The Wonders of the Ghostbusters Franchise PT 1 #FanFridays 21

The Wonders of the Ghostbusters Franchise Pt1

N.B. This post is full of spoilers for the original movie, but it's been out for over 30 years, so I hope you don't mind.

I have, along with many others, been a fan of Ghostbusters for a long time. I did not see it in the cinema because in 1984 I was pre-teen and it would have scared the pants off me :). I saw it when it hit TV, but I have no idea when that was. I just know I loved it.

Nothing the franchise has brought to the big or small screen has really disappointed me since either, no, not even Ghostbusters II.

Ghostbusters (1984)

Without a doubt my favourite ghostbuster from the original lineup has to be Ray. Dan Aykroyd plays him beautifully and I love how earnest and enthusiastic he is.

He gives everything his whole heart and seems to be the one who can cause the most trouble just by being himself.

He is, after all, the reason for one of the best lines ever:

Winston Zeddemore: Ray, when someone asks you if you're a god, you say "YES"!

Egon is definitely a close second. Harold Ramis played him so completely straight laced and academic, yet, slightly from left field. I loved the fact that here you have a highly intelligent, gifted scientist who has a complete fascination with spooks.

Dr. Egon Spengler: Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light.

Other things I absolutely love from the film:

• Sigourney Weaver's interpretation of being possessed - she's brilliant.
• Louis Tully's complete social ineptitude.
• The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
• The fact that Gozer is a woman.
• Slimer, sliming Venkman.

This is not a perfect film, but it is a fun one. It has ghosts for a start, which is always a winner for me, but it also brought something new to the genre. It lifted it. I think it was the "science " angle that I loved. Ghostbusters mixes spooks with science fiction so very well and makes us laugh as well.

In 1991 I was lucky enough to go to Florida and I still remember the Ghostbusters experience at Universal Studios. I assume it is long gone now, but it is one of those things that has stuck in my memory, just like the film.

Ghostbusters is a good film - next week, Ghostbusters II.

Are you a fan? Who is your favourite character?

Review: Ghostbusters ROCKS!

So I promised to tell everyone what I thought after I had seen Ghostbusters, and rather than going at the weekend I had a chance to see it yesterday. There were only four of us in the cinema (first showing on a Friday afternoon), but we all really enjoyed it if the loud laughing was anything to go by :). Now I just have to find a time I can see it again and drag my darling husband along too.

Ghostbusters ROCKS!

Cast:
Kristen Wiig...Erin Gilbert
Melissa McCarthy...Abby Yates
Kate McKinnon...Jillian Holtzmann
Leslie Jones...Patty Tolan
Neil Casey...Rowan North
Chris Hemsworth...Kevin
Rating: 12A
Summary (from IMDB):
Following a ghost invasion of Manhattan, paranormal enthusiasts Erin Gilbert and Abby Yates, nuclear engineer Jillian Holtzmann, and subway worker Patty Tolan band together to stop the otherworldly threat.

There are no two ways about it, this film is hilarious. Soph and I were laughing for almost the entire film.

That being said there was one problem with it: the beginning. The pacing at the start is just all wrong. When it first began I was rather worried it was going to be terrible. The whole bit with the Dean of Abby's college is just juvenile, stupid and unnecessary. However, once we moved past the hiccup of the first ten to fifteen minutes, this is a work or pure brilliance.

Let's start with the special effects. Soph and I saw it in 3D because that was the only option for afternoon showings. The 3D is good and is actually awesome during the closing credits (more about those later), but is really unnecessary. It's 3D for the sake of 3D, not because it enhances anything in the film.

The ghosts, on the other hand, are awesome. They echo the spirit of the original films while being one hundred percent up to date and visually spectacular. This is a film where CGI can shine and it so does.

Next we have the cameos, so many cameos. They're all brilliant. It's a shame Rick Moranis didn't do one too, because all the others were great - especially Sigourney Weaver's.

Then there is the plot, which I loved. There is a similar premise for the beginning of the Ghostbusters, but this film is not simply a remake of the original. It has its own spin, its own advanced plot and its own way of playing out. It also put the Ghostbusters in a much more modern context, Homeland Security and all. This is a well thought out, well plotted film.

There are nods to the original, lots of them, and nods to loads of other films too (watch for the Scooby Doo one, it's hilarious). This is a movie that recognises its heritage and its niche. It celebrates its genre with open enjoyment. It's not trying to be anything but a highly entertaining comedy and it goes for it, all guns blazing.

To do this, it has to have excellent characters. The Ghostbusters are superb. Each had their own back story, their own character and their own depth. These ladies and gent (because Kevin is a Ghostbuster) are not simply stereotypes, they are people who are there, at least originally, for the science. And yes, Patty is in on the science too.

Each of the Ghostbusters is based off a stereotype comic books kind of character, but what is done brilliantly, is that is not all they are.

In order of appearance:

Erin (Kristen Wiig) is the "serious scientist" with the bad suits and the high academic goals, but when it comes to actually seeing real ghosts, she totally loses it. Her eyes light up and propriety can go hang itself.

Abby (Melissa McCarthy) is the "wacky scientist" chasing the supernatural, but she's a physicist at heart and she wants not to simply prove it exists, but understand how it works. She's passionate, she's intelligent and she understands the real world.

Jillian (Kate McKinnon) is totally the "crazy engineer" who can build anything from spare parts given a few hours; the A-team has nothing on her. Yet she likes to sing and dance when she's working. She has more than one screw loose and loves her work.

Patty (Leslie Jones) is the "streetwise New Yorker", but she doesn't just know the streets, she a walking encyclopedia of the history of the place too. She's tough, but she tries to be nice to everyone in the subway too. She has brains, they've just never been applied to science before.

Kevin (Chris Hemsworth) is the "dumb secretary", but I was so wrong yesterday when I speculated he was just a trope. Kevin is the dumb blond taken to the nth degree. He's so stupid he's almost innocent, except he isn't at all. I love him.

Rowan North (Neil Casey) is the "loser with a grudge" and I totally believed he was a complete psycho. I can't say too much without giving away spoilers, but he is a great villain - totally deadpan and perfectly off his rocker.

This is a film full of wonderful characters played by fantastic actors. Everyone in this film brings something to the table and makes it incredibly enjoyable.

Were there plot holes? - I've no idea, I was enjoying it so much I didn't analyse it. Once it got going after the initial pacing issue at the beginning, I just laughed and giggled and had a wonderful time.

Then, last but not least, are the closing credits. Everyone else making films, this is the way to do it. The closing credits are worth watching all the way through (and yes, there is a post credits scene, but, unlike the Marvel movies, it's not boring to sit and wait for it). The screen does not have great credits at the start and then go to black with hundreds of names listed, it actually keeps being visually interesting right to the end. Stay to the moment the screen goes off - you won't be disappointed.

Don't listen to the fanboys who have voted this film down just because it is a female led cast. Watching this I laughed more than I have laughed in a film for a very long time. This is how to do comedy. As I said at the top: Ghostbusters ROCKS!

The Controversy of the New Ghostbusters #ThinkyThursdays 18

Good day to one and all and welcome to my blog for Thinky Thursdays. Today I want to talk about something that I've seen popping up on my dash on various social media all week - the new Ghostbusters movie.

The Controversy of the New Ghostbusters

The first thing I will say is that I haven't had a chance to see the film yet. We intend to see it this weekend since we can no longer go on a week day because Rob works in London and doesn't get home in time. So this post is speculation, prior to viewing the movie.

However, I have seen the trailers and they make me laugh, which, I think is the point of a summer comedy. I've also seen it said that the trailers don't do it justice, which ups my expectations even more :).

All of my friends who have already seen it and have expressed an opinion said they enjoyed it. It's not perfect, but then most films aren't. All the reviews I have read said it was fun, even if some of them mentioned it had a few problems here and there. The overall response has been positive. It's not Shakespeare, but then is was never supposed to be. The original wasn't perfect either.

A (mostly) male fanbase has been complaining about the film since the moment it was announced, claiming it will destroy their childhood memories of the original film. This is childish in the extreme, if nothing else. Basing your dislike of something on the fact that it was recast with female characters is misogynistic and ridiculous. Voting the film down on IMDB before it is even released is plain stupid.

It is also, however, very wrong to declare that anyone who doesn't like the film is sexist. If they don't like it because all the principles have been made female, then they are sexist, if they don't like it because they just didn't enjoy it for other reasons, then that's perfectly okay and is bound to happen. Not everyone likes the same films.

I've also seen complaints about the way the male characters come off in the film.

Now, the only male character I've actually seen is Kevin as played by Chris Hemsworth in the trailers, and admittedly he is a bimbo. He's the walking embodiment of the bimbo secretary trope, which, frankly, I think is interesting to see played by a man rather than a woman for once. I'm also pretty sure Chris isn't overly desperate for work so he must have taken the part because he thought it was funny.

I'm not sure which of the other male characters are important in the movie, but if you look at the original it's the Ghostbusters against the world. Peck is a bureaucratic idiot that caused the whole end of the film. The Mayor sticks his head in the sand until he had no choice but to believe. And Tully is a socially inept accountant who becomes a victim.

Hence in a remake that is faithful to the feel of the original I would expect the Ghostbusters against the world again. Does this not automatically make all the male characters likely to be focus of ridicule in some form or another, since the major four characters now happen to be female? I haven't seen it so I don't know how it plays out, but that's what I would be expecting.

The only character I would expect not to be treated that way would be a gender swap Dana, if they've kept that trope in and decided gender swapping was a good idea. Again, I will state, I have no idea if they even kept an angle like this in the plot.

I've also seen the cry of 'how would you like it if we took all your favourite comedies and made them with men?'. There was an interesting response to this on Tumblr (I wish I could find it, but I can't) pointing out that it would be quite difficult because many female led comedies play into traditionally female roles, so to remake them you'd have to completely change the plot.

This got me thinking about female led comedy films and if they could be redone or not:

• The obvious one is Bridemaids since it shares some of the cast and the director - however, if that was remade with men, wouldn't it basically just be The Hangover?
• Legally Blonde - I supposed you could do a movie about a jock who ditches his sports scholarship to follow his sweetheart to law school. Not sure how you'd make it funny though. The whole trope is a woman being underestimated because she's blonde and I can't see it working with a guy.
• Miss Congeniality - might be fun to redo that one with a drag queen angle. Could be awesome actually, but it would need someone very clever to write it in a sensitive manner and still make it funny. It would also need RuPaul.
• Mean Girls - would it work with jocks? I've never seen it, so have no idea.
• Sister Act - singing monks ... possible, the brothers in Sister Act II were a hoot.
• The Heat - there are already a hundred and one male cop buddy, comedy movies anyway.
• Nanny McPhee - I'm only coming up with a ghastly costume version of The Pacifier :)
• Bring it On - hmm ... an all male cheerleading squad?
• The First Wives Club - not sure the trope can translate at all for this one. I just don't see the film being able to build the same sympathy for the characters if it's switched up.
• Spy - there are already Johnny English, Grimsby and many, many others, so it would be redundant.

So really, there are a few that could be tried, but many have been done, mostly more than once, or I'm not sure the tropes would translate. Since there are many, many, many more male led movies than there are female led ones it's not really a surprise. Now I kind of really want a Miss Congeniality set in a drag pageant though.

Anyway, I look forward to seeing the new Ghostbusters at the weekend. I love the original two - they are funny and enjoyable and that's what I am hoping for from the new one. Plus I love Melissa McCarthy so I'm on to a winner there anyway :). I'll let you all know what I think when I've actually seen the film.

[Edit: link to my review of the film: Ghostbusters ROCKS! (as you can tell from the title I wanted there to be no doubt what I thought of it :))]

If you've seen the new Ghostbusters, did you enjoy it? If not are you going to see it? What do you think of all the controversy?