Ghost Town (2008)

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.

Director:

David Koepp

Writers:

David Koepp, John Kamps

Stars:

Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear, Téa Leoni

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Greg Kinnear	...	Frank
Jordan Carlos	...	Young Husband
Dequina Moore	...	Young Wife
Joseph Badalucco Jr.	...	Accident Bystander (as Joe Badalucco)
Brian Hutchison	...	Accident Bystander
Tyree Michael Simpson	...	Sneezy Cop (as Tyre Simpson)
Julia Murney	...	Sneezy Lady
Ricky Gervais	...	Pincus
Claire Lautier	...	Upper East Side Lady
Aasif Mandvi	...	Dr. Prashar
Bridget Moloney	...	Receptionist
Raymond J. Lee	...	Greenpeace Guy (as Raymond Lee)
Joey Mazzarino	...	Food Delivery Guy
Brad Oscar	...	Day Doorman
Kathleen Landis	...	Resident

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

slipping and falling | dog walking | new york city | ghost | medical mask | 

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Taglines:

Dr. Bertram Pincus can see you now...

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some strong language, sexual humor and drug references

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 September 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Grad duhova

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,012,315, 21 September 2008, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$13,214,030, 9 November 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks,Spyglass Entertainment,Pariah

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The New York Times crossword puzzle seen within the first 10 minutes when Dr. Pincus (Ricky Gervais) first comes home is the puzzle from Monday, October 1, 2007 (Created by Will Shortz).

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Goofs

Dr. Pincus pours the contents of the left-most bottle of laxative into a glass and drinks it. Firstly, the level of laxative in the glass drops by about an inch between pouring and drinking, presumably due to a missing shot. Then, when the camera returns to the three bottles on the counter, all three bottles appear full.

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Quotes

Bertram Pincus: Gwen, I've lived more in the last few days that I've spent with you, since I died, than I ever lived before I died - back when I was living, the first time.

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Crazy Credits

Directly after the end titles fade to black, there is a brief outburst of near-hysterical laughter.

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Connections

Referenced in The 60th Primetime Emmy Awards (2008)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

See it in the Theatre. It's Worth It!

The story: A dentist, played by Ricky Gervais, is sick of dealing with people. Not just a few people; everyone. Social niceties annoy him and "just being friendly" is out of the question. But this doesn't prevent annoying chatter from following him to his dental practice or even to the hospital where he must undergo his first colonoscopy. While the doctors roll him down a corridor on a gurney, chatting about frivolous nonsense, he interrupts and insists on full anesthesia for the examination.

The Problem: Once back on the street, he realizes he can see people that others cannot. He returns to the hospital and asks the doctor if anything unusual happened during the procedure. The doctor's reticence does not deter him from wrenching the truth from her that, technically speaking, he was dead for "almost 7 minutes". As a result, he can now see ghosts. And of course, they all want something from him.

The "something" that one particular ghost, Frank (Greg Kinnear), wants is for him to intervene in the romance of Frank's widow. At first reluctant to take on the task, he finally is blackmailed into to trying to break up her relationship and soon, he begins to enjoy the challenge.

The film rises above the hackneyed "invisible man" jokes and plays out as a fresh comedy romance. Not fresh on plot, admittedly, but on Gervais' style. True, it's the same character he always plays, but seeing it long-form and with the love interest,it's satisfying. The romance in the plot calls for a performance that offers more than a tortured look or a snarky comment - and Gervais delivers.

There are no weepy "But I love you" scenes. There are touching moments, however, that are more akin to "classic" Hollywood, rather than the big-budget, ruin-the-characters, 4th-installment, CGI festivals that are the hallmark of Tinseltown these days. Worth seeing. Our packed-house audience laughed out loud and applauded the ending.