If we had a dime for every reboot that is coming our way over the next couple of years then we’d probably be as rich as the studios peddling them. It seems that nothing is sacred from our pasts and much beloved shows, films and books are being updated for the new market. A market that is seemingly so patronised by Hollywood and it’s money laundering ways that we cannot go back to something old unless we slap a modern twist on it.
In very understandable ways, people have spent the past twelve hours in a bit of an outrage over this one: Ghostbusters.
It’s now been confirmed that four new actors will fill the roles of spectre hunters and they are all female; Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live’s Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon. Under the direction of Paul Feig, the way this movie can blow expectations out of the water is to make it new, completely. To have enough nods to the old franchise but to reboot it entirely so it is fresh, unique and updated for this modern time.
On a personal note, I’m actually quite impressed that Paul Feig is changing the dynamics of Ghostbusters and leading the way with a female based movie that can hopefully reshape some very stuffy traditional ideals. The problem here isn’t with the cast or the reboot, its Feig himself. True, Bridesmaids had a lot of pluses and so did The Heat; in some ways producing these rounded female characters. But he has a lot of issues in stereotypes that he relies on and tropes that fill up his movies. Especially with Melissa McCarthy.
At the centre of the Ghostbusters’ reboot is The Heat’s screenwriter Katie Dippold which is a triumph for female writers in blockbuster Hollywood. However, the biggest fear here is that McCarthy is going to be given the same role she has been playing since her Oscar nominated performance in Bridesmaids. McCarthy’s talents are being squandered (and we all know it’s her size that isn’t given her the diversity in roles). Hopefully, McCarthy will be given new material and another character that she can work with. Knowing how well she works opposite Wiig and with the new energies of McKinnon and Jones, it should not be too hard to give her something fresh.
Regardless, the Ghostbusters reboot may have angered a lot, and yes it is still highly unnecessary. But there is a little bit of excitement at this diverse cast and the new kinetic atmosphere has already sparked, funny ladies in a funny film. However, the last thing we need is for Feig to not work with this to create something phenomenal.