*Note: Not Actually Viewed on Plane
I’m winging my way back to Detroit and my audition rotation after spending a sanity-saving weekend in Brooklyn with my husband. Because there are only so many things you can do in a small-for-Brooklyn apartment, we found ourselves at a matinee of Ghostbusters.
Neither of us have the same attachment to Ghostbusters as most men our ages (38 and 34), so we were there just as fans of comedy and to a lesser extent Melissa McCarthy. And we walked out having a great time.
I don’t know if this point needs to be reiterated again, because just about every review has mentioned this, but this is Kate McKinnon’s movie. Her off-kilter, we-can’t-come-out-and-say-she’s-a-lesbian glee at everything stole every single damned scene she was in. Including the big action scene. That got actual cheers from the audience.
And then Chris Hemsworth damned near stole it from her.
Not every joke landed, and I have to admit that Bill Murray’s turn as some strange cross between James Randi and Quentin Crisp should have been a lot better than it was, but I don’t think there’s been a single action-comedy that hits 100%. Even the other cameos (especially Annie Potts, and especially, especially Sigourney Weaver) didn’t bog down the story, just came in, tossed off a reference, and moved on.
If I had one complaint about the story, it was they kept Leslie Jones in the stereotypical sassy black friend role. I love her, and she was great, but Paul Fieg and Katie Dippold should have been better. And I don’t know if it’s better or worse that Patty was originally written for McCarthy, because you’re just subbing out “fat” in the log line of the role. But then I saw this terrific clip of Jones on The View absolutely kvelling to Whoopi Goldberg what a role model she had been, and how Jones was so overjoyed that it’s her turn to be a role model for young black girls. I have to admit, it’s kind hard to fault the movie after that.
So, while it was far from a perfect movie, but I think I’m damned happy that I saw it, and this summer had four female superheroes who can bust ghosts and kick ass with the boys.
Between this and Star Trek Beyond getting some good advance reviews, summer movies might be in better shape that we thought. Bring it on.
Also, safety lights are for dudes.
