Movies - Ghostbusters

So a friend wanted to see the Ghostbusters remake and I took one for the team. Yes, it’s as bad as everyone says. I didn’t care that it was a remake, I didn’t care that the Ghostbusters were women. All I wanted was to laugh and be entertained. I did laugh out loud a few times, but overall the experience was not entertaining.

The new Ghostbusters - it worked on paper ... 

The plot was wafer-thin and a retread from the first GB. Ghosts invade New York and the Ghostbusters come out to capture and stop them. The problems start with the script—it’s slow and lifeless—but really fails at the character stage. None of the actresses cast help this movie. Melissa McCarthy has burned up all of her emotional goodwill from Gilmore Girls, and is now just a shrill, unfunny actress. At least she wasn’t screaming the F-word six times every sentence. Kate McKinnon (who is a comedy genius on Saturday Night Live), mumbles through endless technobabble and adds nothing to the proceedings. Leslie Jones (again, hilarious on SNL) plays a stereotypical obnoxious state worker, with a “Who dat?” level of conversation. Picture the worst DMV antagonist you ever had, times a million. But the main problem is Kristen Wiig, who anchors the movie. She’s okay on SNL, or if she is fifth or sixth down the line in a supporting cast somewhere. But whatever a performer has to have to be a movie star, she doesn’t have it. She’s just not that interesting on screen, ever. Think of the way Bill Murry stole every scene he was in for the original Ghostbusters. Wiig can’t even shine in a scene by herself.

The one highlight is Chris Hemsworth, playing the himbo secretary. He’s clueless, funny, and steals the movie entirely in a dance scene near the end.

Could better actors and a better script have improved Ghostbusters? Probably, but we’ll never know. This GB remake was dull as dishwater and offered little entertainment value, even with cameos from all the still-living original Ghostbusters. I’d avoid this one, even on DVD. A stinker.

Rating: ** out of 5 stars