Who the spirits love
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Who the spirits love |
| Original title | Ghost town |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2008 |
| length | 102 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director | David Koepp |
| script | David Koepp, John Kamps |
| production |
Joseph E. Iberti , Gavin Polone |
| music | Geoff Zanelli |
| camera | Fred Murphy |
| cut | Sam Seig |
| occupation | |
| |
Who the ghosts love (original title: Ghost Town ) is a romantic comedy film from 2008. Directed by David Koepp , who also wrote the script together with John Kamps . British comedian Ricky Gervais , Greg Kinnear and Téa Leoni took on the leading roles .
action
The New York businessman Frank Herlihy narrowly escapes an air conditioner falling from a tall building, only to be run over by a bus immediately afterwards. As a ghost , he stands next to the scene of the accident.
The shy dentist Dr. Meanwhile, Bertram Pincus is having a colonoscopy in a hospital. After his release, he met numerous people who were surprised that he could see them. Pincus believes in hallucinations and goes to the hospital again. There, with the help of a hospital attorney, he was told that he was clinically dead for seven minutes because of a mistake by the anesthetist . Since he withdrew from all claims in the wake-up phase, he cannot sue the hospital for damages.
From now on, numerous ghosts bother him on the street, who want him to take care of their unfinished business. Although Pincus flatly rejects this at first, the ghosts do not leave him alone. Frank Herlihy promises to arrange this for him if only he fulfills one wish: Herlihy does not want his widow Gwen to marry the human rights activist Richard, whom Herlihy believes to be a fraud. In order to finally have his peace of mind, Pincus agrees and attends a lecture by the Egyptologist Gwen. She knows Pincus, who lives in the same house, above all as a ruthless curmudgeon who doesn't wait in the elevator or complain about food smells. However, he succeeds in arousing her interest when she learns that Pincus is a dentist and that he is analyzing the teeth of the pharaoh mummy she presented in the lecture.
Shortly afterwards he gets to know Gwen's fiancé Richard personally, who invites him to dinner with them. Contrary to Herlihy's accusations, Pincus finds Richard sympathetic and his commitment to human rights exemplary. On the other hand, Pincus himself feels increasingly drawn to Gwen. At another dinner, Gwen Pincus reveals that on the day of her husband's death she found out that he had cheated on her with another woman. When Richard appears shortly afterwards for treatment at Pincus, he anesthetizes him with laughing gas and learns from him that Gwen has since broken off the engagement. Herlihy remains on earth as a ghost, although he actually only saw the separation of the two as his unfinished business.
Gwen decides to go to Egypt for six months. Pincus gives her a key ring that she has wanted for a long time. During the conversation, however, he uses a phrase that only Gwen and her husband used, so that she becomes suspicious. Pincus reveals the truth that he is in contact with Frank's ghost. Of course, Gwen doesn't believe him and asks about her husband's worst nightmare that he only told her. Frank lies and Gwen thinks Pincus is a charlatan and leaves him alone in the park. He still calls after her that he loves her. Pincus asks Frank why he didn't tell him the truth, and Frank replies that he thinks he's a heartless person who doesn't care about anyone else.
Pincus falls into depression and asks his Indian colleague Dr. Prashar for sleeping pills. Instead, he advises him to stop being so heartless and to become a different person. Pincus then helps numerous ghosts with their unfinished business. He becomes aware that the spirits cannot leave as long as the people close to them have not yet finished their death, and not because the spirits still have something to do. As a result, Frank's ghost cannot leave either, because Gwen has not yet finished with his death.
Pincus goes to Gwen and convinces her to ask him another question about Frank. Gwen wants to know why Frank cheated on her. Frank can only say that he is very sorry. Gwen is not satisfied with this answer and still does not trust Pincus. As he follows her into the street, he too is run over by a bus and suddenly stands next to Frank as a ghost and sees Gwen crying for him. The arriving Richard tries to revive Pincus. Frank realizes that Gwen is in love with Pincus and reveals his real nightmare to him. After that, Frank can finally leave earth.
Pincus is resuscitated and wakes up in a hospital. Gwen, who made an appointment with Dr. Prashar meets Pincus there. He tells her Frank's nightmare and assures her that he could finally leave. She can't smile yet because it hurts, but Pincus promises to take care of it.
Reviews
The majority of the critics saw the film as a light comedy that was not perfect, but could convince with the mixture of British humor and love story.
“Romantic comedy with quick wit and precise timing. She also impresses with an unconventional main character who counteracts the common clichés of the romantic hero. "
“David Koepp's film is certainly not perfect, but the man knows his trade and gives his characters the quick-wittedness that one can traditionally expect from them. In the comic scenes, David Koepp almost always finds the right time to make the audience laugh, and when Pincus hurries through the streets of Manhattan in disgust, you actually get a feel for the aesthetic demands of the big city. "
“There have been plenty of stories with spirits walking among the living who cannot or will not let go. However, this is spiced with a special pinch of sarcasm and thus gets the special, slightly malicious-macabre, British charm. Intelligent humor cinema with finely tuned coarseness and dashing wit, for slightly higher demands. "
"" Ghost Town "first goes to the laughing muscles and then more and more to the heart - that means, the story loses a bit of momentum in the second half."
Roger Ebert particularly praised the play of the three main actors:
"Never mind about the plot details, which spin out in more or less obligatory fashion. Focus instead on Tea Leoni, lovable down to her toenails, and Frank, cursed by having to live (or die, that is) enveloped in guilt and gloom. ... "Ghost Town" is a lightweight rom-com elevated by its performances. It is a reminder that the funniest people are often not comedians, but actors playing straight in funny roles. "
On the other hand, some reviewers rated Pincu's rapid change from obnoxious disgust to philanthropic hero critically.
“The fact that the comedy doesn't work properly also has to do with the half-baked mixing in of melodramatic elements. The hero has to go through a change to be a philanthropist, whatever the cost. And so the director does not do it under a quote from Einstein to initiate the miraculous conversion of Saul / Paul. There is only one line left to compensate for this by Greg Kinnears Frank, who may assess his second chance more realistically: "After death we are not smarter either."
Awards
- Won at the 2008 Satellite Awards for Best Actor (Comedy / Musical) for Ricky Gervais
- Winner of the 2009 COFCA Awards from the Central Ohio Film Critics Association for Best Overlooked Film
- Nomination at the Saturn Awards 2009 in the category Saturn Award for the best screenplay for David Koepp and John Kamps
- Nomination at the Empire Awards 2009 in the category Best Comedy
Web links
- Official German film website
- Ghost Town in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Who the ghosts love at moviemaze.de, accessed on May 24, 2011
- ↑ Heartache and tooth enamel at nzz.ch, accessed on May 24, 2011
- ^ Ghost Town at rogerebert.suntimes.com, accessed May 24, 2011
- ↑ Who the ghosts love at kino-zeit.de, accessed on May 24, 2011