As opposed to, say, "Fairy puke". *

Is it just me, or does this sound like an extremely negative term for fantasy fiction?

- Sid

* Just for the record, "fairy puke" is actually the colloquial name for Icmadophila ericetorus, a variety of crustose lichen.

No, seriously, it's on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icmadophila.

Ghostbusters 2: "Break the barriers".

 

I'd like to thank Karli for an excellent guest posting on the new Ghostbusters, and, based on her input, I wanted to enlarge on my position regarding the remake.

For me, movie remakes are a little bit like cover versions of songs. If you're not going to make it your own, if you're not going to bring something new to the table, why bother? *

For whatever reason, genre films seem to be targeted for remakes and reboots more than the mainstream: Robocop, Planet of the Apes, Spider-Man, Total Recall, The Time Machine, Batman, Superman, and so on, with the Ghostbusters remake as the latest entry on the list.  Some of them refresh and revive the base concept, some don't - how does Ghostbusters score?

I agree with Karli that Ghostbusters was fun, and that the main cast has fabulous chemistry.  Kate McKinnon is obviously the next Jim Carrey - let's hope that Hollywood has the good sense to find her a script, hand her the ball, and just let her run with it.

It's also a funny movie, and the selection of cameos from the 1984 cast were a nice nod to the first version.**  I completely agree with Karli that Chris Hemsworth's Kevin failed to impress - a little more depth there would have helped to broaden the film.

All that being said, it's not a very different movie than the original version.  Do I think that it was worth remaking this movie just to replace the originals with female leads?  I would say no - in my mind, that doesn't matter.  A movie should be judged on its own merits, regardless of whether the cast is male or female.

However, I think I'm wrong.

Ghostbusters is a noteworthy cultural phenomenon in that there's such a sharp division between the film as such and its position as a feminist milestone. As Karli points out in her posting, it's important that women be shown taking the lead, both as actors and characters - and THAT'S why we needed to see "bitches busting ghosts".

- Sid

* The Alien Ant Farm version of Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal is a prime example of this.

** But where was Rick Moranis? I know he retired from acting in order to raise his children, but surely he could have gotten a babysitter and done a quick hit-and-run appearance at the studio.

Ghostbusters 1: "Safety lights are for dudes!"

(Contributed by Karli Thomas)

 

"No one should have to encounter that kind of evil. Except you girls, I think you can handle it."

Theatre Manager, Ghostbusters

Last weekend, on opening night no less, Sid, and I went to see Ghostbusters. I had been looking forward to it since the first teaser trailer had come out. Maybe even before then. I remember seeing the first image released from the set – the four women wearing the jumpsuits, proton packs strapped to their backs. I poured over the photo and anticipated seeing these very funny women take charge of these very iconic roles. That Paul Feig was directing was the icing on the cake.

In broad terms, I liked the movie. The main cast had great chemistry and were very funny. Kate McKinnon owned every scene she was in. Melissa McCarthy was pleasantly un-Tammy-like. Leslie Jones and Kristen Wiig did exactly what you`d expect of them and they were fun to watch. Chris Hemsworth’s character was problematic for me*. The big fight sequence in the second half dragged, but I am guilty of thinking that pretty much every big fight scene in the history of movies drags – you could all learn something from Game of Thrones Battle of the Bastards, filmmakers!

As we walked out into the fresh summer air, Sid proposed a question for this new version of Ghostbusters:  “Did it need to be made?” Specifically, is changing the cast to all female enough of a reason to remake this movie? Sid thinks maybe not and I think maybe yes.

At some point in our future a generation of girls will grow up seeing movies starring more women in a wider variety of roles and that is a very good thing. Young girls (and boys for that matter) will get a broader spectrum of female role models and a more expansive view of what women can do and what they look like in those roles.

Ghostbusters was fun to watch and it was a pleasure to see these women take the reins and do such a great job of leading the movie. Did Ghostbusters need to be remade?  Maybe not remade exactly, no, they could have done a sequel rather than a reboot. But since Hollywood is going to reboot movies regardless of whether or not they need to – why not let women finally take the lead and have some fun?

- Karli

* My complaint about Kevin is nearly complete – he was poorly written, poorly acted and poorly directed. He should have been a dumb, good looking klutz, not a complete idiot.