GHOST TOWN works or does not – depending on the way one wants to look at it.  British TV’s Office star comedian Ricky Gervais is supposed to play an inconsiderate jerk of a dentist who by a freak hospital procedure dies for a few minutes, only to re-live in the real world as a ghost. 

Problem is that Gervais is so funny and hilarious that the film makes him look instead as a hapless guy (the sort we all can identify with), as his character is part of ourselves – the one that wants some peace and quiet away from the noisy crowd. 

So, Bertram Pincus (Gervais) agrees to help another ghost Frank (Roy Kinnear) sort out his life with his wife, Gwen (Tea Leoni) so that Frank can leave limbo.  Trouble is that Bertram falls in love with Gwen.

Director Koepp’s (THE TRIGGER EFFECT, STIR OF ECHOES) film is extremely sappy, especially at the end – so be prepared to bring at least one box of tissues.  But for a romantic comedy based on heaven and death, tears are expected.

GHOST TOWN will undoubtedly please the masses - if not for the sentimentality, for the marvel of Brit Ricky Gervais’ comic timing.  Gervais makes GHOST TOWN tick, as he did the Brit TV’s THE OFFICE.  I cannot imagine any other actor able to lift the film to this level.  (The funniest thing to be about GHOST TOWN is casting a British actor in the role of a dentist with perfect teeth.)