Hiring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones to be “Ghostbusters” was inspired, but the movie itself is a monument to Hollywood excess and a symbol of everything that’s wrong with that town’s blockbuster mentality.
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This “Ghostbusters” is more of a traditional comedy than the original, and in that respect, it’s a success.
I really don’t want to sit here comparing this movie with the original, but, sometimes you just have to.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment”, Reitman said. There doesn’t seem to be much buzz about the implementation of the movie’s 3D effects before launch, but I was pleasantly surprised by director Paul Feig’s use of the technology.
The other thing that really sold me on “Ghostbusters”, aside from the comedy and the bustin’ of ghosts, was the bond of friendship between Erin, Abby, Jillian, and Patty, thin though the characterizations may be.
None of this, however, takes away from the sheer fun of the movie, which has all the ghost-battling a girl (or guy) could hope for. Still, the mood is more playful than polemical in a movie that leaves poisonous culture wars behind for a brighter, shinier, goofier world – albeit one in which the firehouse where the first Ghostbusters made their headquarters now fetches $21,000 a month. Now Paul Fieg’s lady-led “Ghostbusters” is out for mass consumption – or mass hysteria – and we can finally maybe start judging this movie based on, you know, the actual movie and not harebrained political agendas or the perceived ruination of someone’s childhood. Jones took to Twitter to provide some perspective to her character that we couldn’t have had before the movie came out. “I don’t want to tell people what happened to Venkman”. When I was in an audience of nearly all film critics, the audience applauded when the film was over, which was a surprise since most film critics see so many movies they are somewhat jaded but “Ghostbusters” got a warm reception. “Whatever they’re feeling, it comes across on the face”.
As for those wildly hyped cameos by original “Ghostbusters” cast members Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson and Annie Potts – and once again, SPOILER ALERT! – they don’t play older versions of their characters. If you can’t see that this is a good thing, then-I don’t know, my dude-enjoy your summer of awful Independence Day installments. After a pretty solid opening act, the middle portion of the film devolves into “we just shot a bunch of stuff without knowing where it would go”. Her former best friend and research partner, Dr. Abby Yates (McCarthy), has resurrected their work from obscurity. I don’t think the villain, Rowan, gets enough time to make an impression. Then Harold Ramis, the beloved co-star and co-writer of the original, got very sick. His family visited the set that day, which Wiig said was an emotional day, and his son, Daniel Ramis, has a bit role, too, at a heavy metal show.
Headed by a cast that includes Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy, this iteration possesses the same casual, unforced humor that made the 1984 original a virtually instant classic. She was happy knowing the original cast supported the production. It’s not quite as dry, and you could say there are fewer iconic lines – though “We just gave a ghost a nuke”. If you’re the type of extreme person who believes that a sequel can disgrace or destroy an entire franchise (and I am not), look no further than this. The crew’s dimwitted secretary (played by Chris Hemsworth) shifts from bored and unqualified to answer phones to super eager to be a Ghostbuster without ever expressing a desire to become one earlier.
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Likewise, the one punchline gag with the “GB” assistant (Chris Hemsworth minus the “Thor” hair but with a pair of eye-popping jeans) grew stale quickly. He brought in writer Katie Dippold.
