It’s been kind of inevitable that sooner or later it would come back from the grave. Making ten times its budget in the summer of 1984, Ivan Reitman’s Ghostbusters was the surprise hit of the summer of 1984 and made household names out of Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Rick Moranis as well as surprising audiences with the revelation that Sigourney Weaver was as good at comedy as she was at drama. A disappointing sequel followed in 1989 which still made respectable money, and animated television series, but the stars dispersed to numerous high-profile projects, notably writer/star Harold Ramis to his own directing career, so the longed for third film remained on the back burner.
The death of Ramis in 2014 was the final sign that the original gang of Venkman, Stantz, Spengler and Zeddemore were never going to get back together, and Murray, Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson didn’t want to do it without their much missed friend. Instead, Columbia passed the reins to writer/director Paul Feig, former actor who turned his hand to a variety of comedy vehicles, frequently starring Melissa McCarthy who has signed on as the lead of this sequel/reboot as paranormal expert Abby Yates.
Joining McCarthy are her Bridesmaids co-star Kristen Wiig, last seen in The Martian, as Columbia University Professor Erin Gilbert, Kate McKinnon as Jillian Holtzmann and Leslie Jones as Patty Tolan, both members of the Saturday Night Live troupe, as were Murray and Aykroyd three decades before.
With a supporting cast including Thor‘s Chris Hemsworth, Kill the Messenger‘s Andy Garcia, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies‘ Charles Dance and another Saturday Night Live cast member, Neil Casey, as the powerful demonic force threatening New York, there has been resistance in the fan community since the project was confirmed. With the first trailer now released, the team have cast their eye and expressed their opinions
Michael Flett – It has to be said that I was never a huge Ghostbusters fan in the first place; my brother very much claimed it as his own that summer, and to be honest I was never that bothered. It was entertaining, but it’s never been special to me so I don’t go into this with the feeling of righteous indignation that many have. I’ve never even seen the sequel, not even once.
That said, and it has already provoked finger wagging in my direction when I’ve said this previously, while I don’t in principle see a problem with having an all-female cast nor do I see the point unless the film is any good. “That’s sexist! The women must have representation!” I’m not saying otherwise. What I’m saying is that wouldn’t we rather have representation in a good film rather than a turkey?
I said right from the start, if this had been announced on the basis of “we have a terrific story to tell which will totally make you see Ghostbusters in a new light, but here’s the thing, it has to be a a team of Ladybusters,” I would have been fine. But it’s not. Instead it was “Let’s reboot Ghostbusters with women!” It’s not been about the story, it’s been about the marketing.
“This product has traditionally appealed to men, we need to expand the audience, so let’s cast women but in order to secure bums-in-seats we’ll pander to the obvious stereotypes of low-brow comedy. And just to keep it a safe bet, let’s still have it directed by a man.” So, apparently I’m sexist for saying “I doesn’t matter whether or not you cast it with women, you just have to make it a good film in the first place.”
A couple of years back, some Hollywood producer came up with the bright idea of an action movie with gay leads. Quite rightly, it languishes in production hell where it deserves to be. You want to make an action movie? Fine, make a good one, I may pay to see it. But don’t come to me and say “hey, look, I made you a gay action movie, because you wanted a gay action movie, because it doesn’t matter if it’s any good or not because you’ll want to see it because it’s the world’s first gay action movie and all you want is representation and you’ll pay for that, and say thank you, just because we noticed you.” No, I think I’ll pass on your generous offer of exploitation, thank you.
And speaking of representation – the wiki tells us Abby is a published author, Gilbert is a professor, Holtzmann is a nuclear engineer and Tolan is… a subway worker. The white chicks have brains, the black chick has attitude. Way to go, 21st century demographic! We salute your cultural sensitivity and diversity!
So, bottom line, we’re trying not to judge this on whether the boiler suits are worn by blokes or birds. We’re judging it on what we know of the story. And… doesn’t it look familiar? We have Slimer. We have Ecto-1. We have the old station house. They’re trading heavily on the original, introducing them of the inheritors of that legacy, but they’ve not earned it. Wait, is this a sequel or a remake? The wiki page lists cameos from Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Ernie Hudson and Annie Potts, but are they playing their original characters or what?
I can’t help but be reminded of The Thing “prequel,” where the studio hoped if they shouted “it’s a prequel” loudly and often enough people wouldn’t notice it was the same film as John Carpenter’s 1982 version just with different names and set a week before which would make it… yes, a remake.
Okay, stepping back and focusing on the good… They’ve retained the physicality of the gadgets of the original. The luminous ghosts look fantastic. Despite being done with modern techniques, they have tried to retain the style of the original spooks and apparitions, and the colours look glorious. And… that’s it.
It has to be said, Annie Potts’ Janine was always my favourite character in the original, and I have a suspicion that Chris Hemsworth, inheriting the receptionist role as Kevin, will be my favourite thing in this if I actually see it, though I imagine that as they’re not going to get Thor in for just a cameo, he will have a greatly expanded role, so that’s a plus. Again, though – we’re selling this as a film centred on women, and it’s the hot guy who makes me want to catch it? This really isn’t working as intended, is it?
But the biggest turn off for me, as if it wasn’t clear already? The genius of Bill Murray is that in any circumstance – even shot in the chest and dying while dressed as a zombie – his deadpan delivery never wavers. Here they’ve substituted the modern comedy trope that if shout it loud enough it’s supposed to be funny; I don’t get that, I never have.
I’ll tell you something else – not only have I never seen the Ghostbusters sequel, I have never seen anything starring Melissa McCarthy, though I have seen – many times – the trailers for Bridesmaids, Identity Theft, The Heat and Spy, possibly some others, and she alone is enough to make me not want to see this. Does she ever do anything other that bellow and describe bodily functions? She, right there, is the lowest common denominator of modern comedy.
The original was verging on slapstick while my humour has always been a bit more observational and linguistic, but I could appreciate it, but this trailer is very much going for the modern grossout approach which I just find childish. Dan Aykroyd said “He slimed me,” and that was enough, now we’re getting a tour of orifices. The joke is made, this adds nothing.
And no, it’s not because I don’t women on my cinema screen, but give me Tilda Swinton, Brit Marling, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Amy Acker, Dichen Lachman, someone I know will give an amazing, interesting, nuanced, human performance, not the walking foghorn that is Melissa McCarthy.
I am reminded of something Kim Newman said on the special features of The Haunted Palace, that Ghostbusters, or as he refers to it, “National Lampoon’s Call of Cthulhu,” was “probably the most important Cthulhu mythos ever made.” If the final scene of this is McCarthy locked up in an insane asylum chewing at her restraints, I might be tempted after all.
Les Anderson – It looks very promising. I have no issues at all with an all-female cast and I really can’t understand the reactionary misogyny that this has brought out in some sections of the geek community. Lads, grow up.
Anyway, the cast is very strong and the visuals keep the look of the original with respectful updates. Am looking forward to seeing this. My only complaint is there wasn’t enough Chris Hemsworth in the trailer. In his white t-shirt…
Dario Persechino – No, you don’t get to use the “30 Years Ago…” there was a great movie if you’ve stated you are not continuing in that universe, and are rebooting it. You might as well say “30 years ago there was a movie we’re trying to cash in on but didn’t have the belief in our own writing to continue that world so we’re ripping it off.”
Seriously, that was the only thing Feig needed to do to get a lot of old fans on board, continue that universe. Instead, it seems he is endeavouring to try and have his ghostly cake and eat it.
An all female Ghostbusters team? Great, put Sigourney Weaver in there as Dana Barrett and have her kicking ass! But no, we get what looks like a half hearted reboot that from the trailer does not seem to believe in its own product enough to stand alone without referencing the original. It has characters that seem like attempted copies of the older characters… but importantly “they’ve got different names.” Hmm.
Feig said on the Empire Film Podcast “I love origin stories. I want to see them come up with the tech. I want to see them seeing a ghost for the first time, as opposed to “Oh yeah, all those years ago there was a ghost attack on New York…” Just for me it was hard.”
Yet you open a trailer with “30 Years Ago…”
That initial rant aside… I want to like this movie. I really do. It’s great to see the firestation on screen again, the new Ecto-1 looks good, as does the tech and the special effects.
Kate McKinnon’s Egon like character of engineer Jillian Holtzmann with flick out plasma pistols looks cool. Kristen Wiig as Erin Gilbert seems to be playing it straight which looks to give a good grounding to the comedy film that it will need to pull of the style of the original. Melissa McCarthy and Leslie Jones though seem to be playing more comic relief clumsy / loud characters which also had a lot of uncomfortable aspects in a small amount of time.
I do want them to pull this off, if for no other reason that to slap down all the sexist ***holes that have been giving fans a bad name. The trailer has not been strong enough to convince me they can manage it though. Here’s hoping they are saving the best for the big screen.
Adam Dworak – The original Ghostbusters was an amazing movie, perfect in almost every aspect, it’s advantage being that it was based on a concept which had never been done before.
Despite this trailer starting with “30 years ago, four scientists saved New York,” there’s no indication that this is a sequel. The cast of original movie will have cameos in the remake but as completely new characters. There are even more nods to the original – the firehouse, the music, Slimer and even whole scenes are recreated.
It’s clear that the creators of this movie are trying to use nostalgia to distract us from the fact that Ghostbusters the remake has nothing to tell of its own. The cast looks like they are having fun but this is it – I didn’t find the slime jokes, references to The Exorcist or stereotypical characters funny.
The original Ghostbusters was able to mix different genres – there was drama, there was comedy, there was horror but here there is nothing. The Ghostbusters remake is nothing more than a bad parody of the original.
Matthew Rutland – Melissa Mcawful looks quite accurate as Slimer.
Ghostbusters is scheduled for release on July 15th 2016
Ghostbusters trailer – reaction
The death of Ramis in 2014 was the final sign that the original gang of Venkman, Stantz, Spengler and Zeddemore were never going to get back together, and Murray, Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson didn’t want to do it without their much missed friend. Instead, Columbia passed the reins to writer/director Paul Feig, former actor who turned his hand to a variety of comedy vehicles, frequently starring Melissa McCarthy who has signed on as the lead of this sequel/reboot as paranormal expert Abby Yates.
With a supporting cast including Thor‘s Chris Hemsworth, Kill the Messenger‘s Andy Garcia, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies‘ Charles Dance and another Saturday Night Live cast member, Neil Casey, as the powerful demonic force threatening New York, there has been resistance in the fan community since the project was confirmed. With the first trailer now released, the team have cast their eye and expressed their opinions
That said, and it has already provoked finger wagging in my direction when I’ve said this previously, while I don’t in principle see a problem with having an all-female cast nor do I see the point unless the film is any good. “That’s sexist! The women must have representation!” I’m not saying otherwise. What I’m saying is that wouldn’t we rather have representation in a good film rather than a turkey?
“This product has traditionally appealed to men, we need to expand the audience, so let’s cast women but in order to secure bums-in-seats we’ll pander to the obvious stereotypes of low-brow comedy. And just to keep it a safe bet, let’s still have it directed by a man.” So, apparently I’m sexist for saying “I doesn’t matter whether or not you cast it with women, you just have to make it a good film in the first place.”
And speaking of representation – the wiki tells us Abby is a published author, Gilbert is a professor, Holtzmann is a nuclear engineer and Tolan is… a subway worker. The white chicks have brains, the black chick has attitude. Way to go, 21st century demographic! We salute your cultural sensitivity and diversity!
I can’t help but be reminded of The Thing “prequel,” where the studio hoped if they shouted “it’s a prequel” loudly and often enough people wouldn’t notice it was the same film as John Carpenter’s 1982 version just with different names and set a week before which would make it… yes, a remake.
It has to be said, Annie Potts’ Janine was always my favourite character in the original, and I have a suspicion that Chris Hemsworth, inheriting the receptionist role as Kevin, will be my favourite thing in this if I actually see it, though I imagine that as they’re not going to get Thor in for just a cameo, he will have a greatly expanded role, so that’s a plus. Again, though – we’re selling this as a film centred on women, and it’s the hot guy who makes me want to catch it? This really isn’t working as intended, is it?
I’ll tell you something else – not only have I never seen the Ghostbusters sequel, I have never seen anything starring Melissa McCarthy, though I have seen – many times – the trailers for Bridesmaids, Identity Theft, The Heat and Spy, possibly some others, and she alone is enough to make me not want to see this. Does she ever do anything other that bellow and describe bodily functions? She, right there, is the lowest common denominator of modern comedy.
And no, it’s not because I don’t women on my cinema screen, but give me Tilda Swinton, Brit Marling, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Amy Acker, Dichen Lachman, someone I know will give an amazing, interesting, nuanced, human performance, not the walking foghorn that is Melissa McCarthy.
Les Anderson – It looks very promising. I have no issues at all with an all-female cast and I really can’t understand the reactionary misogyny that this has brought out in some sections of the geek community. Lads, grow up.
Dario Persechino – No, you don’t get to use the “30 Years Ago…” there was a great movie if you’ve stated you are not continuing in that universe, and are rebooting it. You might as well say “30 years ago there was a movie we’re trying to cash in on but didn’t have the belief in our own writing to continue that world so we’re ripping it off.”
An all female Ghostbusters team? Great, put Sigourney Weaver in there as Dana Barrett and have her kicking ass! But no, we get what looks like a half hearted reboot that from the trailer does not seem to believe in its own product enough to stand alone without referencing the original. It has characters that seem like attempted copies of the older characters… but importantly “they’ve got different names.” Hmm.
Yet you open a trailer with “30 Years Ago…”
That initial rant aside… I want to like this movie. I really do. It’s great to see the firestation on screen again, the new Ecto-1 looks good, as does the tech and the special effects.
I do want them to pull this off, if for no other reason that to slap down all the sexist ***holes that have been giving fans a bad name. The trailer has not been strong enough to convince me they can manage it though. Here’s hoping they are saving the best for the big screen.
Despite this trailer starting with “30 years ago, four scientists saved New York,” there’s no indication that this is a sequel. The cast of original movie will have cameos in the remake but as completely new characters. There are even more nods to the original – the firehouse, the music, Slimer and even whole scenes are recreated.
The original Ghostbusters was able to mix different genres – there was drama, there was comedy, there was horror but here there is nothing. The Ghostbusters remake is nothing more than a bad parody of the original.
Matthew Rutland – Melissa Mcawful looks quite accurate as Slimer.
Ghostbusters is scheduled for release on July 15th 2016
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