Director: Paul Feig
By Alex Watson
Having the most disliked trailer in the history of Youtube is not something to savor. From the get-go, there were a lot of haters dumping on Paul Feig's all-female reboot of Ghostbusters. Well, prepare to have your doubts extinguished because this effort is as funny and quirky as any of the originals. The female foursome gives this franchise a newer and fresher feel. Also with the laughs coming thick and fast the gender of the characters will be the furthest thing from your mind.
Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig) is a former college professor who has recently reconnected with old friend Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy) and her wacky assistant Jillian Holtzman (Kate McKinnon) after an outbreak of ghost sightings around Manhatten. Along with former MTA worker Patty (Leslie Jones), it is clear that evil spirits are out to claim the city, but what is causing them to appear? With New York Mayor Bradley (Andy Garcia) wanting to silence the whole affair, how will they succeed?
With an effective scary opening, Ghostbusters is able to score points pretty much immediately. When we meet the estranged friendship of Abby and Erin, we like them right away. The pair has as much dorky and goofy charm as Venkman and Stanz before them- previous co-authors of an embarrassing paranormal book, Erin quickly rediscovers her lost passion. Things kick up a notch when Patty enters the fray, this character is one of the smart elements of this movie. Unlike Winston before her who was there to make up the numbers, Patty's knowledge of New York is an invaluable asset and marks her out as one of the key members. A sassy and loyal fireball, she often gets the best lines such as when views a ghost heading on subway towards Queen's "He's gonna be like the third scariest thing on that train!"
Feig is able to find a more different sense of humor, unlike this previous work. His clever gender role reversal of incredibly dumb but intensely hot secretary Kevin (Chris Hemsworth) is a delightful touch. Finding it impossible to perform the simplest of tasks, such as answering the phone or even make coffee, Kevin is a continual source of hilarity. The set pieces are also well executed, such as the four having to capture a demon in the middle of a rock concert, cue Ozzy Osbourne screaming "SHARON! I'M HAVING ANOTHER FLASHBACK!" the cameos in the piece are one thing that slightly lets picture down because they are not given nearly attention. Some known faces make an appearance, but we never feel the needed force.
The laughs do begin to dry up as Ghostbusters reaches its climax. When the CGI takes effect it is spectacular to see the ladies blasting away ghosts, "I shot a pilgrim!" one of them mourns. The finale is decidedly low on tension but by this point, you are already so high on laugh its seems inconsequential. There are setbacks in this picture such as Kate McKinnon's Jillian Holtzman, although she raises a smile or two, her constant zany humor eventually becomes a bit too much. This reboot also lacks a real threatening villain, occultist Rowan (Neil Casey) comes off as just a whiny jerk who needs to grow up. Feig along with his impressive cast is to be commended for shaking off the criticism and giving us something that threatens to give reboots a good name.
Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy are always a dream together and their work here is no exception. Able to produce laughs at any given time, they are able to give a pair of original creations a million miles away from their predecessors. Leslie Jones nearly walks away with the picture with a brilliant turn as subway worker turned Ghostbuster Patty. Jones is always on point and each scene she seems to find a way to win it over with the minimum effort. The fourth member needed an upgraded after Ernie Hudson was wasted over two pictures and she is one of the main reason to want a sequel. Chris Hemsworth however, steals the show with his hilarious against type as the ditzy Kevin. A man coasting through life on looks alone, Hemsworth shows an unexpected comic touch and seems to find ways to make him stupider by the minute.
Who would have thought that among all the criticism that Ghostbusters would be one of the movies of this summer? Well, haters, it appears that you might want to retract those statements.
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