Welcome to the first edition of In Brief, a new experiment of mine where I briefly discuss a film, TV show or a game of my choice in 500 words (give or take). Don’t confuse this with a review. I’m not here to hand out a score or to convince you to buy anything. In Brief is where I will express my opinion. It is here where you will find me praising the media or insulting it. So without further ado…
GHOSTBUSTERS (2016)
As many of you have already witnessed the trailers for the new Ghostbusters film did nothing but validate the immature, chauvinistic loudmouths of the Internet. I won’t pretend the trailers convinced me to see it but the negativity surrounding Ghostbusters definitely played its part. You’ll be glad to know that the trailers haven’t shown off all the big money shots. In fact, when you revisit the promotional videos you’ll start spotting scenes and dialogue that weren’t in the cinematic cut (fingers crossed for an Extended Cut on Blu-ray). So my advice is to ignore all of the marketing because it’s doing the opposite of its intended purpose.
Ghostbusters isn’t a sequel to the 1984 film. It’s a modern interpretation of the original but with enough changes that it feels different. I would describe the new Ghostbusters as what The Force Awakens was to A New Hope; similar but charismatically separate. Ghostbusters can be best described as Bridesmaids with proton packs and that’s a characteristic of the new film that wasn’t conveyed strongly enough in the trailers.
I thought the semi-improvised acting was one of the best things to come out of the new film. It feels exhausting at times as some of the jokes feel like they’re trailing on but at least the conversations are natural, funny and leave you feeling slightly uncomfortable. Most of the gags shown in the trailers will fall flat on their face but Ghostbusters is full of untouched material to enjoy.
Kate McKinnon portrays Dr. Jillian Holtzmann. She’s responsible for crafting all of the weapons. She’s definitely the star of the show. That’s not to discredit what Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig or Leslie Jones brings to the table but Holtzmann oozed with personality. She’s hot, she’s butch and she’s wacky. She may or may not be gay but it’s honestly not important, and why should it be? Heterosexual characters are never ‘outed’ and none of the new Ghostbusters have romantic sub plots anyway, so I’m glad it wasn’t a part of her that had to be aired out to dry. I love Holtzmann, is what I’m saying.
Chris Hemsworth’s character was by far the worst. Great performance but he grated on me for most of the time. All you need to know is he’s a fucking idiot with muscles.
The new theme isn’t so new after all. Ghostbusters opens with the original and the new Fallout Boy version ft. Missy Elliot works in context. And be honest with yourself, after a couple of listens it grows on you.
In brief: Ghostbusters strikes a perfect balance of Horror and Comedy. It’s a brilliant re-imagining with maximum attitude and minimum flaws (an all-female team not being one of them).
