With the recent release of a new "Ghostbusters" teaser, I decided to sit down and watch the franchise reboot that came out in 2016. Did the all female version deserve all of the hate it got?
As paranormal events start to occur across New York in increasing numbers, three scientists (and Patty) come together to investigate the cause. They soon find themselves dealing with the possible end of the world...
I found the idea of an all female cast for the reboot an interesting one- though I was wary of the studio's motivation. Did they truly believe in the solidity of the concept and story- or were they merely reacting to the increased social awareness about feminism... and believed solely in the potential money making "gimmick" of the idea?
I don't honestly know. I do know however that this movie had potential, but suffered from a fundamental flaw: the story. It wasn't very interesting or original. There were some clever moments- like the idea of the proton pistols, and the bait and switch regarding the firehouse. Unfortunately, these were overshadowed by essentially an overall story that replicated the original's plot points. Not much new material was really brought to the franchise in the end.
The characters weren't bad, but not great. They more or less each had a single note that they played- with very little deviation from it. When the trailer for the movie dropped, I expressed concern that it would rely on the "Sassy Black Woman" stereotype for Leslie Jones' character, Patty. I was disappointed that they did relay on it. Use of this overused stereotype is an example of lazy writing- as is the single note characters, which contributed to the lowered quality of the story. I did however enjoy Holtzmann (portrayed by Kate McKinnon)- who, for me at least, brought most of the entertainment value to the movie.
The all female leads themselves were good, and did what they could with what could only be described as a poor overall script. Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon all brought a lot of kinetic and emotional energy to the movie that contrasted nicely to the subdued energy of the original. Unfortunately, they couldn't completely overcome the burden of real depth the script gave their characters. It was hard to completely connect with them as there weren't a lot of emotional scenes to give us the chance to really get to know them.
There are moments that showed us a glimmer of what this movie could've accomplished- the main action sequence near the climax for instance really showed off the kinetic energy that I mentioned earlier. When Holtzmann pulled out the dual proton pistols and went to town as the remixed "Ghostbusters" theme played, I thought- "THAT'S more like it!" I loved how the characters were active during it- using their beams to drag and throw the ghosts around. If only that energy had been applied in a more level manner throughout the rest of the story...
So, it had potential. Did it deserve the hate it got? Not for having a female cast, no- but maybe it deserved some disappointment for it's underwhelming writing and semi-passive aggressive tone. It's an erratically energetic movie that failed to allow it's audience to emotionally connect with the characters or the story. The extended cut is a bit better than the theatrical cut- so if you were to watch it, I would recommend the former more than the latter. I'm going to have to put it in "The Bad".
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