oR hOW i wENT tO sEE A MOVIE tHAT sTARRED fOUR wOMEN aND lIVED
Today is July 15th, which means we are about halfway the summer blockbuster season, and I would describe the movies that have come out so far as “fine.” Sure, Captain America and Dory were great, but everything else has just kind of sat there. Ghostbusters, however, is not only the funniest movie of the summer but may be the funniest movie of the year.
Directed by Paul Feig, who gave us Bridesmaids, Spy, and The Heat, there’s no surprise that Ghostbusters has tons of laughs to it. The movie stars Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones as the iconic team. Everyone knows how funny McCarthy and Wiig can be, but Saturday Night Live stars Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones outshine the leads with silly and over-the-top performances.
Erin Gilbert (Wiig) is about to receive tenure as a college professor until a book she wrote with former partner Abby Yates (McCarthy) about the existence of ghosts resurfaces and threatens to make her a laughing stock among her peers. Gilbert is trying to make the book disappear when she comes across a real-life ghost that makes her believe again.
For whatever reason I assumed the movie would be more similar to the original, perhaps because the original is held in such high regard. But the new Ghostbusters have personalities completely independent of their predecessors, which is what makes the movie so funny. The 1984 version placed more emphasis on the action rather than the comedy while the new version puts more emphasis on the comedy portion, and with much success. I couldn’t stop laughing throughout the movie, especially during the first half.
Directed by Paul Feig, who gave us Bridesmaids, Spy, and The Heat, there’s no surprise that Ghostbusters has tons of laughs to it. The movie stars Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones as the iconic team. Everyone knows how funny McCarthy and Wiig can be, but Saturday Night Live stars Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones outshine the leads with silly and over-the-top performances.
Erin Gilbert (Wiig) is about to receive tenure as a college professor until a book she wrote with former partner Abby Yates (McCarthy) about the existence of ghosts resurfaces and threatens to make her a laughing stock among her peers. Gilbert is trying to make the book disappear when she comes across a real-life ghost that makes her believe again.
For whatever reason I assumed the movie would be more similar to the original, perhaps because the original is held in such high regard. But the new Ghostbusters have personalities completely independent of their predecessors, which is what makes the movie so funny. The 1984 version placed more emphasis on the action rather than the comedy while the new version puts more emphasis on the comedy portion, and with much success. I couldn’t stop laughing throughout the movie, especially during the first half.
I didn't get a chance to talk about Chris Hemsworth but he's hysterical as the dumb male secretary.
The jokes come in all different shapes and sizes there's great physical comedy, clever dialog, over-the-top performances, subtle nods to the original, great cameos and one terrific performance of “Rhythm of the Night.” I fell in love with the new team so hard and so fast that I became emotionally invested, so much so that by the time the team had captured their first ghost I almost welled up with pride for them.
The movie did have its problems—for starters the climatic fight scene probably goes on too long. But that could be a problem with movies today in general as the average runtime is longer than 30 years ago, especially for action movies. With the added minutes came more pressure to add extra CGI for bigger action sequences which this movie did not need. Paul Feig’s strengths don’t come from giant monsters blowing up a city; he’s better with two characters in the room shooting one-liners at each other.
The other thing the new movie just couldn't improve upon was the theme song. Fall Out Boy tries to update the original song with the help of Missy Elliot, but I am sorry—the Ray Parker Jr. classic is still miles ahead. Though, these complaints are small quibbles in an otherwise great movie.
Remaking an iconic movie means it’s already going to have a built-in group of haters. Throw in a gender reversaland you'll get a bunch of misogynists who are convinced that women can't be as funny as men. These people will probably never go see this movie. Forget them. More space for you at the theater. The Ghostbusters reboot does enough to differentiate itself from the original that it stands on its own as a great movie. A-
The movie did have its problems—for starters the climatic fight scene probably goes on too long. But that could be a problem with movies today in general as the average runtime is longer than 30 years ago, especially for action movies. With the added minutes came more pressure to add extra CGI for bigger action sequences which this movie did not need. Paul Feig’s strengths don’t come from giant monsters blowing up a city; he’s better with two characters in the room shooting one-liners at each other.
The other thing the new movie just couldn't improve upon was the theme song. Fall Out Boy tries to update the original song with the help of Missy Elliot, but I am sorry—the Ray Parker Jr. classic is still miles ahead. Though, these complaints are small quibbles in an otherwise great movie.
Remaking an iconic movie means it’s already going to have a built-in group of haters. Throw in a gender reversaland you'll get a bunch of misogynists who are convinced that women can't be as funny as men. These people will probably never go see this movie. Forget them. More space for you at the theater. The Ghostbusters reboot does enough to differentiate itself from the original that it stands on its own as a great movie. A-
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