Sometimes subject matters don’t interest me from the get-go.
Not even oh-so-creative taglines like “A mean man (Ricky Gervais) begins to see ghosts and is haunted by one (Greg Kinnear) that wants him to break up his ex-wife’s (Téa Leoni) marriage plans.”!?
Hmmm. Nope. I think that was the plot for an episode of the Ghost Whisperer.
Did I tell you that the man is really annoying and he’ll have a character changing Epiphany at the end of---Hey! I didn't say you could leave!
*A brief scuffle ensues. A scream sounds and is cut off in a gurgle. Someone unrolls a roll of duct tape.*
What about the Director/Screenwriter? He can fill you with hope right?
We’re talking about David Koepp here, he’s the “airequote” writer “airquotes” who politely raped the last Indiana Jones, has delivered workman like screenplays for tons of Hollywood Blockbusters (“War of the Worlds”) and directed a few half-decent films (“Stir of Echoes”) in his career. Not enough to make me fork over the dough for a seat.
What about the actors?
The film is the first starring feature role for British comedic powerhouse Ricky Gervais. The man may seem like a bit of a dick when he talks to the press (Especially when he irks the might of such Directors as Edgar Wright as seen HERE) but his shtick as the extremely awkward goofball on UK series ‘The Office’ and ‘Extras’ has made him a household name. Would he bring the funny? Bah. I don’t really care. I’ll catch it on cable when it comes out.
Right. Okay. What else is playing?
SPOILER: Nothing else was playing.
The premise doesn’t really go anywhere new and the story is hackneyed to the limit of tear-jerking bluntness (See…There’s this white light that appears when the ghosts go to hell…or is it heaven? Isn’t that sad? ), yet, I still enjoyed it as it rolled along. It never felt forced. Sure, we know that our hero is going to get the girl, but it’s the actual process that matters. Ricky Gervais succeeds at translating his stuttering self to the big screen without having to rely on slimy pity to keep the comedy going. His lines are funny, his character is funny and he actually gets a chance to emote a few times without seeming like he walked in on the wrong film. I can’t picture him doing anything else then a slightly awkward British gent, but guess that’s why the call them “character actors”. The rapid fire banter between the curmudgeon Gervais and the recently deceased womanizer Greg Kinnear (Solid as usual) is the highlight of the entire picture. We’ve seen the whole “Invisible Person only I can See” played off a million times before, but it’s rarely this solid.
It isn’t bad way to spend an evening, but I wouldn’t recommend seeing this in cinemas, unless you know, nothing else is playing.
1 comment:
Nothing else was playing.
(I saw The Dark Knight a 5th time and fell asleep half-way through)
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