{"id":5890,"date":"2008-09-19T08:36:00","date_gmt":"2008-09-19T12:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/?p=5890"},"modified":"2022-09-18T08:42:40","modified_gmt":"2022-09-18T12:42:40","slug":"ghost-town-is-the-sixth-sense-as-a-romantic-comedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/ghost-town-is-the-sixth-sense-as-a-romantic-comedy\/","title":{"rendered":"Ghost Town is The Sixth Sense as a romantic comedy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

David Koepp’s Ghost Town pulls at the heartstrings without being too nauseating. With a tagline that implies The Sixth Sense<\/em> as a romantic comedy, its tone and subject matter are roughly comparable to As Good As It Gets<\/em>: the thawing of a misanthrope with some good qualities. It mostly earns it, but the last 2-3 lines of dialog don’t feel natural — the sort of thing a screenwriter might jot down first, and then later write an entire screenplay around. It’s a real bittersweet irony for Bertram’s (Ricky Gervais) first real friend (Greg Kinnear) to literally disappear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poor T\u00e9a Leoni is once again saddled with an age-inappropriate love interest, as she was with Ben Kingsley in You Kill Me<\/a><\/em>. I can’t picture Gwen and Bertram as lovers, but I can see them as forging a real friendship, amidst their unique situation. Their characters are well-drawn enough that I can buy his ironic wit appealing to her while her supposedly perfect fianc\u00e9 may be a good human being but is utterly humorless.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David Koepp’s Ghost Town pulls at the heartstrings without being too nauseating. With a tagline that implies The Sixth Sense as a romantic comedy, its tone and subject matter are roughly comparable to As Good As It Gets: the thawing of a misanthrope with some good qualities. It mostly earns it, but the last 2-3 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,2],"tags":[1516,2018,1759,1567,64,1124],"class_list":["post-5890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-3-stars","category-movies","tag-1516","tag-david-koepp","tag-greg-kinnear","tag-ricky-gervais","tag-romantic-comedy","tag-tea-leoni"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/ghost-town.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa9lhB-1x0","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":665,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/you-kill-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":5890,"position":0},"title":"T\u00e9a Leoni clings to the menacing Ben Kingsley in You Kill Me","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"February 25, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"The first thing to say about You Kill Me is to give props to Ben Kingsley, if for no other reason than my fear that he will break my kneecaps if I don't. Even after his terrifying turn in Sexy Beast, it's still a surprise to see how perfectly natural\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"You Kill Me","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/you-kill-me-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/you-kill-me-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/you-kill-me-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/you-kill-me-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/you-kill-me-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":971,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/talladega-nights\/","url_meta":{"origin":5890,"position":1},"title":"Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby fails to amuse","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"August 24, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"What was I thinking when I rented this turd? Oh yeah, that Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby might be a funny, entertaining diversion. One can't always watch grim tales of abortion in Communist Romania or the death of a small town's entire generation of children. I had long\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "0 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"0 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/0-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Talladega Nights","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/talladega-nights-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/talladega-nights-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/talladega-nights-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/talladega-nights-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/talladega-nights-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5798,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-chemistry-only-goes-one-way-in-the-coen-brothers-intolerable-cruelty\/","url_meta":{"origin":5890,"position":2},"title":"The chemistry only goes one way in The Coen Brothers’ Intolerable Cruelty","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"August 15, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Intolerable Cruelty is usually found at or near the bottom of Best-to-Worst films by the Coen Brothers: #15 of 15, by David Haglund for Slate#10 of 15, by Ann Hornaday for The Seattle Times#13 of 14, by Andrew Osborne for Nerve You get the idea. But Intolerable Cruelty is the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"2 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/2-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones in Intolerable Cruelty","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/intolerable-cruelty.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/intolerable-cruelty.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/intolerable-cruelty.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/intolerable-cruelty.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/intolerable-cruelty.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":542,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-lady-in-the-water\/","url_meta":{"origin":5890,"position":3},"title":"M. Night Shyamalan squanders the last of his goodwill in The Lady in the Water","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"December 19, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"I don't know where to start with this one. I've been a M. Night Shyamalan fan from the very beginning, even when the role was better described as apologist. Even to a fan, nearly every film comes with a \"yeah, but...\" disclaimer: The Sixth Sense is an excellent piece of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "0 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"0 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/0-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Lady in the Water","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/lady-in-the-water-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/lady-in-the-water-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/lady-in-the-water-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/lady-in-the-water-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/lady-in-the-water-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":155,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/daily-dork-report-for-march-7-2006\/","url_meta":{"origin":5890,"position":4},"title":"The Dork Report for March 7, 2006","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"March 7, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Cheap therapy (no longer online: okcupid.com\/tests\/take): find out what's wrong with you but not how to fix it. Me? I'm an Outcast Genius (60% Nerd, 56% Geek, 69% Dork), an Observer (Enneagram type FIVE - BZ), but a pathetic 47% fuckable. Gorillaz to tour as 3D holograms (no longer online:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Dork Report"","block_context":{"text":"The Dork Report","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/dork-report\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Dork Report","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":328,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-matador\/","url_meta":{"origin":5890,"position":5},"title":"Pierce Brosnin lets it rip in Richard Shepard’s The Matador","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"July 17, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Full of suspenseful set-pieces involving assassination, The Matador is a genre film on the surface. It's actually more of a character piece about one man about to pay the price for a lifetime of being a pathological loner (paradoxically, while indulging his lusts in every other way imaginable), and another\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Matador","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/07\/matador-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/07\/matador-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/07\/matador-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/07\/matador-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/07\/matador-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5890"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5892,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5890\/revisions\/5892"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}