This is also a witty, occasionally hilarious and on the whole reasonably amusing film that utilises Paul Feig’s knack at scriptwriting and the talents of its exceptional cast very well. Then the owner of a haunted NY city mansion shows up at her classroom seeking help, jeopardizing Erin’s tenure as she’s pulled back into the world of paranormal investigation she abandoned.
Advertisement
But where the first Ghostbusters was a boy movie through and through – with a fascinated boyish distaste for slime and the irrational – the new film is about as non-sexist as you could expect from Hollywood in 2016.
The new venture couldn’t come at a better time: Ghosts are on the verge of wreaking havoc on NY. They’ve drifted apart both personally and professionally, with Erin going legit as a physics professor at Columbia University and Abby continuing her research into the unknown with a new partner, the rather eccentric engineer Jillian Holtzman (McKinnon). Other notable work includes the Ben Stiller-directed action-comedy Tropic Thunder; Marley and Me, directed by David Frankel and based on the best-selling novel; The Devil Wears Prada, starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway; John Hamburg’s bromance, I Love You, Man; and the Oscar-nominated animated film, The Pirates!
But the true surprise is in Kate McKinnon. They soon gain a fourth partner, Patty Tolan (Jones), an MTA worker who sees a ghost in a subway line, and a dimwitted, completely incompetent receptionist (Chris Hemsworth).
Q: What do you think Chris Hemsworth brings to the movie? Ghostbusters clearly has more mass appeal, but this is still a worrying situation. Then perhaps The Heat or Spy?
Feig and Dippold might have created strong comedies in the past, but as they say in business, past performance does not guarantee future – or even present – results.
But to listen to some small, reactionary corners of the internet, the very idea of remaking the cherished 1984 Ivan Reitman comedy, especially with an all-female cast, was not just a bad idea but a sacrilegious one. Despite Feig’s visual shortcomings, Ghostbusters is his most visually appealing film to date, sporting fantastic effects.
The film follows the same basic premise as the original. Although a new script was written to reflect the femininity of the cast and update a few things here and there, the story hasn’t been changed.
Watching this, you get the feeling that McKinnon, McCarthy, Wiig and Jones screened the original “Ghostbusters” over and over.
Advertisement
Ghostbuster has undoubtedly been assembled with the best of intentions: to make us laugh, to scare us and to entertain us.
