It’s impossible to go into the new GHOSTBUSTERS film free from having the original in your head and drawing comparisons between the two. And that’s okay. It really is. It doesn’t for a moment feel like Paul Feig’s new comedy is trying to take the place in your heart of the immortal classic we all grew up loving. Instead, it tries to be another story playing in the same world, while respectfully acknowledging its roots. A story carried largely by its immensely talented cast, delivering hilarious moments and ghostly apparitions in equal measure. And in that role, it certainly succeeds.
The film opens with a reconnection of fellow scientists and old friends, Erin (Kristen Wiig) and Abby (Melissa McCarthy). Though they once embraced the study of the paranormal together, Erin has gone on to a career as a professor of particle physics at a prestigious university, while Abby toils away at her research at a sketchy city college. As fate intervenes, the pair find themselves thrown together, along with Abby’s new colleague. Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon in a bizarrely charismatic performance that will have you head over heels in love). One thing leads to another and the group goes out to investigate reports of a haunting in a historic New York mansion. After they come face to face with the spectral entity (and its slime, of course), they go into business and rededicate their lives to the study of the paranormal. Along the way, they pick up two additional team members with Penny (Leslie Jones), an MTA worker with crazy-detailed knowledge of New York City history, and Kevin (Chris Hemsworth), a pretty, yet totally inept receptionist. Ladies and Gentlemen, meet the Ghostbusters.
As the story progresses and they begin hunting down more and more specters, they also realize that these hauntings are not isolated incidents. Devices found at each site lead them to the conclusion that these paranormal events are part of a larger plot to amplify and unleash the supernatural realm upon the living.
Much like its predecessor, so much of this film rides on the performances from the cast and the chemistry that they share. And like the original, this new film not only embraces this aspect, but nails it. This group is amazing. They play off one another perfectly, and everyone gets their own individual moments to shine. Wiig and McCarthy have a great rapport based not only on the friendship of their characters, but on their love of science and their field of study. Jones is fantastic in a take no prisoners kind of way, immediately earning her place in the ranks. Chris Hemsworth is confident and crazy funny in the role of loveable and irretrievably stupid Kevin. He proves here that he has some powerful comedic chops and owns every moment he is on camera.
But the breakaway star is Kate McKinnon. She is beyond hilarious, and easily steals every single scene she is in. Holtzmann is a kind of renegade punk scientist – super smart, really creative, and more than a little dangerous. She’s a little like a kid who has been given a chemistry set and just starts throwing chemicals together to see just what the fuck will happen. She is the perfect amount of funny and just plain weird, delivering completely unexpected moments that come out of nowhere and will leave you laughing for days.
Is the film perfect? Absolutely not. The story is a bit clunky at times, particularly in the third act when the paranormal threat really amps up. Though the final showdown is a crazy fun effects-driven scene, it is also relies pretty heavily on some poorly placed exposition and the film starts to break the rules of its own mythology. It doesn’t hamper the experience terribly though, because the story is still crazy fun.
The film pays homage to the original in a number of ways, some more effective than others. It pays a lovely tribute to Harold Ramis, and though the other cameo appearances are done in the best spirit, they really are a distraction from the rest of the film. It’s like we have to hit pause on the greater story to shoehorn in an appearance by one of the original members, and once we check that off of our list, it’s back to business. It’s not disrespectful to the original actors, but it just doesn’t come off terribly delicately.
And as impossible as it is to separate the new film from the original, it is also impossible to separate it fully from the controversy that it has stirred up since its announcement. In a stroke of pure cathartic genius, the film takes subtle jabs at the vile hate-filled internet culture that has been raking this project across the coals since before a single frame was even shot. Most importantly, its villain, Rowan, is an embodied representation of all of the internet rage that this film has dredged up over the course of the past couple of years. An archetypal, angry "beta-male" character with an evil, paranormal plan. It’s not overt enough to be distracting, but it’s a clever addition, despite the rather one-dimensional nature of the character. And when Rowan takes his final steps toward becoming the ultimate version of the film's Big Bad, it's a lot of fun.
The script is certainly flawed, but that's easy to overlook when you take into account how much straight up entertaining this movie is. There were moments that had me flat-out cheering, and I can’t wait to see it again. If we wind up getting future chapters set in this universe, with these characters, I will absolutely be on board. I would love to see this team cut loose without the burden of being tied so strongly to the original film. And again, it doesn’t try to replace the original, but you can be damn sure it earns a place on the shelf next to it.
