Kristen Wiig
(Zoolander 2,
The Martian) plays Erin Gilbert, an ambitious associate professor
seeking tenure at New York's prestigious Columbia University. Erin ends
up losing that when a book she published years ago on ghosts surfaces,
putting the credibility of the institution in question should she
remain in the faculty. Turns out that her writing partner, Abby
Yates (McCarthy, The Boss), republished the book that had previously been out of print, and
ends up cajoling Erin to just come help her and her current research
partner, the kooky gearhead engineer Jillian Holtzmann (McKinnon,
The Angry Birds Movie), in her
studies in investigating paranormal activity.
They initially
find success in trapping ghosts with Jillian's devices, and their
continued pursuit leads them to start a business and take on a fourth
team member in Patty Tolan (Jones, Top Five), a street-wise MTA subway employee who has
seen a particularly nasty apparition in the subways of New York, and
whose knowledge of the city will be of particular help, plus an
daft-but-hunky administrative assistant in Kevin (Hemsworth,
The Huntsman: Winter's War). But the
ghostly activity seems to be on the rise, with signs pointing toward
an oddball loner janitor named Rowan North (Casey, Fort Tilden), who seems to be Hell-bent on
bringing the generally unseen demons and ghouls to the Earthly plane
that hasn't been so kind to regarding his genius.
The tornado of negative publicity since this project's specifics had
been announced exposed an ugly side of the internet, fueled by fanboy
fanaticism and a distinct lack of flexibility of opinions or maturity
to know how the rest of the world actually works beyond the incendiary blogosphere. The knives were out, looking to kill the film
before it had even begun, much less been set for release. Now
that it has been released, those knives have not only missed their
intended target by a good measure, but actually end up smiting the
wielders -- not fatally, but in a way in which the general public will
be even less susceptible to believing the anti-fan property hysteria
that surrounds remakes of hallowed childhood favorites in future
releases. Also, the amount of malicious pre-release commentary put the new
Ghostbusters in the realm of being an underdog, causing those
who might have been critical if the film was overhyped into actually
clapping and rooting it on to success in the face of so many vicious
detractors.
Not that the 2016 version of Ghostbusters will change any of
the haters' opinions, as they will find as many faults within the film
to be able to justify clinging to their initial response much like
one's significant other will find flaws in their partner shortly after
they decide that they don't want to be in a relationship. No,
this remake will not replace the original 1984 film in the hearts,
minds, and Blu-Ray collections of those who've cherished it over the
years, as it does fall short in all of the departments that anyone
cares about: laughs, scares, cast chemistry, the score, the
soundtrack, and ingenuity in its special effects work (while the
effects in the 2016 are technically much better in detail, they don't
blend well as most major releases with the live action, leaving them a
distraction rather than an enhancement, leaving the characters looking
like they're in the middle of a virtual reality experience rather
than, well, reality). Not even the original cast and director
could replicate the magic of the original film just a few years later
when the disappointing Ghostbusters 2 had been released, so
what chance could an entire remake of the series with different actors
playing different characters have?
Interestingly, rather than kowtow to the heat of the fury of a
thousand internet flamers, director Paul Feig (Spy,
The Heat) decides to get the last
laugh by making his main villain of his film "one of them", or, at
least, how they are generally perceived: emotionally immature dwellers
of their parents' basement who have decided to lash out at anything
they even mildly disapprove of as a way to strike out when the things
that define them, such as their comics, movies or video games, has
been altered in order to be more inclusive of the rest of humanity
that generally shuns them. The often meta film deals with the
flames in a more playful fashion during one particular scene in which
they've had a video posted of their ghost-busting activities on
YouTube, only to find the reaction in the comments to be quite
negative, including the gem, "Ain't no bitches gonna hunt no ghosts,"
which is the kind of comments the makes of Ghostbusters were getting throughout the entire
production from the detractors who were railing against the casting of
all-female heroes.
No, Ghostbusters, the 2016 version, isn't as good as the
original film, but, to score a point in its favor, it isn't trying to
best it so much as to pay a great deal of homage to it. It's a
fan film through and through, definitely a lesser experience if there
hadn't been a beloved comedy original to build upon, offering a
plethora of Easter Eggs for those who remember the 32-year-old film,
including some choice cameo appearances from the original cast
(including some familiar ghost characters and familiar locales) to
help to pass the torch of credibility. In fact, the movie plays
out much like a loose-hanging remake of the plot of the original film,
though with its more modern, improvisational comedic sensibilities,
where the world inhabited is a wholly comic creation, rather than
having comical characters in the so-called real world as in the 1984
original. The makers are definitely not looking to score
originality points; they just want to earn a few solid yuks and for
fans to walk out with a smile.
Where the film differs, of course, is in its characters and cast, and
that's also where this version of the "Ghostbusters" excels.
Wiig and McCarthy are always funny personalities to watch, even if
they don't completely cut loose in their respective roles.
Instead, the more "out-there" character work is given to Kate McKinnon
in a role so daffy that she will likely be seen as stealing the movie
for a sizeable percentage of the viewing audience, as well as for
Leslie Jones, who isn't as hilarious in a more earthy character, but I
do think she offers more to the comedy than Ernie Hudson had been
afforded in his stint as the non-scientist member of the quartet,
Winston, in the first two original movies. The use of Chris
Hemsworth, who has come into his own as a great, self-deprecating
comedic character actor in some of his more recent movies, is also one
of the film's greatest highlights, playing a extremely dumb but also
extremely loveable hunk that Wiig's Erin can't get close enough to.
Stay through the end credits for a funny scene involving his character
that likely had been intended as a set piece within the main body of
the film, but which works much better out of the context. (On
that note, also stay for an extra short scene after the end credits).
While Feig pulls through with the comedy, if there's something sorely
lacking from this version other than Rick Moranis and the late Harold
Ramis, it's excitement in seeing the ghosts and their resulting
mayhem. These moments of interaction between Bill Murray and the
special effects ghoulies made for some classic funny moments, whereas
they result in some of the lamest jokes in the bunch in this release.
Just as the last half-hour of the 1984 Ghostbusters crackles
with energy and excitement when the boys battle to save New York from
certain disaster, the noisy 2016 Ghostbusters finale provides
the most extended period to head to the restroom, as we watch lots of
cartoony ghosts wreaking havoc on the computer-generated city without
raising much in terms of pulse rates for us in the audience just
looking for the next gag line.
Taken for what it is, a movie built solely to be a lightheartedly
goofy, energetic fun dessert flick to entertain young and old, Paul
Feig's Ghostbusters succeeds at drawing out just enough
chuckles to earn its keep, and dishes out just enough daffy charm and
likeable characters to make most viewers willing to climb on board for
future adventures, regardless of whether the stars' chromosomes are XX
or XY. We ain't afraid of no Ghostbuster gals.
Qwipster's rating
:
©2016 Vince Leo
