Rated PG13

Directed and co-written by David Koepp

Starring Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear, Alan Ruck, Tea Leoni, Jeff Hiller

Heidi’s Illustrious Rating: 4 (Recommended) *Worth the full admission price

Word of Warning: Unless you are offended by British accents or dentists, I don’t really have any warnings for this one.

As a big fan of the BBC’s version of “The Office” I’ve been waiting months for this movie to hit theaters. Ricky Gervais was the main man responsible for “The Office” and his dry wit tickles my funny bone. With Gervais teamed with the quintessential straight man Greg Kinnear, I felt this movie had to be good. Thankfully, I was right.

In a nutshell, this is a story about Bertram Pincus, a pudgy, severely anti-social, British dentist living in Manhattan, New York. While undergoing a colonoscopy Pincus dies for seven minutes, but is revived only to find out that he can now see and interact with the dead.  The dead are very excited about this chance to connect with the land of the living, Pincus, however, is less than willing to help them out. Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear), killed by a city bus, will not take no for an answer.

Herlihy’s widow, Gwen (Tea Leoni), who happens to live in the same building as Pincus, is now engaged to be married. Herlihy wants Pincus to breakup the relationship. At first Pincus doesn’t want anything to do with this scheme, but after seeing the beautiful and intelligent Gwen, he changes his mind.

This movie is really funny, and not in a purely contrived romantic comedy kind of way. The script is quite witty and Gervais does not disappoint in his delivery of each cutting bit dialogue. Kinnear is perfectly cast, as is Tea Leoni, though she really is the same exact character in every movie (the blond, uptight wife of Adam Sandler in “Spanglish,” the blond, uptight wife of Jim Carrey in “Fun with Jack & Jill,” the blond, uptight wife of Nicholas Cage in “The Family Man,” and it goes on). As a bonus, ”Ghost Town” includes an appearance by my most recent favorite Saturday Night Live cast member Kristen Wiig (as Pincus’ surgeon).

Director David Koepp isn’t known for comedies, and in fact is much better known as a screenplay writer. Recently he wrote the disappointing “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” and his director credits include such movies as “Stir of Echoes,” “The Lost World Jurassic Park” and “Secret Windows.” None of these movies come close to being described as ”comedy.” Perhaps Koepp has discovered a new niche.  

Of course this movie borrows some of the same ghost gags as the much loved movie ”Ghost” – you can’t make a ghost movie without these scenes, but ultimately, “Ghost Town” is a different movie and it stands on its own merit. This is a great date movie, not too much romance to be uncomfortable and you can judge if the person your with has a sense of humor. I recommend seeing “Ghost Town” and think it is  worth the full price of admission.