Surprise! Ghostbusters isn't as good as Ghostbusters

The all new, all female Ghostbusters has finally hit the theaters, following a production rife with controversy. For the record, I've been a fan of Melissa McCarthy since she was on the Gilmore Girls, and I've enjoyed all of Paul Feig's directorial efforts since Bridesmaids (not to mention his great cult TV show, Freaks and Geeks); Their collaboration has produced some of the best movie comedies in recent memory. It's always risky to reboot a beloved franchise, but at least they were doing it with top notch talent; and with the massive, premature backlash the film has received, I've been really rooting for them to show up the haters.

I'm sorry to report that the film is merely so-so. That it doesn't rise to the level of the first Ghostbusters isn't a surprise-- even the original cast and crew fell short with their 1989 sequel, and they were all certified comic geniuses. But it also fails to rise to the lofty standards set by previous Feig-McCarthy collaborations.


It's not quite fair to compare this Ghostbusters with the 1984 version-- they were filmed in different eras with different comic sensibilities; but it's interesting to see where the differences lie. I'm surprised at how restrained the original film seems in comparison to the reboot. Part of that was by necessity-- special effects were both lower quality and way more expensive back in the early 80s than they are today; they were forced to develop gags more through the characters and story. But it's shocking to see how much broader the characterizations are in the new film. Kristin Wiig is the closest thing to a straight character in the reboot, but she's probably crazier than all of the original cast, save for Rick Moranis and (possibly) Bill Murray.

I do think it's fair to compare it to other Feig-McCarthy films, however. The last big ensemble movie Feig did was Bridesmaids, with both McCarthy and Wiig, and the relationships between the characters were strong and heartfelt. In Ghostbusters, they seemed a bit cursory-- just enough to get the story going. Both The Heat and Spy were female takes on classic male-dominated genres, and they did a great job of spoofing their source material. Ghostbusters could have used a bit more of that spirit; there were occasional references to the sexist backlash to the production, but I would've liked it to really cut loose with meta-commentary on the whole affair. My suspicion is that, even if the filmmakers wanted to do it, the studio wouldn't have let them. Anyway, spoofing a comedy that never became cliched is harder than parodying entire genres.


I thought the pacing of the film was questionable. Just as the characters were too consistently goofy, so were the scenes in the film-- there wasn't enough time spent setting up the jokes; they just came one after the other. I wish Feig had brought in a few lower key actors he's used in his previous films-- Rose Byrne's subtlety was sorely missed, especially with Kate McKinnon's constant mugging at the camera. The film also spent too much time chasing references to the original movie, while neglecting one of it's best original gags (I don't want to give it away, but they set it up in the third act, dropped it, then brought it back during the credits in a much less satisfying way).

That being said, there are some really funny moments in the film, along with some great special effects sequences. It's a disappointment, but you could do a lot worse at the cineplex this summer.

***

Bonus Content: Back in 2014, I picked my dream cast for an all-female remake (not a reboot or sequel). My picks were as follows...

Mila Kunis - Petra (Peter/Bill Murray role)
Mindy Kaling - Ramona (Raymond/Dan Akroyd role)
Felicia Day - Eberta (Egon/Harold Ramis role)
Jessica Williams - Winnie (Winston/Ernie Hudson role)
Chris O'Dowd - Dana (Dana/Sigourney Weaver role)
Kristen Schaal - Louise (Louis/Rick Moranis role)

Short Movie Reviews (In which I reluctantly admit that Ethan Hawke and Kate Beckinsale do some great work)

I've never been a big Ethan Hawke fan. Maybe it's his public persona, or maybe it's the roles he chooses, but I've always avoided seeing his films. But, like Tom Cruise with blockbusters, he's become an actor I reluctantly associate with high quality indie films. A short list of more-than-excellent films he's been in: Predestination, The Purge, Sinister, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, and, of course, Dead Poet's Society. I may have my reservations about him, but some great directors do not, most notably Richard Linklater. Linklater and Hawke have teamed up for seven films, by my count, and most of them have been amazing.

Probably their best collaboration has been the Before Sunrise series, which details the repeat encounters between Jesse and Celine (Hawke and Julie Delpy, respectively), each separated by nine years. I've seen these in completely the wrong order. I started with the most recent one Before Midnight (2013), which completely bowled me over-- despite the movie being just one long conversation, it was mesmerizing. So I decided to check out the original film, Before Sunrise (1995), which I was a little disappointed by. It's the same structure, but the discussion topics felt a lot more juvenile... but juvenile in exactly the way I was at that age. If I had watched that film when it first came out, I probably would've fallen in love with it. So, this week I finally finished the trilogy and watched the middle film, Before Sunset (2004), which I found to be nearly as brilliant as Before Midnight. I like dialogue, but I think a lot of films over do it, or try too hard to be clever, but this series manages to capture the charm and poetry of an inspired conversation-- the type you have with a new lover or a best friend, the kind that you never want to stop. I can't wait for the 2022 sequel, Before Noon/Dawn/Twilight/Tea Time/Whatever...

But Ethan Hawke's stamp of quality goes beyond Linklater films. He stars with Greta Gerwig and Julianne Moore in the lovably quirky Maggie's Plan (2015) about a young woman who poaches another woman's husband, then schemes to give him back. This is more your typical indie comedy, with quirky-rather-than-funny characters and plot contrivances, but Gerwig is always charming, Moore is very fun with a French accent, and Hawke is always best when he's playing a cad.

Gerwig is an indie film darling and has been associated with several great directors, too. One of them is Whit Stillman, who is one of the best writer-directors of dialogue in the business. His last film, Damsels in Distress (starring Gerwig) was a bit of a disappointment, but he's back in top form with Love & Friendship (2016), an adaptation of Jane Austen's novella, Lady Susan. Kate Beckinsale stars as Lady Susan and gives a riveting performance as a scheming society woman. Nothing I've seen her do before suggested she could be this nimble and convincing with dense dialogue (not even her previous collaboration with Stillman, The Last Days of Disco), but she whips out the words with gusto. The film is quick witted and cutting and I thoroughly enjoyed it-- probably the most fun I've ever had watching Jane Austen on screen.