Film Review: Ricky Gervais Gets Up To Some Un-Funny Business

Ghost Town, which possesses perhaps the laziest, most self-evident title of a ghost-themed film since Bill Cosby’s 1990 cinematic tour de force Ghost Dad, is Ricky Gervais’s newest attempt to sell himself to American audiences. The film arrives on the heels of Gervais launching himself into the stratosphere of elite British comedians by creating and starring in the original BBC series The Office, which has even spawned own US counterpart, also helmed largely by Gervais, and subsequently doing the same in HBO’s superb Extras. Gervais excels in both TV roles, portraying a self-interested, cringe-worthily awkward Brit who is inadequate at his job and even more inadequate at interacting with those around him. In Ghost Town, Gervais plays Bertram Pincus, a curmudgeonly British dentist, a comically oxymoronic characterization that goes under-utilized in the film. He also happens to be decidedly self-interested and cringe-worthily awkward as well. Bertram has got a vague back-story about previous heartbreak and an equally vague story about why he relocated from London to New York City. After a routine hospital procedure goes awry, during which Bertram becomes dead for about seven minutes, he quickly realizes that he is able to see and communicate with ghosts.

The film rapidly takes a turn toward clichéd territory when Frank, the foremost ghost spokesperson, played by Greg Kinnear, explains to Bertram, “the dead have unfinished business, which is why we’re still here,” as though anyone in the audience would be the slightest bit confused about this plotline without Frank spelling it out. As is standard fare in most ghost-themed movies (The Sixth Sense, Ghost, etc.), it is up to the one person who can communicate with the dead, in this case Bertram, to assist them in solving their “unfinished business.” Bertram reluctantly agrees to help Frank by sabotaging his ex-wife Gwen’s new relationship. As you might expect, Bertram falls for Gwen, played by Tea Leoni, and from there the movie becomes hampered by formulaic romantic-comedy shifts, complete with not-so-subtle string accompaniment in the background of each emotional scene to really drive home the hammy on-screen pathos. Leoni’s acting, which is, in a way, representative of the film as a whole, continually treads water, alternating between joyous laughter and blatantly fake crying.

Despite a supporting cast well-versed in comedy, featuring Saturday Night Live’s Kristen Wiig and The Daily Show’s Aasif Mandvi, in addition to veterans Gervais and Kinnear, Ghost Town never fully gets off the ground comedically. With the exception of some humorous early exchanges between Bertram and Wiig’s character, Gervais appears straightjacketed early and often by a script that simply doesn’t play to his strengths. Throughout the film he appears patently miscast as the protagonist in narrative that straddles the fence between broad comedy and half-baked love story. Herein lies the biggest problem with Ghost Town. Largely, it isn’t the acting. Rather, it’s the brand of poor writing that appeals to the lowest common denominator. This is the sort of film that Gervais would have mocked in Extras, a satirical series which often skewered the shallow façade of Hollywood film-making. Making it all the more painful watching Gervais essentially become the butt of his own jokes. Moreover, the pairing of Gervais and Leoni as love interests seems unintentionally comical as well. Gervais, pale and toad-faced with the portly physique of someone who rarely declines a second helping, has always been far more adept at playing the guy who doesn’t get the girl.

While it may not too late for Ricky Gervais to make a name for himself in the United States, he would be wise to take cues from successful predecessors. John Cleese was able to parlay his early career in popular British TV shows Fawlty Towers and Monty Python’s Flying Circus into a successful run of American cinema. And more recently, Simon Pegg has scored two cult hits in America with Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, after beginning his career by starring in British television series Big Train and Spaced. Based on these two examples, the key for Gervais appears to be in maintaining the patience to choose more suitable projects. Creating a walk-on role for himself in the NBC version of The Office wouldn’t be a bad idea either. At the very least, it would promote familiarity with US audiences, many of whom have not seen him acting out his own writing, which is ultimately when Gervais truly shines. But until then, one may conclude that if Gervais were to get hit by a bus tomorrow and Ghost Town stood as his only leading role in a feature film, he may indeed wish to stick around to address some “unfinished business.”

Sweden: Not Just for Abba Fans Anymore

When did Sweden become so hip? Formerly known to many primarily for its ample crop of tall, statuesque blondes, or as the namesake of rich cultural delicacies such as Swedish Fish. Now it seems those Thor-loving Scandinavians have begun to carve a new cultural niche by cornering the market on smart, accessible indie-rock. All Abba jokes aside, some of the best new indie-rock music to come out over the past year or so has been produced by Swedes. Acts like Jens Lekman and the Raveonettes (who are actually from Denmark, which is close enough to Sweden for my purposes) did their best to win over hearts and minds of the masses with releases early in '08. Now, following in their footsteps are sincerely buzz-worthy artists like Kykke Li, Kristoffer Ragnstam and Peter, Bjorn & John. As recently as a month ago, I'd have told you that Canada was shaping up to be the Indie-rock mecca for the new millennium, but now it seems our neighbors to the north may have some healthy competition. Don't believe me? Sample some fresh Swede-rock below. It's enough to make Stockholm Syndrome sound like a good thing.

Lykke Li - I'm Good, I'm Gone

Kristoffer Ragnstam - Swing That Tambourine

Peter, Bjorn & John - Inland Empire

(Note: Mp3's removed by per artist request)