Jason watches "Ghost Town"

So after the free sneak preview of "Flash of Genius", I 'accidentally' stumbled into another auditorium that was just starting the comedy "Ghost Town". And what do I see after 2 hours of watching Greg Kinnear? More Greg Kinnear! He opens the movie as a smooth talking jerk who's having an affair. And then he gets hit with a bus. And, of course, since this is a ghost movie, he's still around for the rest of the movie (which is good, for the record I like Greg Kinnear).

But, if you've seen the previews, you know Ricky Gervais is the star of the movie. He plays anti-social dentist Bertram Pincus. He goes to a hospital for a routine colonoscopy, and when he wakes up the next day he can see people that no one else sees. He doesn't immediately realize they're ghosts, since he doesn't like to touch people anyway. But the fact that he steps around them gives the ghosts a clue, and they start flocking to him as the one guy who sees them. Seems they have a lot of unfinished business keeping them here on earth, but Pincus has no interest in helping them--he just wants the damn 'hallucinations' to go away. Greg Kinnear is the main ghost, who need his help to keep his wife (Tea Leoni) from marrying a real jerk (not like he was much of a catch). She happens to live in his building, and in fact has been pretty rude to her for a while. But when Kinnear forces him to notice her, he becomes a little smitten. This works perfectly for everyone--Gervais gets the girl, Kinnear gets peace, and Leoni escapes being married to a jerk. Except, of course, that Gervais is a freaking jerk (and her fiance is actually a human rights lawyer and all around good guy). Well, I won't spoil more of the plot. It's pretty funny, and I had a reasonably good time.

I should also mention that I've never seen "The Office" or "Extras", the two shows Gervais is most famous for (and I know, I should see them, they're hilarious. You don't have to tell me). I've seen him in small roles and on talk shows, and he always seemed pretty funny. This was my first full dose of him in a starring role, and I accept the fact--he's a funny, funny man.