I think McCarthy was pretty good in Bridesmaids. I know a lot of the roles she's taken were basically "female Chris Farley" but she seems capable of a lot more than that. And Kristen Wiig is pretty funny.
Don't know about the other two since I'm an old and haven't seen SNL outside of digital shorts since forever.
Fuck this shitpile. My disdain is not directed towards any of the cast. I simply refuse to acknowledge a new Ghostbusters without Murray, Ramis, Akroyd, and Hudson. Nope.
Again, it's not that Wiig and McCarthy can't act. It's more to do with what the casting means for the movie. Bridesmaids was funny, but that isn't Ghostbusters. Walter Mitty was dramatic, but that isn't Ghostbusters. If they're not careful it'll end up being a typecast movie where everyone is trying to play their role and the writing revolves around that.
Part of what made the originals charming were the chemistry between the actors and the sharp writing. It wasn't about getting laughs. The laughs came with the story and weren't forced.
RE: SNLbusters: I imagine that people are commenting more on the fact that the people cast were in recent SNL episodes that they do not like. I cannot speak to the mindset, but I can understand it. I stopped watching SNL a very long time ago and the clips I've seen of it since then have been generally terrible, save a few good skits and actors. OldSNL also had bad skits, but I feel that the actors rose elevated those terrible skits to a point where they were at least still funny. NewSNL just falls flat whenever I watch it, but I suppose I'm no longer the target audience for the show.
Which is, I believe, the primary fear people have about this sequel. They've seen the remakes and reboots of movies that have come out recently that don't live up to any of the expectations generated by the original movie. When you look at the first Ghostbusters movie, you see the nearly flawless humor. You see a genuinely funny movie that executes every bit and type of humor incredibly well. How can a sequel live up to those expectations? How can it do everything as well or better than the original? If they can't do it and they know they can't do it, then they'll make the movie something else...which means it is no longer the Ghostbusters movie that people want to see. Is there anyone here that honestly believes that any of the listed cast can live up to Venkman?
The original movie is so good at being a movie that also has comedy in it that it is hard to compare it to the types of comedies that are popular now. In my eyes, that is the biggest reason why the assertion that 'it isn't a comedy' came up. It is a comedy, of that there is no doubt. What it isn't is a slapstick, oh-so-shocking, overt and in your face comedy. It isn't chocked full of period references or silly "that's funny if I don't think about it" in the moment statements. What is does is blend a combination of wit with observational humor that is subtle and often understated to such incredible execution that there are few movies that it can really be compared to. Not only is Murray phenomenal, but the rest of the cast is as well. They're cohesive and do everything to make one another look their best in each scene. And when they're alone? Look at Moranis. Locking himself out of an apartment, a monologue about taxes, and running around the streets of NYC being chased by ghosts.
Like it has been said in this thread, I don't like Melissa McCarthy in any role I've seen her in. I don't like Mike and Molly, Tammy, or Bridesmaids. Still, Bill Murray seems to like her (St. Vincent interviews), which is a plus for her. So while I may not like the general style of slapstick nonsense that I've seen her in, I'm at least willing to give her a chance. With a well written character and script, I think that she could do very well in a role. What I fear is that they will simply pander to the modern comedy audience, look at what Melissa has done in the past, and make another shitty character and shitty movie. That would depress me.
I'm not a Kristen Wiig fan, which may have been based solely on Bridesmaids. To try to be objective and fair, I went and looked at some "best of Kristen Wiig" videos on YouTube. I watched a couple of best and funniest videos which all appeared to be pretty boring impressions during bad skits. I've heard that Kristen Wiig has a Bill Murray-esque serious sense of humor, but none of that was brought out in any of those clips. People in this thread have said that she is hilarious. Can someone please direct me to skits or movies that contain her best work? I mean, Murray also mentioned her when talking about a potential Ghostbusters cast, so I imagine she has something out there better than what I've seen.
I watched some Leslie Jones stand-up on YouTube and didn't think it was very good. If they were looking for someone who was good at comedy, there are a lot of people they could've gone for, but she wouldn't have been on my list. I also watched a bit of Kate McKinnon. Her SNL stuff was hit and miss, but she came across a bit better in her interviews. Not giving me a lot of confidence on these two based on what I've seen, so I don't really see them elevating a poor script and I don't see a good script being written. Personally, I think Murray's suggestion of Emma Stone and Linda Cardellini would've introduced a bit more balance, but perhaps I'll be surprised.
Hopefully a trailer comes out and it counters every fear I have about what the movie will be. Ghostbusters is truly one of my favorite movies of all time, so I don't expect it to live up to all my built up expectations, biases, and nostalgia. All I really want is for them to make a good Ghostbusters movie instead of slapping the Ghostbusters name on a pile of shit.
Yea. That.
I hate bumpin needlessly, or adding nothing, but Tidane said it so well....
part of the script leaked
Spoiler: show
I'm actually confused at how many people here seemed to enjoy Bridesmaids, I thought it was a pretty awful movie, though I do like Wiig and McCarthy well enough.
I'll probably go see this. I know there are a lot of people (misogynists) who are grossed out by an all-women cast like it's sacrilegious, but I think it'll be fun and lighthearted, the way I like my Ghostbusters films.
yesssss, i was waiting for the M word
I didn't mean anyone on BG, for what it's worth.
Hate the full female cast of Actors because they're shit. Misogynist. Seriously, gimme Emma Stone, Sigourney Weaver, Amanda Seyfried (Mean Girls kind of casting), and Amy Poehler. I could do with those.
Woops double post. [delete please]
Yeah, Poehler and Tina would do this justice. Put in Retta and Aubrey Plaza and take all my money.
Wiig is like poor man's Tina but still pretty funny.
In all fairness, I doubt that much of the hate for the all female cast has to do with misogyny as much as it's just a major depart from the original.
Outcry like this always happens with any attempt to remake a classic, especially when they 're invent the wheel' in some way.
I'm not in favor of misogyny, but tell me - in the name of equality, why does the cast have to be all female? Why can't it be a mixture? Why can't it be a large group?
I'll tell you why. They're pandering. They're taking a classic movie and they're trying to appeal to large audiences - they want men to see it because Ghostbusters, and they want feminists to see it because women.
I'm sorry if that's a shitty, ugly truth, but it's the truth. If they were interested in making a great movie, they'd pick a great cast. Instead, they picked the exact same type of cast (4 comedians) in the same ethnic spread (3 whites, 1 black) in the hopes that people will go out and break box office records for another shitty remake.
It's not about them all being women. I really couldn't care less about the gender of the cast if it fits in context of the movie. The problem is that it obviously does not.
What's the context of Ghostbusters? It's a movie about a group of pals who fight ghosts and trap them. Nothing about the movie need include a specific adherence to a gender. Would you have preferred a remake where the new male cast played caricatures of the originals down to their little quirks? I'd suggest watching the A-Team.
As for the all female cast? It's marketing buzz. And it allows the new movie to be its own thing free of comparisons to the original 'busters. As it well should be. Will FemBusters be any good? Jury's out on that considering the hit/miss nature of remakes/reheats but talking about feminists is just offbase here.
Someone figured they could make a fuckton rebooting a beloved classic and tossed a genderbend on top of it for controversy's sake. Don't overthink it.