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With Hollywood racing to remake the films and TV shows of the ‘80s, it was only a matter of time before Ivan Reitman’s action-packed comedy classic, Ghostbusters, returned to the big screen. But while fans have spent years arguing over whether an all-female Ghostbusters reboot would be a hit or a total travesty, the reality is that it’s just another mediocre summer movie.
The new Ghostbusters movie finds Columbia professor Dr. Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig) reuniting with her high school friend, Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy), to investigate the sighting of a ghost at a historic New York City mansion. When a video of their investigation goes viral, both women—as well as Abby’s colleague, Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon)—lose their jobs. So, together with dimwitted receptionist Kevin (Chris Hemsworth) and former subway worker Patty (Leslie Jones), they team up to research the paranormal—only to find themselves battling a strange loner who’s attempting to unleash ghostly mayhem on the city.
One of Ghostbusters fans’ greatest concerns about the reboot stems from its female cast. In fact, debates about the film have often turned into strange arguments about things like sexism and racism. But there’s no reason why women can’t play wisecracking intellectuals who protect the city from ghosts. And apart from a tiresome ongoing gag about the women hiring their receptionist based solely on his looks (Get it? Men do it all the time! Ha-ha!), the characters’ gender just doesn’t matter.
What matters, then, is that the characters could have been played by better female stars. Wiig is unimpressive as the awkwardly straight-laced scientist, while McKinnon goes a little too far over the top as the wackiest member of the group—and Jones just shouts her way through the film. Surprisingly, McCarthy gives the strongest performance, toning down her usual loud-and-obnoxious shtick to play a character who’s both believably smart and amusingly quirky.
Meanwhile, though the reboot does retain some of the fun-filled spirit of the original, it feels watered down. The story isn’t especially thrilling or suspenseful. The jokes generally miss the mark. And while the action sequences are pretty impressive, there simply aren’t enough of them. Mostly, it’s just a brainless summer action movie filled with references and cameos and other reminders that it was inspired by a movie you totally love. It isn’t a terrible reboot, but it definitely isn’t a necessary one, either.
If you’re a fan of the Ghostbusters of 1984 (and, really, why wouldn’t you be?), the reboot will bring back plenty of ghost-busting memories. But instead of making you hope for even more Ghostbusters adventures, it’ll mostly just make you want to go home and rewatch the original.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
