, he reacts adversely & dies for 7 minutes, but is revived. However, the result is he is able to see dead people. These aren't just any ordinary ghosts, but ghosts who continue to haunt their previous Manhatten neighborhoods, where they died, until something happens in the real world that will allow them to move on.
One such ghost is Frank (Greg Kinnear), a philandering Manhatten playboy type, who is pestering Bert to intervene on his behalf to get his widow, Gwen (Tea Leoni) to break up with her fiancé, because Frank "thinks he's just after her for her money".
Bert agrees, but then falls for Gwen himself, and gradually is transformed from a curmudgeon into a much better person (shades of Ebeneezer Scrooge!).
This may sound like a tired plot that's been overdone many times before, but somehow it works very nicely here.
I thought Ricky Gervais, Tea Leoni, & Greg Kinnear were all excellent. Gervais was particularly good as the lead. His understated British comedic talents were well suited to the role. The supporting cast was great also. Kristen Wiig (from SNL) turned in a hilarious role as the surgeon who botched the colonoscopy.
What I liked most about this was that it worked on a number of levels, as a very good comedy, a ghost story, a romance, and a story of redemption.
Go check it out at the theater. You'll be glad you did.