Ghostbusters 2016 (Family Movie Review)

"Safety lights are for dudes!" ~ Ghostbusters

Although rumor has it (I don't actually read other reviews until I've seen and written my own) that this 2016 remake of the 1984 Ghostbusters film is being met with mixed opinions, my twelve year old son and I dutifully marched off to the theater to take it in anyway. Maybe it is because the film was being shown on three separate screens at the theater or maybe it was because of the early showing we went to, but the audience for Ghostbusters was under a dozen, only one week after its release. What surprised me the most about the audience, however, was the fact that besides my son, the rest of the crowd was female. In fact, the audience was made up of mainly middle-aged and older women. Which made me wonder if this remake is being presumed as a chick-flick because of the all-female cast of leads. 

Ghostbusters stars Melissa McCarthy (Abby Yates), Kristen Wiig (Erin Gilbert), Kate McKinnon (Jillian Holtzmann), and Leslie Jones (Patty Tolan).  The cast was the highlight of the film and the ladies had my son in stitches most of the movie. The movie parallels the plot of the original but makes some key changes - all of which worked in my opinion. 

Physics professor, Erin Gilbert, is a respected scientist at Columbia University in NYC when her old friend, Abby Yates, makes a grand re-entrance into her life and ruins her chance at earning tenure. Years ago the two co-authored a book on paranormal activity; a book that now shuns Gilbert from the academic community. After witnessing first-hand some suspected ghost activity, Gilbert joins forces with Yates and Holtzmann and the team is later joined by Tolan. The Ghostbusters team is made complete with the hire of Kevin, played by Chris Hemsworth, as their receptionist. The team eventually learns that the increase in paranormal activity is being caused by Rowan North (Neil Casey), a social outcast who is out to destroy the city all in the name of revenge, and they must pull out all the stops to save it. 

Of course, this remake would not have been complete without the cameos from most of the original cast including Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and everyone's favorite little green ghost - Slimer (Adam Ray). There are also some other fun celebrity appearances to look out for, and make sure you stay for the credits. 

Watch Official Trailer

Overall, Ghostbusters is fun and, as long as you don't go in expecting too much, you will enjoy it. It seems like the cast had a great time making this film. There are many very funny moments and lines and, thanks to the advancement in special effects, the ghosts are MUCH scarier than the original film resulting in more than one jump-out-of-your-seat moment. The film is rated PG-13 for supernatural action and some crude humor. There is also brief minor language and some sexual inferences. 

Read my review of Ghostbusters (1984)

Read more of my Family Movie Reviews.  

Check out my Nik's Piks: After Hours reviews too!