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Ghost Town could be the long-awaited sequel to the Patrick Swayze/Demi Moore film Ghost. Whoopi Goldberg could have been unavailable or unwanted, thus forcing the producers to think quick on their feet and hire Ricky Gervais to star as the fake psychic with the real ability to communicate with the dead. And for continuity purposes the filmmakers could have asked Gervais to wear a dress and sport blackface.

Luckily none of the above happened, and instead we’re left with a wholly original film that suspiciously looks as if it could have started life as a sequel. Gervais once again plays an entertaining asshole, a character he’s mastered by now (see “The Office” and “Extras”), whose life is interrupted by a newfound ability to see and be seen by the dead. Led by the ghost of Greg Kinnear, the deceased soon descend on him in the hopes that he can resolve their unfinished business. The new trailer was recently posted on the film’s official site, GhostTownMovie.com.

Ghost Town is Gervais’ first attempt at a lead film role, and it’ll be interesting to see if audiences can handle his hilarious prick shtick for more than thirty minutes at a time. More importantly, is he believable as the lead in a romantic comedy? The trailer downplays it but I get the sense that something develops between Gervais and Kinnear’s still-living wife, played by the beautiful, sparkling, and underused Tea Leoni. Ghost Town opens August 19th.