Well I was wrong.
As always I’m super late on the review
(though to be fair, I was on vacation in Yellowstone for a week and, believe it
or not, the national park didn’t have
Wi-Fi in the camping grounds), but better late than never I always say
(hehehe…ugh). In my last post, I gave my
two cents on why I thought the Ghostbusters
remake would be good. While I still
stand by what I wrote, as a reviewer I must truthfully confess my thoughts on the film: Ghostbusters is a
forgettable remake.
The PG-13 rating definitely had
something to do with its lackluster performance: the film’s comedy is too tame, and the actors
(particularly Melissa McCarthy) too restrained from delivering entertainingly raunchy
lines. Yet the problem lies deeper than
just the rating: the jokes have too much setup for mediocre punchlines and are too
spacious between deliveries, the editing is either jaggedly rushed or
unnecessarily drawn out, and the multiple cameos feel forced and uninspired. The film clearly had faith in Kate McKinnon’s
character Dr. Holtzmann becoming its breakout character, giving a noticeable
amount of screen time for her wacky antics.
Holtzmann, however, is an uncomfortable character in all the wrong ways. Her strange behaviors aren’t comical, they’re
cringe-worthy. Perhaps if the character had
a more subtle delivery—rather than being up close and constantly in the
viewer’s face—Holtzmann could have worked more effectively. What the film ends up giving, instead, is a
character forced into the spotlight essentially saying; “hey viewers, look at my
wacky character doing crazzzzy
things! Please laugh.”
For all its worth, Ghostbusters is not a bad film. There are funny jokes scattered throughout
the film’s runtime, some really cool-looking CGI ghosts (including a horde of
parade balloons with a fun surprise twist), and a plot that deviates itself
enough from the original to not be a “straight imitation, but with female characters”. The film also gets bonus points for rarely
focusing on the “male vs female” aspect stories with prominent female casts are frequently plagued with. The main cast
is female, the film accepts and embraces they’re female, but does
not resort to anvilicious themes regarding their female status—instead letting
its characters be actual three-dimensional characters (as any sensible writer
should), rather than heavy-handed morals or lessons. In the end, however, the positives don’t add
up enough to prevent the most controversial film of the decade from being
completely forgettable. The film is
unfunny, awkward, and—aside from the main female casting decision—doesn’t take
chances outside the standard comedy tropes.
It’s a shame Ghostbusters has
become the poster child for gender-swapping remakes, because the idea could be remarkably
unique if well executed. Unfortunately,
with the film’s subpar entertainment and abysmal box office profits, it may be
a long while before we see another shot at a gender-swapped remake—which is an unfortunate consequence.
