MESSAGE IN THE MOVIES

Ghost Town Rated PG-13

Directed by David Koepp. Starring Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear

Movie Review by Rev. Bruce Batchelor Glade
Photo © Dreamworks Pictures

I am well aware that the Christian faith does not include the concept of ghosts, but I have always loved ghost stories in which a person on earth has to cooperate with a ghost to resolve some unfinished business.  Ghost Town riffs on that familiar plot device and throws in a dash of Dickens, as well, with a reluctant curmudgeon who is given the ability to see dead people as well as more than a few assignations from the other side.  The great British television actor Ricky Gervais is cast as Bertram Pincus, a self-centered and very professional dentist who actually enjoys his job the most when a chatty patient’s mouth is full of swabbing and other devices that make conversation impossible.  Each evening Dr. Pincus walks two buildings down the street to his apartment, where he sets out his clothes for the next day and gets to work on the New York Times crossword puzzle.  Following a bit of a glitch that takes place during a routine colonoscopy, the good doctor begins to see visions of recently deceased persons who are not quite ready to make the final voyage to heaven. Since the pleasure of this film comes from its clever plot, I will say little more except that Greg Kinnear and Tea Leoni are in top form as a husband and wife who become involved with Bertram in his journey of hesitant humanitarianism.  This film is a mix tape of elements from Topper, The Sixth Sense, A Christmas Carol, and Bringing Up Baby…and it works!  If you can excuse a bit of swearing (and they managed to get the “word that must not be named” in twice!), this is a very heartfelt and enjoyable film with quite a bit of redemption all the way around.  Most of all, Ghost Town is a gentle nudge to all of us to redeem the time given to us and to care for one another as a regular part of our daily business.  It is precisely because Christians do not believe in ghosts that we need to be about the Lord’s business while folks are still alive.

Pitchfork Rating: Four halos. (A delightful fantasy film of rebirth, with an old-fashioned emphasis on character development.)  One pitchfork. (Some swearing, mild drug references, and one character who is conducting an off-screen adulterous affair.)

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