Imagine going in for a routine colonoscopy, walking out, and suddenly being able to see people no one else can.  This happened to Bertram Pincus one day because of a medical mishap where he literally died for “less than seven minutes” and is now the most sought after human in the Between Life.  Now imagine you’re one of those souls trying to complete your life and your only hope is a crass, rude, bitter person who doesn’t care about you or your mission.  What would you do?   

Ghost Town could not be as hysterical or believable if it were not for the outstanding acting and complete believability of the cast.  The role of Bertram was most likely written specifically for Ricky Gervais not only because of his generic stature or incredibly arrogant British accent, but because the way he was able to deliver the dagger-like lines that made it seem like he wrote them himself.  Fans of Ricky, whether it is from BBC’s The Office or HBO’s Extras, will revel in this movie.  It is completely perfect for him; an Anal Retentive, extremely regimented lonely British Dentist.  Bertram also leads a life of extreme solitude who also revels in complete quiet and absolutely no contact with others.  From the beginning, you will “get” Bertram.  When a fellow Dentist Dr. Prashar (Aasif Mandvi) invites him to the Waiting Room for party Bertram politely declines.  After several polite attempts by the coworker who really cannot believe he wants to be alone—he continues.  Your jaw will drop as you gasp at what Bertram says just to leave him alone.    

When Ghost Town opens, it follows Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear) as he is on the way to something fancy as a busy Manhattanite but has an unbelievably horrid low-class accent.  We discover through phone calls that he is planning on leaving his wife and getting an apartment with his girlfriend but through a mix-up his wife found out.  As he lies and straightens everything out with her he is killed.  The best thing about Kinnear’s performance in that moment was that the accent surprisingly left when he died!  It’s only seven minutes of the movie and completely forgettable as his character runs into and befriends the newly “awakened” Bertram.  According to this movie (and others about a similar topic) you spend your time before heaven in the outfit you die in.  Thank God Frank died in a tuxedo and not like Jeff Hiller as The Naked Guy!   

As it was in life, Frank uses his amazing powers of persuasion and manipulation to help Bertram aid in his last mission on Earth.  Kinnear’s character’s progressive personal growth after death was realistic and genuine even to the end when he realized what his true unfinished mission was.  Believing at first it was to stop the impeding wedding of his widow Gwen (Téa Leoni) to Human Rights Super Hero Lawyer Richard (Billy Campbell) Frank gets Bertram to intervene.  Téa’s life struggle as a widow to now fiancée is never viewed as difficult but during one pivotal scene in a restaurant over cocktails with Bertram she completely captures every member of the audience with the confession that she knew of Frank’s infidelity.  She then questions her own self-worth through her dead husband’s eyes which in turn stops Frank in his tracks and visibly knocks the wind out of his sails.  Téa Leoni brings life to her character that makes you want to hug her then have coffee and discuss her latest Egyptian mummy.