In 'Ghostbusters,' character comedy is trampled by effects
Much has already been written in advance of the opening of 鈥淕hostbusters鈥� about how the film will serve as a referendum on the future success or failure of female-centric Hollywood movies. All I can say is, I certainly hope this dreary, bleary comedy doesn鈥檛 end up serving as a referendum on anything. That would be a disservice to women, not to mention movies.
It seemed like a good idea 鈥� reboot the 鈥淕hostbusters鈥� franchise with a female cast. The cast was promising, too 鈥� Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones. But, as is so often the case with special-effects-heavy movies, the character comedy quickly gets trampled by the effects (in this case, not special).
The film鈥檚 ineptitude, courtesy of director Paul Feig, extends to the actresses themselves, most of whom have been far funnier. Or not. McCarthy鈥檚 welcome wore out for me some time ago; the slapstick raunch and the hollering have become tiresome schtick. Wiig, like so many "Saturday Night Live" performers (most conspicuously Tina Fey), doesn鈥檛 retain on the big screen the sass and wigginess (pun intended) she exhibited on the small screen.
Leslie Jones, of "SNL," is stuck playing the soul sister part, but she has a few funny freestyle moments, as does McKinnon. Chris Hemsworth, playing the women鈥檚 assistant, plays a hunky airhead and seems to be in the movie only to provide some counterprogramming. He鈥檚 the male bimbo 鈥� a sex role-reversal joke that never takes off. The whole movie never takes off. Grade: D (Rated PG-13 for supernatural action and some crude humor.)
