The Ghostbusters Overreaction: Stop Freaking Out. The New Film Could Be Good
So the long-awaited trailer for Paul Feig's reboot of Ghostbusters is out, and the reaction has not been great. In many of these irrationally tweeted opinions, people feel it doesn't capture the spirit of the original. Unfortunately, all of these can be summed up in one word.
Women. It's because the new team are women.
Big budget comedies with an all-female cast are rare. Granted, the likes of Tina Fey and Amy Schumer have made it big in films like Sisters and Bridesmaid. However, this is a more iconically "male" franchise, which is being rebooted to a cult audience that can quote every single line from the originals.
Don't get me wrong, Ghostbusters was a key part of my childhood that sticks with me to this day. Not a week goes by that I don't relentlessly annoy my girlfriend by asking her if she smells something, and I have a terrible habit of saying "don't cross the streams," when at the urinal trough with my mates. But that doesn't mean the reboot is going to be terrible.
Remember, we all felt the same skepticism about Star Wars. But that turned out to be a triumph of feminism. Why can't this be the same?
This is where the other criticisms of the trailer come in. Let's take a tweet that sums these up.
Firstly, looks like Pixels? That's brutal!
Secondly, the CGI is technically good. I would have preferred some more physical effects, to preserve some of that quintessential look. Again, Star Wars stuck to this religiously and it really paid off.
Finally, I kind of agree that the jokes don't seem funny at times. The jokes seem a little contrived and in the context (or lack thereof) of a trailer, they only muster a slight chuckle. For me, this comes down to incompatibility with a dry British sense of humour, and one simple fact. Many of you will hate me for saying this, but after watching the old movies again it's the only logical conclusion I can make.
The original Ghostbusters aren't really that funny.
Yes, the lines are quotable. And yes, the sheer absurdity of the situations make for a compelling story. But the film has definitely not aged well with a concoction of bad jokes and rapey overtones.
So what am I saying here? It seems inevitable that Ghostbusters will be a generic summer blockbuster in construction. Give it the benefit of the doubt in this respect, and everyone is entitled to an opinion. I can see the technical reasons why people would be skeptical, but please don't deem this unworthy just because the team are women.
Bustin' sexism makes you feel good.
P.S. you may see a particular URL hidden halfway through the trailer. Turns out this is a clever bit of viral marketing. Check out the behind-the-scenes video that we found there.
