GHOSTBUSTERS: IS IT REALLY THAT BAD?

When it was announce that there would be a remake of the fan favorite movie GHOSTBUSTERS the internet lit up. Fans asked why there was a need to remake a favorite film they found perfect. When they questioned the concept of making it an all-female cast those same fans were accused of being misogynistic. I even remember watching a show with the cast where when asked about those questioning one replied they were all just bunch of 30 year olds living in their mother’s basement. Not a wise way to promote your movie to the fans you were hoping to attract. The question that never seemed to be focused on was the most important though. Was it a good movie or not?

Start off tossing aside most of what you remember about the original movies. This movie doesn’t play off of those directly but has small ties. Instead take it for face value, as a completely different movie with a different story. Going in with that in mind the answer to the question of whether or not it is a good movie is it’s not all that bad but it lacks quite a bit.

The movie opens with Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig) trying to get tenure at the university she works at. A problem arises when she discovers that a book she helped co-author years ago with then best friend Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy) is still available and being promoted, a book about the paranormal and ghost hunting. Erin goes to meet with Abby to ask her to take the book off the market and meets Abby’s new sidekick, tech whiz Jillian Holtzman (Kate McKinnon). While refusing the girls are called out to investigate a ghost event at a local mansion turned tourist attraction.

At the mansion they confront an actual ghost and Erin is left covered in ectoplasm aka slime. When video of the confrontation with the ghost goes viral Erin not only loses tenure but her job as well. Abby and Jillian aren’t far behind when they request more funds to continue their work only to find the institute where they work didn’t even remember they were there and then fires them. Heisting some of the equipment they’re using they leave and set up shop on their own. In their new home above a Chinese restaurant they hire a secretary receptionist in the form of Kevin (Chris Hemsworth), a hunk with no brain.

The first customer that get is an MTA worked named Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones) who takes them to the subway where they confront another ghost. Patty joins the group after their encounter. Video of that event leads a local concert promoter to call them when another apparition shows up during a heavy metal concert. When video of this hits the press it is dismissed by an expert (played by Bill Murray). When he shows up to let them prove him wrong he’s attacked by the ghost.

More events happen, a plotline involving a loner intent on bringing ghosts into the world and another story involving the mayor of New York not wanting anyone to know that the attacks are real meld together as plot movers with little to add to the story, effects or attempt at humor.

And maybe that’s the first problem here. Too much is going on and it doesn’t flow smoothly but feels like set pieces that are then connected. The first film had a storyline that connected the bits and pieces in a way that made sense, that carried along a story. This one feels more like bits and pieces that fans loved was stirred up with things each actress is known for to create something that feels like it’s just there rather than something you want to rush and see.

In addition to that the most surprising thing for me were the performances. Going in I honestly didn’t expect much from Leslie Jones, a comedian who I think relies far too heavily on doing the same thing over and over. She actually gives a performance here instead. Kate McKinnon steals the show among the actresses of the team, displaying a crazy character that you end up laughing at and loving. Wiig, who I’ve seen give some amazing performances, feels like she’s just sleepwalking through most of this. And, sorry to say, McCarthy is the worst of the bunch. I’ve loved her movies, loved her on MIKE AND MOLLY, but unfortunately she’s becoming a one note actress doing the same shtick over and over again to the point it’s no longer funny to watch any more. Come on, Melissa, you’re better than that.

The effects which took such a drubbing from fans aren’t bad at all but they feel like they offer nothing new, no improvement over the effects of the original and that was 27 years ago. In truth while the movie isn’t bad it just feels like there is nothing new here, nothing that makes it exceptional and it actually plays like any other average movie rather than an attempt to reboot a franchise. The end result proved this since it did decent box office figures but not enough that Sony plans to move forward with a sequel, something which they announced prior to the movie being released on disc.

The end result is a mixed bag. It isn’t near as bad as many claimed it to be but it isn’t at all as good as the original. Its day has come and gone, youngsters who never saw the original will probably enjoy it and it will not be a feather in the cap of those involved. But if it’s on the shelf, in the machine or available from a friend it might still offer a decent night’s entertainment.

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