The film is about a near-death experience during routine colonoscopy. A hated dentist named Bertrum Pincus tries to enter into a unique experience by discovering that he is able to talk to the dead suddenly. Everyone seems to want something from him, such as Frank Hurley, who hates him for breaking up his widow's marriage.
Yes, there are gags about mummy penises and canine halitosis, but other sublime moments recall Albert Brooks' social-satire heyday. Given the otherworldly elements, David Koepp's "Ghost Town" sweetly hits the heights of Brooks' "Defending Your Life."
The Town isn't as impressive as Affleck's directing debut, 2007's Gone Baby Gone, but he handles the action scenes with brutal efficiency and gets terrific performances from his co-stars.
Funny but familiar, Koepp's comedy feels like a multiplex reincarnation -- we've seen this film before and back then we must have stepped on someone's toes
Naturally, Koepp makes it his business to redeem this unpleasant character and recast him as an acceptable stand-in for a romantic lead. But cynics should not despair; it's not a complete makeover.
The pudgy Brit looks right at home here on the big screen, starring in a romantic comedy in which we're asked to believe he might have a chance with Tea Leoni. And you know what? He makes us believe.
