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| Ghost Town |
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| Written by Ivan Radford |
| Friday, 24 October 2008 00:00 |
 Director: David KoeppYears after that dance, Gervais is trying to break out of Slough and into Hollywood. There was that bit he did in Night at the Museum. And the other part in Stardust. Now, he’s pipped the usual suspects (Steve Carell, or even Simon Pegg) to the lead in David Koepp’s Ghost Town. Gervais, an Englishman in New York carrying a rom-com? Bizarrely, it kind of works. For one simple reason: Dr Bertram Pincus (Gervais) is a prick. A nasty, unloving prick. So is Frank (Kinnear). Frank is dead. And, when Pincus’s operation goes wrong, killing him for 7 minutes, Pincus gets the Sixth Sense. Together, they form an unlikeable duo. Frank and Pincus. Pincus and Frank. A right pair of pricks. The scenario is pretty bland: Frank’s widow, Gwen (Leoni), has got herself a new fella. Frank ain't none too happy about this, so he follows Pincus around until he agrees split them up. How could he do that? Why, by offering himself as an eligible suitor, of course. But wait, aren’t we meant to root for Pincus? Isn’t he meant to be the congenial hero? For Koepp, the solution is simple: re-write the script. And so, halfway through the film, Gervais becomes a nice, quietly charming character. It helps that on the way he’s given license to improvise around his lines, introducing his brand of scathing humour into the conventional narrative, but the main surprise is that Gervais manages to play Pincus the perky with a pinch of pathos; he's far less annoying here than on TV as Andy Millman or on stage as himself. Sadly, though, his star turn doesn’t suit completely - the serious emotional stuff plays out a little awkwardly. Fortunately, he's saved by Leoni’s appealing presence. The corny script doesn’t help much either, although Kinnear does his best to liven up any scene that he haunts, and that’s the film’s main problem: it may star a Brit and be helmed by an action man, but Ghost Town is as formulaic as they come. VERDICT A predictable plot allows little room for Gervais to flex his comedy muscles, but for him the hard bit is over – if the divisive comedian can be that likeable for long enough, then he’s got Hollywood cracked. At least we'll get a break from David Brent doing stand up. |
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