Yep. Im covering this one. This ones long overdue so lets get through this. A LOT of people are hating on this movie before they even see it. Why? I understand that Ghostbusters is a classic and the trailers leading up to this movie were not very good… but dear God give it a chance. When I told my dad and my boyfriend that I was going to see it, they rolled their eyes at me saying goodluck. They havent even seen it. People criticize this movie for being awful when they dont even know if its even good or bad to begin with. Well, I did see it. I have experienced it. And what do I think of it? Lets take a look.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
First, a little background. When the trailer was first shown, I did roll my eyes. Some of it was okay, but a lot of it was really bad. That trailer did NOT make a very good impression. About a month before the movie was going to be released, I started to think whos behind this whole thing?. Low and behold the director and co-writer Paul Feig who directed Bridesmaids, The Heat, Spy, several episodes of Arrested Development, Parks and Rec and many more (all of which are successful movies and shows). He also created the amazing TV show Freaks and Geeks before it was unfortunately cancelled. His co-writer for Ghostbusters is Kathie Dippold who also co-wrote The Heat with Feig and writes episodes of Parks and Rec. Thats not all. Guess whos one of the executive producers? Dan Akyroyd, one of original Ghostbusters. All 3 of these gave me a little sigh of relief that just maybe this movie would be okay, despite it being a remake. And did it? Lets find out.
The good. Yes, there is good in this movie.
1. The Characters. The new, female cast are actually pretty good. They parallel well from the original cast while being their own characters. Abby Yates is just a lovable dork whos confident of herself and of her research. She has never given up on her scientific research nor her beliefs on ghosts. When reminiscing on high school, Erin says that (something along the lines of) "no one wanted to hang out with us because we were losers", but Yates retorts "no, they didnt wanna hang out with us because our ghost stories were too scary and we were too awesome." She is just so overflowing with self-confidence that I love it! Erin Gilbert was Yates's best friend and fellow ghost researcher until she gave up the game when she felt disillusioned. Until Gilbert and Yates come across a real ghost, Gilbert gets her mojo back as well as her belief in ghosts. She's intelligent, awkward, and has a need to prove herself, but she eventually grows during the movie to become more confident in herself and less of a need to prove anything. Her character is relatable: an insecure loner who grows into a confident friend. Then theres Jillian Holtzmann...I fucking loved her. She cracked me up. Shes the Spengler of the group, but with her own twist of Spengler. While Spengler was more stoic and rigid (in a hilarious way), Holtzmann is bizarre and eccentric. She dances with fire, she always has this crazy smile on her face like a mad genius, and she just keeps popping out inventions like no tomorrow. Of all 4, shes my favorite. And now Patty. For some reason, people are saying a lot of bad things about this character and this actress on Twitter....I liked her. She had a good character and I liked the actress. She was fine...and she had a purpose, but Ill get to that part later. As for her character, she was funny, sarcastic, and provided non-scientific gibberish that the audience understood. She provided a sense of normalcy. While 3 of the ghostbusters are scientists, she was working for the MTA. However, she is also very knowledgable, knowing all about New York City. She knew what places had hauntings or what had a lot of deaths; Patty knew the historical events of NYC that the other girls didnt. Then theres Rowan, the villain. Hes socially awkward and an unappreciated genius who found solace in ghosts. His scheme to open a portal to release the ghosts into our world to wreck havoc and command them is pretty genius, especially in the way that he plans it. Hes really creepy. Yeah its obvious when you see him that hes the villain, but he still gives you shivers. The guy oozes coo-coo-for-coa-coa-puffs. Hes the Villian that was always underestimated, but once he got power, by only did he become confident, he became devious and bold, much less socially awkward. Hes very power-crazed. And of course, the cameos by the original ghostbusters themselves! I will not give away how they appear because you have to see them yourselves. What I will say is that how they appear in this movie is very clever and not at all insulting. They get some very good lines in and when you see them, youre jumping in your seat in excitement. I was laughing hysterically when Dan Akyroyd's cameo popped in.
2. The Writing. The writing here is actually really good. It mixes in the origin of the ghostbusters of the original movie while at the same time making this movie its own, giving it its own plot, its own Villian, and its own evil mission. The last movie only threatened to take over New York, here the ghosts actually DO take over New York! They cause mayhem and destruction! They put in a few nostalgic moments of ghostbusters past to make us appreciate the old film, but it also shows us that it can make it as a stand-alone movie. Its got a good plot and a good twist! I liked it. Another thing I really wanna talk about that I left up there is about Patty. In the original Ghostbusters, Winston joined the team in the 2nd half of the 2nd act, and we never know his character. He is never truly given a purpose. For what reason was he thrown into the plot for? So there would be 4 ghostbusters up against Zule? Thats kind of a halfass move. Hes often known as the "overlooked ghostbuster" and it shows. I rewatched this movie a week before seeing the new one...and I had to look up his name for this review. But you know whos name I do remember? Patty. Why? Because her role as the 4th ghostbuster had purpose. She was introduced in the 1st act, she was along for the ride the whole way through, she got the girls a car to use, and she had knowledge of NYC that actually helped them. She had a purpose in this film that Winston didnt in his film. So this is a BIG fix that I really liked. People are hating on this character because she isnt a scientist and that she was useless. 1) so what? Winston wasnt a scientist either, oh but youre not gonna hate on him right? 2) she wasnt useless. She was in the entire movie, she had historic knowledge of the city, some funny lines, got them a vehicle to use, and she fought along side them always! What more do you want from her? What hurts more is that people are verbally attacking the actress, Leslie Jones, and she has said that "you know, people are really hurting my feelings and I wish they would stop all the hate." That really gets me, as someone who was bullied online and in person. Its a movie, people, dont take it to heart, and especially dont take it out on this actress.