This isn’t cool, man. You know how many people are gonna get suckered into seeing Ghost Town just ’cause your name is on it?
I’m getting ahead of myself here, but… goddammit. Ghost Town is just so… stupid. And not “stupid” as in “lame,” but “stupid” as in “unintelligent” and “bland” and “the opposite of The Office.”
And okay, I get it. Nobody wants to be remembered for only one thing; just ask Sir Mix-a-lot, or Monica Lewinsky. But sometimes things work out that way, and sometimes the things that people remember you for are actually really amazing things. Like for you: The British version of The Office is, pretty arguably, the apex of television, and it casts a massive shadow. Probably one you aren’t ever going to escape, frankly, no matter how funny Extras was, or how great your standup routines were in Grand Theft Auto IV.
But that’s no excuse to do stuff like Ghost Town—a flimsy, forgettable romantic comedy in which you trade in your usual sharp, discomfiting comedy for hokey, sappy pap. I mean, really: So a misanthrope briefly dies during a colonoscopy snafu, comes back to life, and now he can talk to ghosts? And the ghosts are annoying? And the misanthrope falls in love with a ghost’s widow? And the misanthrope becomes a better person, and everything ends up fine, and the whole thing feels like this shamelessly lazy mash-up of Ghost and Cyrano de Bergerac? And your costars are goddamn Greg Kinnear and Téa Leoni? Come on, man.
Despite what a monumental piece this is, in all fairness, you get some good lines in. You’re still fucking hilarious. But then the cheesy music will swell, or the romantic comedy shenanigans will start, or there’ll be one of those massive heaps of maudlin, sentimental bullshit. ‘Cause even though you’re hilarious, man, still—this is a really shitty movie.
Maybe you thought you could get away with this one? I mean, most people in America don’t even know who you are, right? The only Office they know is the one with Steve Carell! So maybe you thought you could sneak under the radar—cash an easy check, establish a bit of a name for yourself in the States, do something that wasn’t related to David Brent? Because we Americans just don’t know any better?
Well, most of them don’t, honestly. But some of us do.
Is it just me or does this particular film reviewer seem like an idiot? He contradicts himself within his own review. First he says “You know how many people are gonna get suckered into seeing Ghost Town just ’cause your name is on it?” Then he contradicts himself by saying “most people in America don’t even know who you are.” I’m sick of pretentious wanna be hipster-cum-journalists with hard ons who write nothing but schlock. Just because the piece of art one is reviewing lacks substance doesn’t mean the review has to lack substance.
It’s just you.
I was dreading this movie for fear of treachly, trite ‘romantic comedy’ stunts. The usual pablum. Yes, the 2nd 1/2 of this flick didn’t disappoint in that regard but Ricky is well worth sitting through the schlock.
This guy is flat out hysterical. Honestly, I can’t remember last time I heard that many people cracking up so freely or loudly in a theater.
I feel sorry for Gervais. I think he probably had to ‘settle’ for this movie. I believe he is better than this. But the dopes in Hollywood make it almost impossible to be in a decent film.
How I would love to see the Coen brothers give Ricky a turn on screen. Magic!
does gervais have much more than “clueless (arrogant) buffoon” parts in him, though? that’s what he did in “night at the museum.” it’s what he did in the partial episode of “extras” i yawned through. apparently “clueless (arrogant) buffoon” is really exciting stuff for some folks. i suspect those folks are actually still really excited that they’d heard about “the office” before their grandparents.