Ghostbusters (2016) Columbia/Comedy-Horror RT: 116 minutes Rated PG-13 (supernatural action and some crude humor) Director: Paul Feig Screenplay: Katie Dippold and Paul Feig Music: Theodore Shapiro Cinematography: Robert Yeoman Release date: July 15, 2016 (US) Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Chris Hemsworth, Cecily Strong, Andy Garcia, Charles Dance, Michael Kenneth Williams, Matt Walsh, Neil Casey, Ed Begley Jr., Karan Soni, Toby Huss, Michael McDonald, Nate Corddry. Box Office: $128.3M (US)/$229.1M (World)
Rating: ** ½
People (myself included) constantly complain that remakes either ruin the original or their memories of the original. Both statements are fallacies. Let me explain. A remake is a totally separate movie. It doesn’t affect the original movie; it remains intact as do memories of seeing the original. Even so, remakes will still be compared to the originals. It’s inevitable.
Remakes are, for the most part, wholly unnecessary. Hollywood operates under the notion that audiences want new and improved updates of classic movies. Another fallacy! I can’t speak for everybody, but I’d much prefer it if filmmakers came up with original ideas rather than raiding the archives. I’m at an age where I remember seeing the original movies in theaters. I cringe every time another remake or reboot is announced. More oft than not, my gut feeling is right. Last year’s woeful Vacation reboot was a travesty. It wasn’t funny, it was disgusting.
When all the all-female reboot of Ghostbusters was announced two years ago, my heart sank. It had nothing to do with the gender-swap; it was because it didn’t need rebooting. I’m a big fan of the 1984 comedy-horror megahit (the 1989 sequel, not so much). It’s a perfect movie on every level. It combines high-IQ comedy with lowbrow silliness. It has a stellar cast (Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis), a top-tier director (Ivan Reitman), awesome special effects and a bouncy title song by Ray Parker Jr. There’s no way any filmmaker could top that so why even bother to try?
I tried to keep an open mind with this new Ghostbusters. I didn’t want to jump on the bandwagon with all the haters that started trashing it before a single frame was shot. At the same time, I had this underlying feeling of dread. Did I really want to witness another debacle like Vacation? That brings me to the question that’s been on everybody’s mind for months? Is the new Ghostbusters a failure? Does it suck? Surprisingly, no. Is it as good as the original? HELL, NO! It’s somewhere between okay and pretty good if that makes any sense. It’s funny, but inconsistently so. And when it is funny, it’s not as funny as it should be considering the talent involved.
At least director Paul Feig (Spy) decided against rehashing the plot as well as the concept. The new storyline isn’t too bad. The new team consists of Dr. Erin Grant (Wiig, Bridesmaids), a physics professor who reunites with estranged childhood pal Abby Yates (McCarthy, The Heat), a paranormal researcher with whom she co-authored a book about ghosts several years earlier. The re-emergence of said book gets Grant fired from Columbia. Yates and her assistant, eccentric engineer Jillian Holtzmann (McKinnon, SNL), lose their jobs in academia as well. They relocate to a space above a Chinese restaurant to continue their research and maybe even capture an apparition. They’re joined by Patty Tolan (Jones, SNL), an MTA worker with an expert knowledge of New York City who witnesses paranormal activity in a subway tunnel.
The one responsible for said paranormal activity is one Rowan North (SNL writer Casey), an occultist with a beef against the people of New York. He’s placing devices to summon ghosts at certain locations around the city. Let’s just say he nearly bring about the destruction of NYC and the world. It’s up to our heroines to save the day.
Ghostbusters has its moments, I’ll give it that. It just doesn’t have enough of them. None of them are on the level of the original movie. I know it’s unfair to measure the new movie against the old, but it can’t be helped. I should really be judging it on its own merits. I’ll start doing that now. The chemistry between the principal players is actually quite good. Sometimes on SNL, cast members have a difficult time keeping straight faces during sketches. One person will say or do something funny while the others try not to crack up. It shows the comfort level between cast members. I kept waiting for that to happen here. The ladies are obviously comfortable with each other. It’s just the laughs don’t come as strongly as they should; it’s only sporadically funny. Jones, however, is a riot. She’s currently my favorite SNL player. McKinnon’s character is weird; she’s like the living embodiment of a Looney Toons character. Wiig plays the straight woman very well. McCarthy does fine, but the running gag about Chinese takeout soup doesn’t work.
One thing this new Ghostbusters succeeds at is making men look bad. If they’re not evil (like Rowan) or bad (like Andy Garcia’s mayor), they’re as dumb as a bag of rocks. Chris Hemsworth (Thor) plays Kevin, the beefcake receptionist so dim he can’t even answer a phone properly. On the upside, the actor is good sport for playing such a role. On the downside, his character gets old really fast. Either way, this movie has a really low opinion of men. I’m not offended, but is it necessary to do that? Why not have a strong male character that’s the equivalent of Sigourney Weaver’s character in the original? It only seems fair.
The special effects are very good. They don’t look too CGI; in fact, they look kind of old school schlocky. I like that. Feig and co-writer Katie Dippold tell a pretty good story even though they don’t seem to know what to do with their villain. One big misstep is giving the main characters backgrounds. Why do we need to know McCarthy and Wiig were social outcasts as teens? It’s entirely unnecessary. One thing the new Ghostbusters does right is pay respect to the original with its many nods, references and cameos by original cast members (sans Moranis and the late Ramis).
Overall, I’d say this new Ghostbusters isn’t bad. It won’t make you forget the original, but it works better than it should. It’s a half-decent popcorn flick that won’t insult your intelligence. I can think of worse movies to spend your hard-earned money on. By the way, be sure to stay until the end of the closing credits. You won’t be sorry.
