Funny guy

Ghost Town succeeds because of a very unusual leading man | Megan Basham

Paramount Pictures

Not many U.S. moviegoers are familiar with Ricky Gervais, the British comedian who originally created the character that shot Steve Carell to fame in the American version of The Office. But those who do know his work on that show know that as amusing as Carell's awkward, self-deluded manager Michael Scott is, it has nothing on Gervais' rendering.

In typical English-versus-American-humor fashion, Carell is over-the-top where Gervais is only subtly exaggerated. Both are funny, but Gervais is funny in a painfully realistic way that borders on genius. This past weekend he brought that genius to Ghost Town (PG-13), a paint-by-numbers romantic comedy that rises to unexpected hilarity thanks to Gervais' ability to infuse an old setup with fresh appeal.