The COARD: Ghostbusters

If there's something strange, in your neighborhood.

Who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters.

If you want a cool review, of a movie reboot.

Who ya gonna call? COARDwriters.

My patronus takes the form of
Kate McKinnon in goggles

Cody: Well done, ladies. Well done. This reboot was exciting throughout, and sprinkled in just the right amount of laughs. And I don't know what you're talking about, I wasn't legitimately scared at some points. It's basically a parody film. Only a wimp would be afraid during this. So clearly I was wasn't afraid. Lady Power enthusiast Paul Feig did a fantastic job as writer/director. Two of his favorite actors, Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy were great costarring in this. However, none of

these things matter in comparison to the shining star that is Kate McKinnon. She is the current answer to the question, "which Saturday Night Live cast member is most likely to make everyone in the scene break?" Which, for the record, is the most prestigious fake award I ever bestow on SNL casters. I had a great time watching this movie, and McKinnon's hilarity was the biggest reason among several other worthwhile reasons. Bravo Busters.

Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!

Roy: I think that Cody enjoyed this movie just a tad more than I did. I really liked it, but I didn't love it. My biggest peeve with this movie was I expected more laughs. I'm fully aware this is my own fault. You all should understand something. I'm 36 years old. How is this relevant? I'm an 80's child, unlike my millennial partner. It's safe to say that the original Ghostbusters is not only one of my favorite movies from my youth, but also one of my favorite 80's movies. It doesn't get better than Murray, Akroid, and Ramis. There was so much to like about it, not the least of which was the chemistry, which was off the charts. So this remake had a lot to live up to. About halfway through I realized this movie was not going to live up to my comedic expectations. But I was still really enjoying it. The ladies also had fantastic chemistry and there was more to like about this movie than there was to dislike. Did I like this more than the original? No. But I had a good time, and really that was all I should have asked from this film.

Cody: I did enjoy this movie more than you, and that is because I was capable of accepting it for what it is. This is new Ghostbusters. Feig paid homage to the original, while making this movie stand on its own. He and the producers knew that people over the age of 35 were going to be impossible to please. I commend you for keeping your mind open enough to actually enjoy yourself. Many your age will not have the same attitude. I'm not going to deny the advantage of my age. I was negative seven years old when the original came out. I walked into this reboot without having had my childhood drastically impacted by what came before (for what it's worth, I have seen the original, and I do not consider it to be any funnier than this new version *cue Gen X throwing things at their screens*). The key to a reboot is self-awareness. One must say, the original is the original, and what we're doing here is adding to that brand, not overwriting it. Jurassic World knocked it out of the park with a new premise but a few timely throwbacks. Ghostbusters and, well, Ghostbusters have similar equations, new feel (ladies!), and the latest iteration features the right number of timely throwbacks. If you watched the original dozens of times as a kid, then you're never going to fawn over the new one. However, if you follow Roy's lead and give it a chance, you might find yourself with a lovable third film to add to your collection of ghost hunting comedies. And that all Feig is asking from you.

Roy: Let me just say, that in 11 years, when they remake Speed and you want to burn the world down, I will send you the link to this review. And then laugh. You brought up Jurassic World, but the difference is that was a sequel, not a remake. That being said, you're right. They didn't try to reinvent the Ghostbusters wheel. Feig just added some spokes and gave it another spin for funsies. And it worked. He accomplished this through many nods and every important cameo one can think of minus Rick Moranis because he doesn't like to have fun anymore apparently. Even the late Harold Ramis got a cameo in the form of a bust in the halls of Columbia. But it wasn't just the cameos that made this a thoroughly enjoyable Ghostbusters experience. This entire move felt like Ghostbusters. From the cinematography to the story, every second of this film you know where you were. You were in New York, and in the presence of scientists who found themselves in over their heads when it comes to the dead running amok in their fair metropolis. I could gripe about how most of the laughs in this film were in the trailer, but I won't. Instead I am going to focus on one of the things I thought worked best in this film. The role reversal of the hot bimbo. This is very old hat in movies. Men employ a horribly under-qualified and wildly idiotic woman because she possesses certain "assets" they enjoy looking at. More than that, they refuse to fire her for all of the same reasons. The fact that these ladies hired Stupid Chris Hemsworth and even went into danger to save him because he, "was just starting to learn the phone system" worked beautifully. This is an antiquated trend that was ripe for parody. The best thing about it is they didn't do it to prove a point, although they could have and would have been justified. They did it because it was funny. And let me tell you. It was all of that. 

If you're spooked by spoilers, then you should turn back now, as we're about to enter the spoiler zone.

Cody: Heh, see what I did there, everybody? You can't let your ghost puns just lie around, you have to exorcise them. Oh man, I am on a roll. Silly Roy, you can't remake a Keanu movie. He's Keanu. There is nobody in this world that could be Keanu. What's that you say? They already remade Point Break? Sweet strawberry molasses, Hollywood. What's next? Trying to remake Arnold films with exceedingly non-Arnold actors? Wait....what? You have got to be freaking kidding me! Let me try to collect myself here. Okay. Roy didn't give anything too dramatic away up there, but I still want to talk about Chris Hemsworth. He was fantastic, but the interactions between him and Kristen Wiig. Fan-tastic. She was incredible as a drooling idiot who kept stepping on herself because of how hot Hemsworth was. When she drank out of the coffee he spit back into the mug, I rolled (for the record, this was a great laugh that was not in the trailer, not that I'm tracking them or anything). I liked how they wove in Wiig's character's insecurities around other people's opinions. They kept those moments light and funny, but her ultimate acceptance of who she is added a nice heartwarming touch. On the other end of the heartwarming spectrum, Rowan North. What was up with the villain? That character is probably my only complaint with the movie. I got the sense that Neil Casey played him exactly as Feig wanted him to. It all felt intentional, so I'm not saying they screwed something up along the way. I just didn't get it. The character seemed so dumb to me. My movie senses tell me that the villain was supposed to be as much a loser as the four ghostbusters. I found him to be...too much of a loser? I don't know, okay? He sucked. He sucked and I hated him. Ghostbusters 2 needs Will Ferrell as a villain or something.

I want to go to there.

Roy: Hollywood gets this wrong way more than they get it right, Cody. I just bought the original Point Break last week to celebrate its 25th anniversary, (dear God I'm old). As I was watching it and enjoying literally every second I made the decision to refuse to ever see the remake. I'm not going to taint Keanu and The Swayze at the height of their power with that piece of feces Hollywood plopped on us. ... So it appears I have painted myself into a corner here. And I have no exit strategy! ....WAIT. I have one! That's why I was really nervous going into Ghostbusters, given the history of remakes, we had no business expecting this movie to be good. Bam! Landed that beast! The villain didn't really bother me. I don't think he was meant to be a major player though. Think about it. The original Ghostbusters didn't have a human villain. North was meant to be the catalyst  for releasing ghosts into New York and not much more. And he performed in this task adequately. The real problem was he couldn't compete with the star power already there. Especially when you consider how great everyone in this movie was. He was a means to an end. I don't really have any huge spoilers to discuss. This movie doesn't really warrant that. It all just worked, really well. I do want to give a few more pats on the back though. You fawned over Kate McKinnon, and rightfully so, but all of the ladies in this movie were great. Kristen Wiig is wonderful doing everything you'd expect from Kristen Wiig. And that's not a negative. I never tire of her act. Leslie Jones was captivating in all of her sassy glory, and Melissa McCarthy also handed in a stellar performance. The casting was so well done in this movie. You get the wrong four ladies and the whole thing gets thrown out of balance and falls flat. They found the perfect cast and because of that gave us a very enjoyable two hours. I would encourage everyone to go see this. This isn't going to replace the brilliant original, but it will look really nice in your blu ray collection snuggled up beside of it.