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Ghost Town
DreamWorks Pictures (Paramount)


7.6

based on 30 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 50 votes
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FILM:

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for some strong language, sexual humor and drug references

Starring Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear, Kristen Wiig, Tea Leoni, and Billy Campbell

Bertram Pincus is a man whose skills leave much to be desired. When Pincus dies unexpectedly, but miraculously revived after seven minutes, he wakes up to discover that he now has the annoying ability to see ghosts. Even worse, they all want something from him, particutarly Frank Herlihy who pesters him into breaking up the impending marriage of his widow Gwen. That puts Pincus squarely in the middle of a triangle with spirited results. (Paramount Pictures/Dreamworks Pictures)

GENRE(S):	Comedy \| Fantasy \| Romance
WRITTEN BY:	David Koepp John Kamps
DIRECTED BY:	David Koepp
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: December 23, 2008 Theatrical: September 19, 2008
RUNNING TIME:	102 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

San Francisco Chronicle Walter Addiego

Both very funny and a bit of a tearjerker, with an on-the-money performance from Ricky Gervais.

The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen

A winning mix of sharp comedy and touching bits that keeps the laughter -- a few tears -- flowing.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

A misanthropic dentist, a roguish ghost and a zany Egyptologist: as these unlikely companions scamper around Manhattan in the buoyant comedy Ghost Town, they resurrect the spirits of classic movie curmudgeons like W. C. Fields and such romantic comedians as Cary Grant and Carole Lombard in Woody Allen territory.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

A welcome surprise: a supernatural romantic comedy that works, graced with a cast just off-center enough to make it distinctive.

New York Post Kyle Smith

The twists are executed superbly, right up to a climax that fits the David Mamet definition of what makes for a perfect ending: It is both surprising and inevitable.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

The astonishingly versatile Kinnear proves note-perfect as a huckster who slowly rids himself of slime.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

A sweet and hilarious romantic comedy featuring a breakout performance by British comic genius Ricky Gervais, inspires viewers to pause, reflect and praise one of the most rare and wondrous occurrences in contemporary cinema: the Good Movie.

Variety John Anderson

Smartly supernatural, and featuring sensational performances by Ricky Gervais and Tea Leoni, Ghost Town is a "Topper" for our times.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Leoni and Kinnear are charming, and Koepp keeps the mood appropriately light. But really, this would be just another disposable comedy if it weren't for our unassuming star.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Ghost Town is a rarity, a contemporary romantic comedy that honors the traditions of the genre without checking them off some plasticized list. The picture is breathing, and alive, every minute.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

It sounds sappy, and sometimes it is, but director Koepp and co-writer John Kamps stay alert to the humor and pathos of Bertram's isolation.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

A lightweight rom-com elevated by its performances. It is a reminder that the funniest people are often not comedians, but actors playing straight in funny roles.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray

Though the plot contrives to throw Gervais and Leoni together and then pull them apart, the two leads stay consistently in sync through it all, laughing at each other's jokes and generally sharing the kind of normal adult communication that's often missing from movies about people falling in love.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

An innovative romantic comedy that is a mixture of British spice and American sugar.

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

Predictable but amusing. The painfully awkward, stubby Gervais as romantic lead is a funny enough concept, but the actor's ongoing banter with Kinnear is engaging, and their styles mesh entertainingly.

USA Today Claudia Puig

A good-natured and engaging fantasy/romantic comedy in the tradition of "Heaven Can Wait" or even "Topper."

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

It's a smooth journey across familiar territory to a safe emotional harbor, always professional and occasionally delightful.

Slate Dana Stevens

Once Leoni's Gwen comes on the scene, the movie starts to bubble along nicely. Not just because Leoni is a screwball heroine worth, er, screwballing--at 42, she's more attractive than ever--but because her character is given a weight and texture that's rare in a movie of this type.

Los Angeles Times Jan Stuart

Audiences who feel battered by Hollywood's usual hard-sell approach to farce may be disarmed by Koepp's soft touch and inclined to credit blandness as understatement.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

In this comedy by David Koepp, Gervais handles the big, crowd-pleasing gags with aplomb.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Diverting enough, but it's also the kind of high-concept studio concoction Ricky Gervais might have ridiculed in his great backstage-showbiz sitcom "Extras."

Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones

But by the time this imperfect little film wends its way to one of the most winning exit lines I've heard in a long time, it's turned into something, well, perfectly lovely.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

Ghost Town reworks "Ghost" as a romantic comedy with a miserable hero who sees dead people and is really annoyed by them.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Someone once said about W.C. Fields that he had the rare ability to despise amusingly. I can imagine no greater compliment than to say that Ricky Gervais seems, at his best, like a young Fields.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

One of those romantic comedies that never quite clicks. At times, its humor is effective, provoking chuckles and laughs. At other times, the comedy feels forced and awkward.

TV Guide Ken Fox

In Koepp's comedic variation on a similar theme, the dead are not just unhappy -- they're irritatingly needy.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Eventually, though, Ghost Town buckles beneath the weight of contrivance -- so many ghosts to dispel, so many lessons to learn.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Feels downright ancient.

Village Voice Robert Wilonsky

If it sounds all so pale and predictable, it is.

Empire Helen O'Hara

If you like Gervais' usual schtick, you might be prepared to overlook the hackneyed plot for the jokes and strong cast.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.6 (out of 10) based on 50 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

ashlee s gave it a3:
This movie was boring and typical. It is basically the sixth sense of comedy or Ghost, which stories have already been perpetuated throughout movie land more times than deserved. The ending is left open with endless possibe outcomes, when the movie needed some sort of closure: which man did she choose? We will never know?

steven r gave it an8:
Rates an 8.9, just short of excellent. This is Mr. Gervais movie and he is up to the task. Crisp, funny dialogue and interaction with Ms. Leoni, Mr. Kinnear, and especially the Surgeon (Ms. Wiig). An unusual film as the leads are a bit off center and the handsome star plays a backup role. I can't pin it down but there is something about Ms. Leoni that makes her likable if not lovable (see You Kill Me & The Family Man as examples). Well written & directed, and great ending that does not tie everything up too neatly. I laughed, shed a tear, and rooted for both of them to be happy, hopefully with, but even without, each other. Highly recommended.

Essi S gave it a9:
A great script by David Koepp, who also directed this surpriser film of 2008. Everything worked in this film. Funny and moving.

Steve H. gave it a2:
Schmaltzy sentimental tack.

[Anonymous] gave it an8:
Yeah people, this is about as good as a romantic comedy about ghosts is going to get... the ideas are pretty original, even if the plot is not... Gervais elevates this above the usual tosh as he is aloud to improvise... some of the scenes are pure gold... take the girlfriend along, you'll bothfeel pretty validated afterward.

T gave it an8:
Refreshingly good movie with excellent performances.

jeff o gave it an8:
Very funny and touching, not perfect, but very good!

Ghost Town DreamWorks Pictures (Paramount)

Ghost Town
DreamWorks Pictures (Paramount)