To quote Bill Murray from the original Ghostbusters, “we came, we saw, we kicked their…”. That may not be entirely true to this long awaited return to the silver screen, but this all female reboot was actually quite entertaining. Warning, spoilers ahead…
It’s been thirty years since the original and what I enjoyed the most was this rebooted version is just that, a reboot and not a remake with just females taking over the iconic roles. Director Paul Feig brings with him a fresh take on this paranormal and supernatural comedy. I must admit, I had my doubts because of my affections for towards the classic Ghostbustersbut from the opening scene followed by Ray Parker, Jr.’s superior version of the theme song, I was becoming a willing participant in this new adventure.
The film stars Kristen Wiig as Erin Gilbert, a Columbia physics professor. Erin is approached at the University by a man (Ed Begley, Jr.) with a book that Erin had co-wrote regarding the paranormal and his desire for her to check out some supernatural activity at a local museum. This leads Erin to Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy) a former classmate and co-writer of said book at Abby’s makeshift science lab where she is introduced to Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon). It is here where the pieces of the puzzle start to form.
Reluctantly Erin agrees to accompany Abby and Jillian to the museum where they discover that ghosts are very much real. A YouTube video showing Erin’s conceding the existence of ghost’s leads to her dismissal at Columbia and her joining Abby and Jillian in their ghost hunting venture. It doesn’t take too long for this trio to become a quartet when MTA worker Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones) who had experienced her own close encounters of the ghostly kind, joins the team. She does so mainly because she can provide them with a much needed ride, a black hearse to will become Ecto-1. With the team now set and with the media dubbing them “Ghostbusters”, the fearsome four set out to save the world from a nerdy bellhop with a thirst for vengeance wants to unleash the undead on New York.
Much like the original, some of the best and funniest moments come from the scenes that led up to their encounters as oppose to the encounters themselves. I’ve never been the biggest McCarthy fan but I have to admit to enjoying her performance here and I always love watching Kristen Wiig. I thought Jones delivered many of the films laugh out loud moments but it was McKinnon and Chris Hemsworth as Kevin, the dumbest secretary you’ll ever want to hire. McKinnon channeled her inner Bill Murray and Hemsworth showed that he can be as funny with comedic timing as he is as strong and a force to be reckoned with as Thor in the Marvel films. Also, make sure you watch closely to the cameos of Murray (which would be far easier to spot), Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver and a subtle appearance by the late Harold Ramis.
As a father of two girls, I can’t stress enough how important it is to have films with strong female characters and female leads. This is why I’m looking forward to the Wonder Woman film in 2017 and why it was important to me to support this film. Is it perfect? No not by any stretch. It’s not even as good as its predecessor and yet surprisingly enough, it’s definitely worth giving it a call.
Directed by: Paul Feig
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones and Chris Hemsworth
James aka “The Dork Knight” is a blogger and writer based out of Upstate New York. For James, it all started with a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… when he dragged his mom to see The Empire Strikes Back 10 weeks in a row. He lives and breathes nerd culture. James is proof that a Star Wars fanatic can be a passionate Trekkie as well. So much so James dressed up as Captain Kirk to the premiere of Star Trek VI in 1991 and still has the uniform.
When it comes to Comic Books, Sci-Fi or Fantasy whether in print or digital, in the theatre or on my TV screen, I’m all about it and I love it. So bring your Phaser (set to stun), Lightsaber, Sonic Screwdriver, a Wand, Mjolnir or the Ring to rule them all, because this site is for the dork in all of us.
