There is a new Ghostbusters movie
in theaters. But it literally isn’t “your parent’s Ghostbusters.” Sony Pictures
gives us Ghostbusters (2016),
directed by the successful director of such hits as Bridesmaids, Spy, and The Heat: Paul Feig.
There are multiple reasons why I
state that this isn’t “your parent’s Ghostbusters.” First, the boys Venkman
(Bill Murray), Spengler (Harold Ramis), Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Zeddmore
(Ernie Hudson) have been replaced with ladies Gilbert (Kristen Wiig), Yates
(Melissa McCarthy), Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon) and Tolan (Leslie Jones). Second,
is the tone of the film going from a comedy that finds humor in unbelievable
situations to a comedy that creates humor with absurdity. Third and finally, is
this film being a standalone movie with its own history and not being a sequel
or follow up in any way to the original 80’s Ghostbusters films.
So the most obvious change is all
of the male leads being replaced by females. Replaced is the wrong word.
Replaced implies that each character is swapped, but these aren’t just the
female versions of the 80’s crew. These Ghostbusters are completely new
characters with each serving completely different purposes and behaving in
completely different ways. Sure the three doctors/scientists are white and the
non-doctor/scientist is black, but other than that there is no connection.
Harold Ramis wrote the screenplay for 1984’s Ghostbusters and was a growing comedic actor in his own right. Bill
Murray and Dan Aykroyd were Saturday Night Live alums. Ernie Hudson was a
television actor making his transition to feature films. Our new cast has three
Saturday Night alums: Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, and Kristen Wiig. Melissa
McCarthy is actually already a big movie star. So the casting talent is
actually equally matched in terms of experience, despite each group having
different styles of comedy.
What I believe is the biggest
difference that distinguishes Ghostbusters
(2016) from its predecessor is the tone. While 1984’s Ghostbusters was a supernatural comedy, it attempted to ground
itself in a serious world with real people thrown into paranormal situations
and featured the comedy found in those situations. 2016’s Ghostbusters, being directed by Paul Feig, has a tone more akin to
his 2015 film Spy. Taking a more
absurdist approach, this version goes for more physical comedy and characters
behaving ridiculously. This new tone is definitely the kind of comedy more
commonly seen in hit movies today. Another contrast is that 1984’s Ghostbusters had moments that could
legitimately creep or scare an audience. 2016’s Ghostbusters makes its ghosts brighter in color and thus less
terrifying. This was likely done so that younger audiences could enjoy the film
in theaters.
I think the best way to categorize
the film is to call it a reboot. Ghostbusters
(2016) does not acknowledge the existence of the Ghostbusters films from the 1980’s. It does contain cameos from the
old cast and does contain homages and lines that fans of the 1980’s films will
appreciate, but otherwise the film stands on its own. It seems that the
filmmakers wanted to make a film that would have been the Ghostbusters film we got if it was first released today. Getting
back to the tone, Paul Feig has become a huge success with his style of comedy.
His absurdist style is what is big today. Look at the 21 Jump Street films. Or most Will Ferrell movies. They all feature
characters who behave ridiculously. This trend in Comedic Feature Films is why Ghostbusters (2016) was made the way it
was.
These comparisons are not to
illustrate which film is better, both are entertaining in their specific ways.
These comparisons are instead to let audiences know to go in with fresh eyes
and not to expect just a retelling of the 1984 version. 2016’s Ghostbusters was meant to stand on its
own as a film and succeeds. In summation, 2016’s Ghostbusters both stands on its own for audiences new to the
franchise as well as being a love letter for fans of the 1984 version.
Appropriately rated PG-13, Ghostbusters
is perfect for preteens, teens and young adults.
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