This is a surprisingly fun romantic comedy, featuring a great cast and a rather good script that somehow manages to put a slight spin on a tried movie formula.

Writing: Writer/director David Koepp tries his hand at the romantic comedy genre, with success. Having written and directed a number of thrillers and action event films, this is definitely a change for him. And true to his typical talent, he manages to pull it off quite well. The interesting thing is that the film actually plays into many of the typical elements of this genre film, borrowing pretty freely from the likes of Ghost, Hearts & Souls and others. However, through the use of distinct character writing and amusing situational writing, he manages to find a unique voice for the film. And the casting didn’t hurt.

Production: The most notable thing for a film of this type is how well the “ghost effects” work. In this case, they are about as perfect as one would hope for. They don’t actually try to go for any kind of ghostly appearance, but rather settle for just having the actors in the scenes and only use effects when they pass through something. While it’s an easy budgetary decision to make, I think using the simple approach like this typically helps the film creatively as well. It’s not needlessly distracting for the audience. The other tech areas of the film are first rate, with no shortcomings to point out.

Cast: Ricky Gervais brings his very British sense of humor to this leading man role, and it works spectacularly. His droll sense of humor is razor sharp and spot on, and he really makes the introverted, jerk of a lead romantic comedy character work from every angle. He also manages to make the transformation of the character seem real and not at all forced, not to mention still feel like the same character, which is often a danger of films like this. Then there’s the perfect casting of Greg Kinnear as the other kind of likable jerk - the one who really is more of an actual jerk. It’s somewhat hard to make a movie that centers around two lead characters that would on paper seem to be very off putting. These two very entertaining actors manage to not only make it work, but elevate it to a higher level. Add in the always-great Tea Leoni, an actress who often doesn’t get the attention or casting she deserves, and you’ve got yourself a fantastic cast. Leoni and Gervais work very well together in the film, which is key to a romantic comedy. Rounding out the cast are plenty of fine actors and actresses, including the likes of Alan Ruck, Billy Campbell and Kristen Wiig.

Music: Composer Geoff Zanelli is seemingly channeling the likes of Rolfe Kent and Rachel Portman, two composers who are very well versed in this kind of film. While it may just be a heavy amount of temp track influence, and not a choice on his part, it does work pretty well for the film. That might not result in the world’s most original score, but it works all the same.

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