The original release of Ghostbusters is not a masterpiece. No, shut up, it’s not! It was a mildly enjoyable slice of 80’s cheese aided by a mega pop hit released on gimmicky coloured vinyl. It stands as a monument of marketing genius more so than a milestone in masterpiece filmmaking. Personally, I’ve never understood it’s enduring popularity; I’ve not sat through its entirety since it’s initial theatrical release.
So, naturally, my expectations for this reboot(?) were not high. I was hoping for something fun but not necessarily mind blowing and this is pretty much what Ghostbusters 2016 is.
The strength of the new Ghostbusters is in its principal female cast – Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones. The women have great chemistry; they form a funny and sassy team and this experiment to flip the gender of the principals is largely successful. It’s certainly a better idea than giving the team a dog or a baby to look after. Pokemon Go
The weak link here, as it turns out, is Chris Hemsworth whose imbecile receptionist character is, well, just an imbecile. You get the distinct impression that he is going for something funny here but he’s really just an idiot. Perhaps those who are appropriately inclined find him cute but this little duck, I’m afraid, found him charmless. Neil Casey stands in for the Rick Moranis role and is funnier and much less irritating.
In the end Ghostbusters is, well, Ghostbusters. This new version is easily as fun as the original and, indeed, I may actually watch this one again.
Stuart Jamieson
www.ghostbusters.com
