If you’re looking for a good comedy, give “Ghostbusters” a call. It’s simultaneously a reboot and a tribute to the beloved original. Specifically, the Critics’ Choice Awards have separate categories for comedies, where Feig’s films have picked up nominations: “Bridesmaids”, “The Heat” and “Spy” all contended for Best Comedy Movie, with “Bridesmaids” prevailing.
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Wiig is a physics professor trying to make tenure at Columbia but she’s disgraced by her latent belief in the paranormal. In an effort to make the book disappear, she tracks down her old friend and co-author Abby (McCarthy) who is still hunting ghosts with her new partner Jillian (McKinnon). They even wrote a book about the topic, which Erin was certain would never see the light of day again. While Erin has made a career in academia, Abby continues to work with the paranormal.
And then it happens: the three women actually see a ghost, and the event is caught on video. “It’s had some negative social media commentary but Sony has been pushing big on advertising for the film, and the reviews have been good”. Along the way, they pick up MTA worker Patty (Leslie Jones), who rounds out their quartet. Those moments of cameos and subtle throwbacks to the 1984 film were most enjoyable for the audience.
If you watch “Saturday Night Live”, you’ll have known about McKinnon’s talent for years.
Like the original feature, this one opens with a solitary figure – this time a haunted mansion’s tour guide – who comes face to one with an angry spirit.
The plot follows a similar conceptual structure to the original, and includes several homages to the originals (including several guest appearances you’ll want to keep an eye out for).
The villain, one of the movie’s weak spots, is Rowan (Neil Casey), a lonely hotel janitor, bullied throughout his life and preparing to get his revenge by releasing a horde of ghosts upon New York City.
Watching this, you get the feeling that McKinnon, McCarthy, Wiig and Jones screened the original “Ghostbusters” over and over. Incidentally, there could be a sequel in the making: Stay for the stinger (additional scene) at the very end. The simple answer is, no. However, Ghostbusters certainly holds a candle to its big brother and is a fine avenue to introduce a new generation of fans to a tremendous franchise.
Some of the script is clever. (Dippold herself does, too, as a real-estate agent.) Among them is the elusive Murray, whose presence in the film (I won’t spoil it by describing the role) was, according to Dippold, a nail-biter.
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The story does occasionally suffer from the pressures of influence, with the original film’s footprint well and truly stamped across the running time.
