Ghost Town
Sensational details have always been a popular stock in trade of the moviemaker. Sex, violence, special effects, freaks of nature, and lives no one ever lived. Yet occasionally there comes a movie that is very nearly a vacation for the movie investigator. No sex, no violence, hardly noticeable special effects . . . just a quiet little dialogue film with a very mild premise. And occasionally it even works.
Such is the case of this weekend’s “Ghost Town,” an easy-going comedy featuring Ricky Gervais (star of the British sitcom original of “The Office”) as dentist Bertram Pincus. Pincus is a very relatable modern misogynist who would just as soon be left alone to lead his life. A near-death experience has him seeing dead people, like so many movie and television psychics, but unlike them, Pincus doesn’t care to help anyone as a result.
The result is a very relaxing, sweet romatic comedy of the sort one could take one’s elderly grandmother to without too much worry that she would be too shocked or upset. It is almost old-fashioned in its pace and tone, And yet, it does the job. It’s good to see a few mild-mannered ghosts before we get into October horror season.
What Great-grandfather Sherlock might have said:
“Was there any other spirit but rum in the room?”
Past Investigations
An Introduction to
Mr. Sherlock Holmes IV
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Harold And Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay
Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day
In The Name Of The King:
A Dungeon Siege Tale
Fantastic Four:
Rise of the Silver Surfer