Ghostbusters (2016)
Another release, another reboot. Or is it? The weird chronology of the film seems to suggest both; to quote the director, Paul Feig: ' “30 years ago, four scientists saved New York,” it declares. “This summer, a new team will answer the call.”'... So that clears that one up. The controversy that surrounded the development and release of this film is proof that we can't have nice things - if it wasn't enough people swearing this would ruin everything forever (a phrase more commonly associated with the Transformers franchise), there's been a slew of online attacks against one of the stars of the piece, Leslie Jones. How does this happen? What is people's problem? Jeez... Anyway, who's seen the original Ghostbusters? The 1984 classic that introduced the phrase "this man has no dick" to the world? Here's the spoiler "du jour" - they might as well be the same film. 32 years is a long time in pop culture, true, but there are also video media that last for that time too, just ask anyone buying Disney VHS tapes on eBay, or trying to find a LaserDisc player to watch those huge discs on. I'm not trying to criticise the film directly for it (maybe a little), but they could have done something original with the premise. Three white people with science and engineering based skills team up with a black person who has "street smarts" (or whatever you're calling it these days) set up a ghost hunting agency with a secretary of the opposite gender to them, have some success, the Mayor's office try to shut them down, and the finale is a battle against a gigantic antagonist who wreaks a swathe of destruction through New York City. Oh yeah, sure, you say, but this time they have the regulation massive glowing portal! Ho ho! It's in the ground here rather than in the sky, and something in the back of my mind says there's a reference to the rescue at the end of Pacific Rim in there.
The stand-out performance that rescues this from pleasant mediocrity is Kate McKinnon as Jillian Holtzmann. McKinnon is a treasure and her hilarious and rightfully unapologetic performance is a shining beacon in every scene she's in. Chris Hemsworth is another surprise standout playing the dumb blonde receptionist trope to breaking point, at one point trying to answer the phone in an empty fish tank, another showing of topless modelling pictures of himself with non-sequitur props. It looks like Hemsworth is having the time of his life chewing through scenery left right and centre, including the inevitable possession by the big bad near the end. Some of the original cast make cameo appearances, including Dan Aykroyd who might as well be an old Ray Stantz, retired to cab driving. I feel cruel in boiling it down, but this film sometimes feels like the answer to the question "What would happen if we crossed Bridesmaids with Ghostbusters?" The stars align: Female SNL alumni in a team film vs the regulation portal that dominates the finale of action/comic book movies. There are some truly hilarious, laugh out loud moments, granted, but in a world with no Dana, how could there be Zuul?
The stand-out performance that rescues this from pleasant mediocrity is Kate McKinnon as Jillian Holtzmann. McKinnon is a treasure and her hilarious and rightfully unapologetic performance is a shining beacon in every scene she's in. Chris Hemsworth is another surprise standout playing the dumb blonde receptionist trope to breaking point, at one point trying to answer the phone in an empty fish tank, another showing of topless modelling pictures of himself with non-sequitur props. It looks like Hemsworth is having the time of his life chewing through scenery left right and centre, including the inevitable possession by the big bad near the end. Some of the original cast make cameo appearances, including Dan Aykroyd who might as well be an old Ray Stantz, retired to cab driving. I feel cruel in boiling it down, but this film sometimes feels like the answer to the question "What would happen if we crossed Bridesmaids with Ghostbusters?" The stars align: Female SNL alumni in a team film vs the regulation portal that dominates the finale of action/comic book movies. There are some truly hilarious, laugh out loud moments, granted, but in a world with no Dana, how could there be Zuul?
That dress fitting scene basically already has the fecal version of ectoplasm...
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