Ghost Town (2008)

A winning mix of sharp comedy and touching bits that keeps the laughter -- a few tears -- flowing.

A welcome surprise: a supernatural romantic comedy that works, graced with a cast just off-center enough to make it distinctive.

Smartly supernatural, and featuring sensational performances by Ricky Gervais and Tea Leoni, Ghost Town is a "Topper" for our times.

Though the plot contrives to throw Gervais and Leoni together and then pull them apart, the two leads stay consistently in sync through it all, laughing at each other's jokes and generally sharing the kind of normal adult communication that's often missing from movies about people falling in love.

Once Leoni's Gwen comes on the scene, the movie starts to bubble along nicely. Not just because Leoni is a screwball heroine worth, er, screwballing--at 42, she's more attractive than ever--but because her character is given a weight and texture that's rare in a movie of this type.