Ricky Gervais is a funny man. He was band manager for the British band Suede, conceived, pitched and successfully had the original "Office" commisioned by the BBC and then went on to sell the concept as well as "Extras" to US Audiences. His standup is excellent and his self deprecating anglicisms hit the mark every time.
I thought I'd celebrate my first day of unemp....self-employment ;-) with a visit to the movies to see 'Ghost Town'. Basic premise is Ricky can see dead people after dying for 7 minutes during a routine colonoscopy. Hilarity (alledgedly) ensues as he then spends the rest of the movie trying to 'free' Greg Kinear from the world of ghosts by preventing Tea Leoni from remarrying some other dude. I tend to try and avoid reviews (which this post seems to be shaping up to be) because I think they unfairly taint your perspective. The movie doesn't suck. It's not my normal cup of tea and I would say it's borderline chick flick material but Ricky is good as the caustic dentist Pincus. The problem is the entire premise of the movie feels so trite and familiar that it just feels pointless. It's ghost, meets 6th sense, meets scrooge.Bizarrely it actually feels like the kind of movie Ricky would poke fun of in 'Extras'.
For someone so good at surprising people with subtle comedy, I'd love to see a little more than just cashing the paycheck. If this is the price of entry for breaking into Hollywood I'm not sure it's worth it.
Sorry Ricky, prove me wrong with the next one!