lthough “Ghost Town” utilizes a fairly run-of-the-mill romantic comedy plot (going so far as to treat viewers to two, typical, sad love song montages), Ricky Gervais and Tea Leoni are undeniably charming. Plenty of humor mixed with touching drama also aids the storyline, which takes on something of a “The Sixth Sense” routine, as do generic supporting roles – quite expected from these types of comedies. Seeing dead people would have been too repetitious for a few years ago, but blended with a “Groundhog Day” self-worth analyzation, “Ghost Town” manages to be consistently more satisfying than disappointing.

Bertram Pincus (Ricky Gervais) is a generally dislikeable dentist (does anyone else think Gervais’ crooked grin fails to provide the ideal spokesman for this profession?). He’s a bitter man who prefers solitude and tranquility to human interaction. After a seemingly routine colonoscopy, Pincus discovers that he actually died for approximately seven minutes during the procedure. And despite his enthusiasm for continuing to be alive, he’s distraught to realize that he’s been supernaturally flimflammed into seeing ghosts.

If it weren’t bad enough that he’s bothered by the living, he now has to put up with dozens of annoying wraiths who wish for him to communicate to their friends and relatives to amend problems that existed before they died. An especially burdensome spirit named Frank (Greg Kinnear) persuades Bertram to save his wife from remarrying, which causes even more problems when the initially unwilling dentist falls for the troubled woman (Tea Leoni).

Were it not for the upbeat music shimmying through the opening credits of “Ghost Town” as dental tools are examined in close-up, this introduction could very well have been the start of the next horrifying torture-porn flick. As the rest of the film plays out, it can’t avoid constant comparisons to other movies – some better, some worse, and from many different genres. Using a concept from Jerry Zucker’s “Ghost” to establish a purpose for the wandering and haunting afterlife, “Ghost Town” proceeds to mimic the main theme behind “The Sixth Sense” – in a very comedic manner. A similarity to “Groundhog Day” also exists, presenting the sardonic Pincus with a way out of his seeing-dead-people curse.

Anyone who has seen “The Office” or “Extras” knows the comedic brilliance of Ricky Gervais, with his ability to subtly blend stark realism, natural humor, and pathos. In “Ghost Town,” Gervais brings as much of his wit and mannerisms as possible, though it’s clear he’s not working from his own material. Still, he is signally the film’s driving force, as the script is unable to prevent his style from surfacing. Gervais is so good at his brand of dry humor that it’s a shame the film chooses to shift to melodrama at all; in fact, the primary morals of the story seem secondary to his introverted character’s eccentricities. Audiences are likely to get the feeling that they didn’t see enough from the funnyman before his role is forced into the serious elements of self-reflective redemption.

– The Massie Twins