I had a chance to review the DVD of Ghost Town, which came out in December but I sort of…forgot to post the review. “Ghost Town” is a movie full of stand-out performances. There isn’t a single person on screen at any time who isn’t a joy to watch. And yet, there’s also no over-acting, prima donna pampered Hollywood actors, either. What “Ghost Town” has is an ensemble cast of brilliantly understated actors who move the plot along at just the right pace.

Ricky Gervais plays Dr. Bertram Pincus, a dentist who really doesn’t like people. He likes being a dentist because it’s hard for people to talk at him when they have dental equipment in their mouths. He avoids holiday gatherings and his neighbors, tosses off smart-aleck comments under his breath. Then he goes to the hospital for a medical procedure that requires general anesthesia, and when he leaves, he starts to notice people watching him, people who other people can walk right through. He goes back to the hospital to find out if something went wrong. Kristen Wiig is hilarious as the surgeon he confronts, wondering if something went wrong during the procedure. “I died for seven minutes?”, Gervais asks. “A little less than seven, yes”, is her deadpan reply.

One of the most persistent ghosts is played by Greg Kinnear, who can’t “move on” until he takes care of unfinished business. He wants Gervais to bust up the impending marriage between his widow (Tea Leoni) and a no-good human rights attorney (Billy Campbell). Gervais agrees if Kinnear can get the other ghosts to leave him alone, and it doesn’t hurt that he actually finds Leoni interesting.

This isn’t a laugh-til-you-cry type of comedy, it’s more what I would consider a romantic comedy, with moments both funny and touching. Kinnear and Leoni are totally believable as a former couple, and to me, they are both as good at acting as anyone on the usual Oscar nominee list. Other stand-outs from the cast are Aasif Mandvi (“Jericho”) as Gervais’ dental practice partner, and Alan Ruck (“Spin City”) as a Ghost Dad worried about the young son he left behind.

If you haven’t seen “Ghost Town” yet, it’s one I recommend. It’s rated PG-13 but probably wouldn’t be interesting to kids, I’d say get this one to watch with your honey this weekend for Valentine’s Day!

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