GHOSTBUSTERS Doesn't Quite Answer the Call

GHOSTBUSTERS Review:

- No other movie this summer was the subject of more controversy than Ghostbusters. A remake of a beloved classic is always going to push the buttons of fans of the original - but the vitriol towards Paul Fieg's franchise reboot took on especially ugly tone - as a contingent of fans zeroed in on the new movie's all-female cast as the subject of their scorn. There's a lot to unpack here, for better or worse. So let's take a step back and look at the context in which this new Ghostbusters came to be. The thing is - personally, I don't like remakes and reboots, and wish Hollywood would produce less of them. Sure, you occasionally end up with a great movie - but even in those cases, you wonder if the material would have been better served creatively if it was allowed to be its own thing. Surely, there must be someone out there who has a wholly original take on supernatural crime-fighters that would not be beholden to what has come before. Then there's the issue of the Ghostbusters franchise itself. I'll be honest, I've never been 100% onboard. The fact is, the first movie is a really fun, funny example of genre-blending - mixing the snarky comedy of 70's/80's-era SNL with the high-concept, big-budget event-driven filmmaking that, at the time of the original film, was reaching its nadir. But as much as I enjoy Ghostbusters, it was never a movie that, for me, screamed "franchise." Maybe that's partly due to the disappointing second film. Maybe it's because, in general, comedies tend not to work as franchises. Maybe it's because it's now been decades since the original film, and Ghostbusters, in 2016, felt more like a piece of 80's nostalgia than a living, breathing fictional universe. Point being: whether the new movie was a sequel, remake, reboot, whatever - it would have taken something really cool, really creative, to get me that excited for more ghost bustin'.

But here's the flip-side: if you take the view that Hollywood will inevitably remake everything, then the extension of that is that, hey, they might as well do so in a way that's new and different and perhaps more inclusive of women and minorities than the original source material. So even if the idea of more Ghsotbusters never really excited me that much, period ... well, it's still cool that there are girls who will be getting four new jumpsuit-clad heroes of their own with this new movie.

But all of that meta-baggage aside, there's still the basic question of: is the movie good? And as far as Paul Feig's GHOSTBUSTERS goes, the movie is ... sort of okay. Ultimately, this is a movie that is 100% carried by its funny, uber-capable cast - an all-star lineup of some of the funniest females on the planet. Kristin Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones, and most especially Kate McKinnon elevate the movie and bring it to life by sheer force of will. Because, unfortunately, the script here is pretty inert, and the jokes tend to fall flat more often than they hit. But McKinnon, in particular, kills despite that, crafting a memorable character by constantly giving us little, outside-the-script moments that make us laugh, smile, and pretty much love everything about her insane and insanely-awesome character of Holtzmann. Holtzmann wins us over with each successive wild-eyed glance, mischievous smile, and gun-licking quirk. She's the best thing in the movie, and a testament to McKinnon's ability as a comedic performer. She's been SNL's MVP for the last few years, and should easily and quickly make the post-SNL transition to bonafide movie star. She's the real-deal.

But especially now, as I write this with the benefit of hindsight, I think back and am sort of amazed at how little of GHOSTBUSTERS has stuck with me in the weeks since I originally saw it. Really, the main takeaway for me was, to re-state the obvious, that Kate McKinnon was/is awesome. But that aside, what else does the new GHOSTBUSTERS really have to offer?

Certainly, it does not give us a memorable villain. Neil Casey's squirmy Rowan is utterly forgettable, and his convoluted evil plans make little sense. There are very little emotional stakes in the Ghostbusters' fight with him, and he's just sort of ... lame. At least the movie occasionally dazzles from a visual perspective, giving us some cool-looking ghosts for our heroes to do battle with. But even there, the film provides some short bursts of inspired visuals (like Holtzman's climactic slo-mo ghost-battle late in the film), but at times, it also feels a bit flat and less atmospheric than it should. I'm not asking for Crimson Peak here (okay, I guess I sort of am), but the movie almost never feels genuinely *creepy* in the way I wanted it to.

It also, sadly, struggles with comedy. Like I said, the movie's funniest moments are the ones that feel improvised - that feel like off-script stuff thrown in by McKinnon, etc. But the overall joke writing here is somewhat flat. There's no "cross the streams" moment that will be quoted for the rest of time immemorial. Weirdly, the movie also seems to put some major restraints on its talent. While McKinnon gets to be the breakout weirdo, and Lesli Jones gets to be Lesli Jones (a good thing, no question), Melissa McCarthy and Kristin Wiig both seem underserved by the script. They play straight-women to an extent that is sort of surprising. Wiig's Erin Gilbert is a tightly-wound professor who's long repressed her obsession with ghosts due to the level of professional embarrassment it caused. So of course, it's only a matter of time until she cracks and comes out of her shell, right? Not really. Other than one sorta-funny dance scene, Wiig spends the whole movie playing a pretty boring character. Trust me, I am all for Wiig playing more nuanced, subtle characters. I was a giant fan of her work with Bill Hader in the movie Skeleton Twins, for example. But this is GHOSTBUSTERS. This is not the movie in which I want a restrained Kristin Wiig - or a Wiig, for that matter, who barely even gets off a great comedic line of dialogue for the movie's entire running time. Surprisingly, it's Chris Hemsworth - as the Ghostbusters' dimwitted secretary - who gets the movie's most over-the-top and consistently funny lines. Hemsworth is great here, no question. But mostly, his stuff feels tangential to the main movie. As funny as he is, the movie would have been better off devoting less time to Hemsworth's antics and more time to its leading ladies, to its plot, and to its villain.

I don't want to undermine that, on one level, this version of GHOSTBUSTERS is a success simply in that it presents a mostly pretty-fun comedic romp starring some very naturally funny and charismatic women. Perhaps there is a net positive here in that girls will watch this movie and find the same sort of kick-ass, lovably weird role models that a generation of guys found when the original movie was released. Maybe that's enough. But I'm also not sure that this movie is really good or funny enough to leave that same sort of cultural impact in its wake. Time will tell, I guess. But if this movie is not the touchstone that Feig and co. wanted it to be - well, that's okay. Girls don't need a dusting-off of a decades-old franchise to be their touchstone. Someone out there will create something new and different and better that will be that thing. It's only a matter of time.

My Grade: C+

THE SKELETON TWINS Cuts Deep

THE SKELETON TWINS Review:

- For years, Bill Hader was the unsung MVP of Saturday Night Live - the modern-day Phil Hartman who simply elevated the quality of any sketch by virtue of being in it. Hader was effortlessly funny on SNL, but there was also a manic darkness to many of his characters that made you wonder if he might have a Jim Carrey-like ability to transition from comedy to drama. Well, wonder no longer. Bill Hader absolutely kills in THE SKELETON TWINS, a dramedy in which he gets to be very funny, but also show some previously-unseen dramatic depth. This is, quite simply, a total breakout performance for the SNL alum. The film pairs Hader with SNL colleague Kristin Wiig. The two play brother and sister, and the chemistry between them is incredibly naturalistic. There is a sense of intimacy with this film that helps to sell the drama. The laughs are bigger and the gut-punches hit harder because there is such a clear sense of authenticity that these actors bring to the table. The result is that, while THE SKELETON TWINS has some flaws, it's so earnestly likable that you can't help but be won over. Hader and Wiig's fantastic performances seal the deal.

The movie - from writer/director Craig Johnson - opens with Hader's Milo and Wiig's Maggie each contemplating suicide. Milo goes through with it first, and just as Wiig is about to do the same, she receives a call from the hospital that her estranged brother tried to off himself. The two live on opposite coasts and haven't spoken in ten years, but Maggie goes to see her brother - a failed actor living in LA - and convinces him to come live with her and her fiance in New York. So yeah .. as you can tell, the tone of this one is comedic, but the humor is decidedly pitch-black.

However, that's not to say that the film isn't ultimately uplifting. The characters go to some dark places, but the great joy of the film is seeing this brother and sister duo - who have each arrived at a pretty bleak place in their lives - help each other up and into the light. Before that can happen though, Milo and Maggie each have major obstacles to overcome. Maggie is married to Lance, a likable-enough lunkhead played by Luke Wilson, in classic Luke Wilson fashion. Lance is a pretty solid dude, but his basic-bro lifestyle is a bad match for Maggie. Maggie keeps her unhappiness repressed around Luke, only finding solace by going behind his back and cheating on him with any number of random men. Milo, meanwhile, seeks to get out of his failed-actor funk by reconnecting with an old lover. Problem is, the old lover (played with creepy cowardice by Modern Family's Ty Burrell) is Milo's old high school English teacher, with whom he had a nearly life-ruining affair as a teenager. Suffice it to say, both siblings are seemingly locked into downward-spiraling behavior patterns. Their only hope, cheesy as it may sound, is each other.

And again, what might have been unbearably emo somehow works in the capable hands of Hader and Wiig. The rawness of their performances - and the comedy chops they bring to the table to keep things from getting too self-serious - allow the movie to reach unexpected heights. The highest of those heights is an instant-classic sequence in which Hader's Milo turns up Starship's cheesy 80's ballad "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" and coerces Wiig's Maggie into joining him in the lip-synced duet. Maggie resists at first, but soon enough, she gives in to the moment and, finally, Maggie goes full-Wiig, and Hader goes full-manic-awesome, and the scene is just transcendent in its sheer joy and greatness. And yet, as hilarious as it is to see these two SNL vets get goofy and riff off each other, there's a real power to the scene as well. The music provides the catalyst for these two troubled siblings to lift each other up out of the darkness - a theme that comes into play repeatedly throughout the film.

At times, I do think the movie overdoes it a little. The more cynical part of me had a few moments where I was tempted to roll my eyes a little, and shake my head at the contrivances the movie throws at us in order to get to some of its big emotional-catharsis moments. Still, Johnson does an admirable job of making most of the movie's emotional beats feel earned. The director seems to have a definite knack for creating and maintaining a moody, absorbing aesthetic.

THE SKELETON TWINS is a really worthwhile indie flick that is elevated by two fantastic lead performances. We've seen that Wiig can do more dramatic roles, but this to me is a coming-out party for Bill Hader as a more-than-viable dramatic actor. He's hilarious in the film, but also brings real rawness and pathos to the character of Milo. He and Wiig make even the smallest moments in this movie memorable.

My Grade: A-

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 Is Overstuffed, But Still Soars

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 Review:

- The first How to Train Your Dragon was, at the time of its release, a new milestone for Dreamworks animation. It was not only the best Dreamworks film to that point, but it was one of the absolute best movies of 2010 - a gorgeously-rendered animated adventure that had both epic action and a strong emotional core. The first film works great as a standalone feature, but with its success, franchising was, in all likelihood, inevitable. And hey, who didn't want more Dragon action? I know that I was pretty psyched to revisit the world of the first film, and the promise of the series expanding towards an even bigger and crazier mythology seemed filled with potential.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 mostly succeeds in its mission to expand the world of the original and serve as the middle chapter of a trilogy in which the stakes are set to be continually raised. Certainly, the filmmakers have upped the ante from a visual perspective. Few if any movies can match the sheer visceral thrill that seeing the original in 3D on the big screen provided. But Part 2 tops it. See this one in 3D and on the biggest screen possible. It's a total roller-coaster ride, with some of the most dazzling imagery ever seen on film, and a you-are-there sense of immersion that is unmatched. As in the first film, the dragon-riding scenes contain aerial acrobatics that, in 3D and on a big screen, provide a true thrill ride experience. But in addition, the sequel contains scenes in which the screen is just swimming with sensory-overload-inducing visuals. Scores of dragons flying in formation, gigantic screen-filling creatures whose size and scope will shock you, and eye-catchingly exotic locales that beg to be explored.

The movie justifiably spends a lot of time dazzling us visually. But because of all the time and energy spent on those big moments and action set-pieces, the plot feels rushed. What messes with the narrative momentum is that the relative simplicity of the first movie is thrown out in favor of a big, messy, sprawling story that looks to retrofit a Star Wars-style epic onto the world of How to Train Your Dragon. A lot of it works as exciting spectacle. However, some of the big, emotional character beats feel rushed, and numerous characters feel shortchanged, in the interest of packing in as much epicness as possible into the film.

The plot picks up five years after the events of the first movie. Hiccup - still sporting Jay Baruchel's nasally voice - is now older and kewler (he has leather armor and a flame sword!), and spends his days riding around on his faithful dragon Toothless, mapping out new lands in the fictional fantasy world where he resides. At home, on the island of Berk, dragons and Vikings now live together in harmony (after the events of the first film), and all seems well. Hiccup's greatest worry is whether he wants to accept the responsibility of taking over leadership of Berk from his father, Stoick (again voiced by Gerard Butler). However, on his journeys, Hiccup comes across a seemingly nefarious band of bandits led by the charismatic Eret (Kit Harrington, aka Game of Thrones' Jon Snow), who warn of a great evil coming - an ancient evil named Drago who has the power to control dragons and bend them to his will. It seems that Drago is amassing a Dragon army and has Berk firmly in his sights. Hiccup's efforts to halt Drago's attack take a detour though when he meets a mysterious Dragon Rider named Valka, who lives on a hidden dragon sanctuary. As it turns out, Valka - voiced with new-age earthiness by Cate Blanchett - is actually Hiccup's long-lost mother, which leads to an emotional reunion with not only Hiccup, but with Stoick as well.

And so, as you can see ... the plot thickens. Big time. There is A LOT going on here, and not all of it adds up, exactly, to a satisfying whole. Probably the most well-realized aspect of the plot is the story of Valka and her reunion with Hiccup and Stoick. As with the original, the underlying theme of family is really what gives the movie its emotional core. And just as with the original, this storyline is more sophisticated and moving than what we'd typically see in a family-friendly animated film. Even amidst all the spectacular dragons and action, the film's single best moment might be a nostalgic dance shared by Stoick and Valka. Don't be surprised if you get just a bit misty-eyed during this wonderfully-realized scene. In fact, the Valka-Stoick stuff is so good that you wish there was a lot more of it. But the movie sort of gives them their moment and then rushes forward, eager to get to the giant battles with Drago and his kaiju-sized Alpha Dragons. Don't get me wrong, the Alphas are friggin' awesome. But the movie loses some of its emotional undercurrent as it goes, getting too caught up in simply presenting us with the visceral rush of dragon-on-dragon combat.

In similar fashion, the movie's many subplots come and go so fast that they barely make an impact. Hiccup's relationship with his girlfriend Astrid (America Ferrera) is there, but there's not much too it other than a few scenes that basically remind us "yep, they're still a couple." There's also some very funny moments centered around Hiccup's friends - Snotlout (Jonah Hill), Fishlegs (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), and twins Tuffnut (T.J. Miller) and Ruffnut (Kristin Wiig). But the best and funniest little subplot here - Ruffnut's hopeless infatuation with Kit Harrington's roguish Eret - never gets much in the way of resolution or satisfying closure. Eret himself is a bit problematic. He goes from adversary to ally at the drop of a hat, and he doesn't quite feel fully-formed as a character. His presence in the movie is a constant reminder of just how jam-packed the film is with plot and characters. Every time I saw him, I had to stop and ask myself "who's this guy again, and which side is he on?" Meanwhile, there's no question what side Drago (voiced by Djimon Hounsou) is on. But as a Big Bad, he's sort of meh. The most interesting thing about him is his ability to mind-control dragons, which leads to some exciting and nail-biting moments where Hiccup is pitted against a Drago-controlled Toothless. But as a character, he really is undercooked - and visually, he feels sort of generic as well. Suffice it to say, if this is meant to be Dragon's attempt at Star Wars-style epicness, Drago is no Darth Vader.

All that said, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2's best moments are so good that it's easy to put all of those issues to the side. When the movie soars, it really soars - literally and figuratively. It's action scenes and visuals are universally stunning, and its best character moments - the reunion with Valka, Toothless trapped under Drago's nefarious influence - are fantastic. This is a franchise that is willing to go to some surprisingly dark places, and some of the events of this film are shocking - the kind of stuff that will leave kids (and probably many adults) gasping. And again, give all the credit in the world to writer/director Dean DeBlois, who again has set a new bar for visuals in animated films. DeBlois is also attempting something tricky here - trying to turn How To Train Your Dragon into a true epic fantasy franchise. He stumbles just a bit with this sequel, but there's enough that he gets right here that, regardless, I absolutely can't wait for the next chapter.

My Grade: B+