[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I feel shame.
I have not blogged since February 18. It is now July. I’m like one of those people who purchases a gym membership around New Year’s and vows: “This is the year!” Come January, I’m all about the blog, but after a few months, life happens and the blog inevitably drops down the ladder of priorities.
And now here I am, feeling shame.
The problem I encounter is that I can’t bring myself to write for the sake of writing — at least when I’m not being paid to do so. When I sit down to blog, I must have something worthwhile to share. I don’t consider this blog to be a pop culture diary I have to update on a daily basis, regardless of whether or not what I’m writing about merits being shared with my limited readership.
But I think the drought is over — and I have Paul Feig to thank for that.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”155″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Who is Paul Feig? Feig is a writer and director who cut his teeth behind the camera on acclaimed television shows like Freaks and Geeks, Arrested Development, and The Office, before graduating to film with Bridesmaids, The Heat, Spy, and now Ghostbusters. Feig has become the punching bag of comments sections everywhere in recent months for one simple creative decision:
The four leading roles in his Ghostbusters reboot are all female.
Now, few of the fans who are aiming their torches and pitchforks at Feig and his reboot will outright admit that the source of their misgivings is the gender of the new Ghostbusters, but enough of them have confessed as much that I feel comfortable in identifying that as their chief complaint.
My simple question is this: What is wrong with a female Ghostbusters?[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”156″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]I’m as big a fan of Ghostbusters as anyone. I tend to ignore the sequel, but I adore the original. It is the ultimate Bill Murray role in my opinion. I’ve aspired to be Peter Venkman for most of my life. I’ve watched the film more times than I can count — even multiple times in a single day, on occasion. Yet, I have no qualms with what Feig is doing with this beloved franchise.
I’ve come to terms with the fact that Hollywood is going to reboot whatever classics it can, and I don’t buy into the argument that a poor remake or reboot compromises the sanctity of the original product. If the new film sucks, you can just forget about it and keep watching the original. No one is rounding up all of the copies of the original and burning them in the street.
With the passing of Harold Ramis and no interest from Bill Murray in returning to the franchise, we’re not going to see the original cast suit up again, so it isn’t like this all-female version is standing in the way of a reunion. And with more than two decades having passed since the last film, I don’t know that geriatric Ghostbusters would even be a good idea. I mean, did you see Dumb and Dumber To?
I’ll get to the point: I’ve seen the male version of Ghostbusters. I love the male version of Ghostbusters. But I’d much rather see a filmmaker go in a different direction than try to recreate what has already been done. Is a gender swap a surface level gimmick designed to signal a new beginning for the franchise? Possibly. I’m not guaranteeing that the film will be good. But I’m certainly willing to give it a shot. Feig has a slew of successful comedies under his belt, and the last time Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy were on screen together, the results were hilarious.
The challenge is for Feig and crew to prove that this new female Ghostbusters is more than a cheap attempt to revive a dormant franchise with a fresh set of faces. It has to bring something worthwhile to the table and justify its existence. And even if it fails, we’ll always have the original.
Barring an abominable marketing campaign and poor word-of-mouth, I’ll be there opening weekend to see what Wiig, McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones can do.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]