GHOST TOWN (***) - Starring Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear, Tea Leoni, Billy Campbell, Aasif Mandvi, Kristen Wiig, Alan Ruck and Dana Ivey.
Directed by David Koepp.
The right star can elevate an average script into a good movie. I could see any number of mid-level comedians starring in this and failing, but Ricky Gervais specializes in playing characters like this, which makes it work. He's a dentist who doesn't really care for people, but after he "dies" in the dentist chair for six minutes, he can see dead people.
It is definitely similar to supernatural comedies you've seen before, but Gervais is such an insecure grump that it's a hoot to watch. Greg Kinnear is the main ghost who convinces Gervais to get his widow to break up with her new boyfriend. Naturally the more Gervais gets to know her, the more he falls for her, and the more he realizes he needs to give up his selfish ways.
This flopped in theaters, likely due to Gervais not being a real A-list star, but it deserves to be discovered on DVD.
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