Movie review: Quirky humor saves 'Ghost Town' from a formulaic demise

Nothing is funnier than a sociopathic dentist wielding a drill, right? If the drill is held by comedian Ricky Gervais, the answer might be yes. Although "Ghost Town" seems committed to adding another nail in the coffin of the battered reputation of good-natured dentists everywhere, it quickly softens into the lighthearted fare promised by most romantic comedies. It makes good on the cliché "it'll make you laugh; it'll make you cry" by providing clever comedy and stock sentimentality without feeling tired.

Callous dentist Dr. Bertram Pincus, played by the hard-to-hate Gervais, will do anything to avoid connecting with other human beings. His natural knack for insensitivity shines through in almost every social occasion with patients, colleagues and next-door neighbors. Pincus maintains a tightly controlled world of solitude, until he goes in for a routine colonoscopy only to emerge with a parodied version of "The Sixth Sense."

Suddenly all the dead souls in Manhattan with unresolved business are seeking out Pincus as their only connection to the world of the living. The most persistent is Frank (Greg Kinnear), who dogs the poor doctor night and day to help him hijack the impending marriage of his widow, Gwen (Téa Leoni). In order to regain order in his life, Pincus resigns to abandon his misanthropy long enough to satiate Frank's wishes.

Pincus is, of course, not the cad he's made out to be as he melts into a smart, quick-witted charmer for the sake of Gwen. As a matter of fact, he's downright adorable in his un-self-conscious manner as he trots off to functions in his dentist smock and makes hilarious attempts to be heartless.

Fans of Gervais will revel in his performance that saves "Ghost Town" from being a by-the-numbers formulaic comedy. Director/writer David Koepp ventures into more crowd-pleasing territory from his previous suspense thrillers "Stir of Echoes" and "Secret Window," deftly providing whip-smart dialogue and quirky sarcasm that works seamlessly with Gervais. A scene in the hospital where Pincus is trying to figure out just what happened during his procedure that now allows him to see dead people is pitch-perfect. The fact that the unconventional humor almost totally gives over to the predictable tugs at the heartstrings is regrettable only because the satire is so fresh and the drama is not.