British comedian Ricky Gervais seized hold
of his first starring role in an American movie with the same assuredness that
marked Steve Martin’s early film roles.
There’s edginess to both men’s humour which
marked them out as more than just another comedian transitioning from small
screen to big. Where Martin was wild and crazy, Gervais is sarcastic and low
key. He’s an accomplished stand-up and tv comedian who exudes a clear
confidence in his ability to be funny. There’s no sense of “please like me”
pleading in his screen persona.
But while it took several movies for
Martin’s edge to blunt and middle-aged, family friendly smugness to set in,
it’s possible to see the sharp edges on Gervais start to dull over the course
of this one film.
GHOST TOWN sets out encouragingly enough
with Gervais as Bertram Pincus, a British born Manhattan dentist and world
class misanthrope. A major reason why he
loves his job so much is that he’s able to stop his patients talking to him by
shoving instruments and cotton swabs into their mouth.
Bertram is at his happiest ignoring people
and if they persist in being pleasant to him he’s an Olympic gold medallist at
cutting them dead with a few well chosen sarcastic and very funny words. So
it’s beyond his worst imaginable nightmare when he comes round following a
routine surgery to discover there’s a whole other world of people who want his
attention.
A mishap during the operation has left him
with the unique power to see dead people and New York City is full of ghosts
with unfinished business. None of them can pass over to the other side unless
they can persuade Bertram to help them. One recently deceased man, Frank (Greg Kinnear),
is particularly persistent. He insists that Bertram do something to stop his
widow Gwen (Tea Leoni), from making a huge mistake by marrying a “sleazeball”
lawyer.
So far, so good. But here’s where the rot
starts to set in. As Bertram very slowly warms to his task and develops a crush
on Gwen he goes from all sharp acerbic edges to dangerously warm and cuddly. He
starts to like people, to be concerned for the others, and to try and become a
better person himself to prove he’s worthy of Gwen’s affections.
The transformation is not quite as
soul-destroying as watching Steve Martin in “The Jerk” followed by “Cheaper by
the Dozen” but a few more storylines like this and Gervais could find himself
in a similar place. GHOST TOWN’s early promise has largely dissipated by the
film’s midway point and from thereon it coasts, not unpleasantly, to a standard
Hollywood finish where everyone gets what they deserve.
Gervais made his name as the creator and
star of the original British version of “The Office” (which, by the way, is
considerably funnier and less contrived than the US remake) and it may be that
he’s better suited to tv projects where he has total artistic control. “The
Office” and his follow-up show “Extras” gave Gervais the freedom to showcase
his unique sense of humour without the compromises required of a Hollywood
romantic comedy.
It’s not that he’s wrong for GHOST TOWN –
his performance is very assured – it’s more that the film is not quite right
for him. However I recognise that this perception is based on my prior
knowledge of his work on British tv and probably won’t be shared by many
American viewers.
Although it ultimately fails to deliver all
the goods GHOST TOWN is nevertheless a likeable and reasonably entertaining viewing
experience and definitely worth the investment of a couple of hours of your
time.
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