“Meh”! That’ll I can really say about the new all-female reboot of the ‘Ghostbusters’. I am a big fan of all these comic actors individually, so I had high hopes of assembling all this talent, but was there really a crying demand to have a new ‘Ghostbusters’? People forget that despite the fact that the original ‘Ghostbusters’ went on to be considered a classic, it was not a critics darling at the time and with good reason. In addition, the media driven politically correct hype to make this endeavor a bigger deal than it was seemed forced. The faux outrage of articles criticizing sexist trolls on the internet also seemed awkward and overblown. I know the media doesn’t believe this, but does the mainstream public really have issues with women headlining films anymore? I will say this is a solid paint-by-the-numbers comedy that has moments of mirth, but overall I walked away wondering why do a reboot if there is nothing new to say? In fact, some scenes and situations were lifted straight from the original one. An all woman cast is not enough reason to redo the film. In other words “Meh!’
Even the characters themselves can be connected to their original counterparts, with some acquiescence to each actor’s individual talents. All four, Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon have solid chemistry and the force of their talent causes more than a few smiles despite the script. In my opinion, the only new element and actual standout of the film is Chris Hemsworth, playing the hunky albeit simple receptionist, Keith. I didn’t know he had that type of comedic timing and you actually looked forward to whatever inanities stumbled out of his mouth in whatever scene he was in.
So I would lay out a synopsis of the plot, but you’ve already seen it. It’s the same as the first. Increased poltergeist activity in New York causes three down on their luck scientists to come together joined by a street wise character to be the ‘every person’ balance. Lots of CGI ghost interactions as the scientists-turned-blue-collar-ghost-exterminators face ridicule until the city elders actually need them to help on a ghost problem of apocalyptic proportions. Been there, done that. There was almost too many nods to the original film. Slight nods are fun, but over doing it shows a lack of confidence in the film. Each of the original remaining cast members, with the exception of Rick Moranes have cameos. Even the original firehouse and numerous recognizable ghosts reappear. Nostalgic smiles are nice, but not enough to make a film.
The good news is that the rebooted Ghostbusters wasn’t a mess. It has enough smiles to make it a nice Saturday afternoon matinee with the kids. These nostalgia reboots are more often than not hot messes (i.e. ‘Independence Day: Resurgence’), but this one was a solid enough film to be considered a summer tentpole (not that the competition this year was high). It was obvious they were setting this up to have multiple sequels, but I guess we will just have to wait to see the box office returns. Personally, I was not excited about this one, so getting me excited for a follow-up will be a challenge. I know this review is short, but much like this film, I don’t have much to say.
I give this film ** stars
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