Thank goodness for funny ladies. Ever since it was announced back in January of 2016, the all-female Ghostbusters reboot has consistently brought out the worst in a certain sect of people. People that populate the Google search suggestions of “all female Ghostbusters” with “…stupid”, “…bad idea”, and “…cancelled”. Sadly, for this sect of people, Ghostbusters isn’t a giant turd like they hoped – but it is much less funny than it could have been.
It was always going to be difficult to put together this reboot, which is why they assembled an incredibly strong team. Directed by Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, Spy) and starring his partner-in-funny Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids, Mike & Molly), the main cast was rounded out by extremely talented Saturday Night Live current and former cast members Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones. Sprinkle in cameos from the original Ghostbusters and cast Chris Hemsworth as their dumb-but-hot receptionist, and you had a movie that had all the potential in the world to be spectacular.
Unfortunately, Ghostbusters fails to excel. The script, co-written by Paul Feig and Katie Dippold, often falls flat. The jokes never quite land with the punch you expect and the plot itself is pretty forgettable. That said it isn’t without its enjoyable highlights. It’s fun to see tongue-in-cheek references to the controversy surrounding the film, particularly that the villain looks like your typical “BAN GHOSTBUSTERS” dude (one of the ladies quips, “Why is it always the pale and sad ones?”) or a few callbacks to the original film, like Bill Murray’s ornery taxi driver who remarks, “I ain’t afraid of no ghost.”
By far the best quality of the film is its all-star cast. The foursome bring so much energy and joy to their roles that it’s hard not to get swept up in their fun. While McCarthy and Wiig are saddled with the more serious characters, McKinnon and Jones just get to have straight up fun. McKinnon’s bespectacled engineer Jillian Holtzmann is the resident mad scientist, all wicked grins while describing crazy gadgets with no regard for safety. It’s pure fun to watch her and her many wonderful facial expressions on screen. The same goes for Jones, whose subway worker Patty Tolan veers dangerously into stereotypes but works her incredulity and no-nonsense attitude to its very best outcomes. Hemsworth also deserves a mention here. We’ve had hints of his comedy chops in the past through SNL hosting gigs and even in his Thor films, but it’s clear he has a ton of fun as the clueless Kevin and he keeps up well with the veteran comedy cast, calling aquariums “submarines for fish”.
Ghostbusters makes good use of its past without relying too heavily on it. The iconic Ray Parker Jr. theme song is still as fun as ever and helps reinforce the cheesy fun of the film, just as it did for the original. And while the action and plot are pretty forgettable, it’s so wonderfully satisfying to watch four women bust some ghosts and save the city. These women are funny, intelligent, and absolute badasses – plus funny to boot.
While it may not be as memorable or iconic as the original, Ghostbusters is a fun time with plenty of laughs and worth seeing for the cast alone.
