'Ghostbusters' runs out of laughs, thrills despite cast's best efforts
By George M. Thomas
“Who ya gonna call?” was a familiar question for those of us
who caught the original GHOSTBUSTERS in 1984. That film provided an oasis of silliness
along with a few thrills on its way to capturing the summer.
By George M. Thomas
Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Kristen Wiig and Leslie Jones star
in GHOSTBUSTERS.
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The current incarnation that features a group of talented
comedians will likely do the same, just from sheer name recognition. After all, any film that stars Kristen Wiig,
Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon, will likely attract audiences.
And for most of the first half of GHOSTBUSTERS, they deliver
the goods in their take on paranormal scientists looking to prove that they’re
not quacks and, in the process, make New York City safer.
For that first hour or so GHOSTBUSTERS, which focuses on
Abby (McCarthy), Erin (Wiig), Patty (Jones) and Holtz (McKinnon), zips along
with clever one-liners and broader comedy.
But when the Ghostbusters get down to the business of
kicking spectral booty, it gets stuck in the slime that oozes through the
screen in several scenes.
Give screenwriters Katie Dippold and co-writer and director Paul
Feig (BRIDESMAIDS) credit for being clever enough to take the opportunity to
poke fun at sexism and sexist stereotypes throughout the film as the
ghostbusting team has to deal with a beefcake, dimwitted receptionist named
Kevin (Chris Hemsworth) who they hire on the cheap, along with a myriad of
subtle issues that come their way.
However, when it actually comes to hunting specters, the
laughs pretty much vanished into thin air.
Perhaps that was by design, but it diminished the final product as GHOSTBUSTERS builds to a cataclysmic event that doesn’t work.
The cast milks every laugh from the material given, but
ultimately it isn’t enough.
Surprisingly, however, most of the laughs come courtesy of Jones and
McKinnon. The two of them pilfer any scene in which they appear.
Feig does plenty to pay homage to the original. The
theme song has been reworked, and there are cameos, even unexpected ones by Bill
Murray (which feels tacked on and not entirely organic), Dan Akyrod and Ernie
Hudson (fourth Ghostbuster Harold Ramis died several years ago).
However, Feig’s reboot of this long dormant franchise feels
more than a bit forced at times. The
original film wasn’t a critical darling, but it certainly found its way into
the pop culture zeitgeist after its release.
With that comes expectations and, of course, pressure. Those factors
inflict a little damage on GHOSTBUSTERS, but not enough to not enjoy this film
for what it is – pure escapism.
Movie: GHOSTBUSTERS
Director: Paul Feig
Cast: Kristen Wiig,
Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones, Kate McKinnon, Chris Hemsworth
Studio: Columbia
Studios
Rated: PG-13 for
supernatural action and some crude humor
Running time: 116
minutes
George’s rating: 2 1/2 out of 4 stars
Check for theaters and showtimes at Atlas Cinemas, ClevelandCinemas, Fandango.com and MovieTickets.com
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