Ghostbusters (12A.)
Directed by Paul Feig.
Starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Neil Casey and Chris Hemsworth. 116 mins.
The five stages of grief mirror reactions to the news of the latest Hollywood remake/ reboot/ retread/ sequel. Denial, “nah, there not really going to make a sequel to Blade Runner.” Anger, “How dare they let the director of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter remake Ben Hur.” Bargaining, “if they make Annie black I'll never see a Sony film again. Depression, “it's all about the money, innit?” And then Acceptance, “An all female Ghostbusters, with Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig and whoever the other two are, might be ok.”
After all, McCarthy and director Feig combined on Spy, probably last year's best mainstream comedy. Wiig is both talented and picky: since Bridesmaids gave her the opportunity to become a female star she has largely spurned the chances to do mainstream funny, preferring dark and subversive stuff like Nasty Baby or The Secret Diary of a Teenage Girl, until this came along. They could pull this off.
I tried to watch without prejudice, to not let preconceptions cloud judgement. This new lady Ghostbusters is something weird and to me it don't look good but it is not horrible, or any kind of travesty, though it looks a little half hearted and uncertain in places. There's plenty of talent involved but when you are stepping into somebody else's shoes the only thing that matters is whether they fit. But in all honesty I can't work out if this is like Les Dawson taking over Blankety Blank, or Jim Davidson The Generation Game.
The fact that the leads all made their reputations in 15 certificate comedies seems inappropriate, but that was the case with Murray, Ackyroyd and Ramis on the first one. Part of its great appeal was that it successfully transferred all the sweary, anarchic energy of their previous hits into a family film set up. It's not so sure here, there's a world and a generation between a PG and a 12A. There's a fanny fart joke in its first ten minutes seems a considerable escalation on Murray's line, “this man has no dick.” It's funny, but not much fun.
Wiig and a considerably dialled down McCarthy have a nice rapport in the Murray/ Ackroyd roles which makes for a surprisingly relaxed, low energy, centre. As such I think McKinnon, who is cast in the Ramis/ weird nerd role, is the key to whether audience will accept this new incarnation; and if they do she will be its break out star. With her diagonal hair and yellow tinted goggles she is made up like a composite of figures from the Real Ghostbusters cartoon series, and she is there to provide random, wacky comic energy. During its ropey first third, when the film is really struggling, it keeps cutting to her for a reaction shot, desperately hoping for an injection of life into lame set ups. If you click with her performance you will most likely enjoy the film but she grated on me.
The film though does eventually get into its stride. There are plenty of laughs though not many memorable set pieces. Perhaps the problem is with Ghostbusters itself. The original cast could only make it work once and when you boil it down all you really have is the logo, the gear and the song.
Directed by Paul Feig.
Starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Neil Casey and Chris Hemsworth. 116 mins.
The five stages of grief mirror reactions to the news of the latest Hollywood remake/ reboot/ retread/ sequel. Denial, “nah, there not really going to make a sequel to Blade Runner.” Anger, “How dare they let the director of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter remake Ben Hur.” Bargaining, “if they make Annie black I'll never see a Sony film again. Depression, “it's all about the money, innit?” And then Acceptance, “An all female Ghostbusters, with Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig and whoever the other two are, might be ok.”
After all, McCarthy and director Feig combined on Spy, probably last year's best mainstream comedy. Wiig is both talented and picky: since Bridesmaids gave her the opportunity to become a female star she has largely spurned the chances to do mainstream funny, preferring dark and subversive stuff like Nasty Baby or The Secret Diary of a Teenage Girl, until this came along. They could pull this off.
I tried to watch without prejudice, to not let preconceptions cloud judgement. This new lady Ghostbusters is something weird and to me it don't look good but it is not horrible, or any kind of travesty, though it looks a little half hearted and uncertain in places. There's plenty of talent involved but when you are stepping into somebody else's shoes the only thing that matters is whether they fit. But in all honesty I can't work out if this is like Les Dawson taking over Blankety Blank, or Jim Davidson The Generation Game.
The fact that the leads all made their reputations in 15 certificate comedies seems inappropriate, but that was the case with Murray, Ackyroyd and Ramis on the first one. Part of its great appeal was that it successfully transferred all the sweary, anarchic energy of their previous hits into a family film set up. It's not so sure here, there's a world and a generation between a PG and a 12A. There's a fanny fart joke in its first ten minutes seems a considerable escalation on Murray's line, “this man has no dick.” It's funny, but not much fun.
Wiig and a considerably dialled down McCarthy have a nice rapport in the Murray/ Ackroyd roles which makes for a surprisingly relaxed, low energy, centre. As such I think McKinnon, who is cast in the Ramis/ weird nerd role, is the key to whether audience will accept this new incarnation; and if they do she will be its break out star. With her diagonal hair and yellow tinted goggles she is made up like a composite of figures from the Real Ghostbusters cartoon series, and she is there to provide random, wacky comic energy. During its ropey first third, when the film is really struggling, it keeps cutting to her for a reaction shot, desperately hoping for an injection of life into lame set ups. If you click with her performance you will most likely enjoy the film but she grated on me.
The film though does eventually get into its stride. There are plenty of laughs though not many memorable set pieces. Perhaps the problem is with Ghostbusters itself. The original cast could only make it work once and when you boil it down all you really have is the logo, the gear and the song.
