Ghostbusters: All-Female Cast Makes Best of No-Win Situation

Honestly, when I first heard that they were remaking the Ghostbusters, my first thought was "Oh no." Another classic that was plunging headlong into unwinnable territory. And though I was intrigued by the direction that they were taking with it (better to go away from your source material than to try and copy it, especially in comedy), I'm sorry to say that my first impression was mostly right.

The plot follows three women who have always had a vested interest in the science behind the paranormal, and who are later joined by another woman who has an extensive knowledge of the city where they live: New York City, of course. As they track isolated incidents of ghosts being a little...overactive, they uncover a madman's plot to try and bring destruction to New York. It's then up to the four new Ghostbusters to try and stop him before his plan is complete.

These ladies gon' kick your ass, evildoer.

The cool thing about this movie is how hard they try to keep it contemporary while still paying tribute to the original. The ghostbusters are now four women, they're all scientists, the comedy is once again improv-based, and the story is set in New York with innumerable homages to the original film. Each comedienne plays her strengths and there's a lot of throw-away lines that keep the movie entertaining in a way that makes a little more sense for 2016.

That being said, the movie is kind of weird in deciding to be a remake and not a continuance of the original. For all the shoutouts that they give the original, it would've probably made more sense for the girls to grow up idolizing the original Ghostbusters and not just inventing a ghost-hunting business from scratch. With an audience that has grown up watching the cartoon series and sipping on Hi-C Ecto-Cooler, the idea of Ghostbusters is far from revolutionary. I would've loved to have seen a plot that acknowledged the past of the Ghostbusters while maybe growing a little more cynical -- I think that would match the 2016 mood perfectly. Also, with a continuance, they could've gone the route of having the inclusion of the old guys without having to give them obscure roles that stand out like sore thumbs. Bill Murray's role is woefully incomplete, and the others settle themselves with roles where they spit out 5 lines before disappearing from the screen altogether.

Anyway see ya later.

I also felt that while each of the four actresses are all hilarious in her own right, their individual versions of comedy have a hard time marrying well in this. In what feels like it should be another Bridesmaids, Wiig's drippy character remains drippy without really going through any kind of metamorphosis, and McCarthy's character isn't allowed the characterization of being weird, nor the whacky scenarios that are so perfect for her brand of improv. It must be said that Kate McKinnon steals that thunder for herself as the Class A Weirdo of the bunch, and Leslie Jones tries her best to balance them all out. All said, it reads a little weird. Maybe it's too many comedians? While the original had four, it was also a different, understated brand of comedy that they just can't copy for modern audiences. It's just too different.

All said, is the new Ghostbusters bad? No. Is it good? No.

Nope. Not even this beautiful specimen could make it better.

To be fair, I think that any remake of the movie would have been given a no-win scenario in which old comedy is trying to be made new. Comedy has evolved so much over the past few decades that any remakes are rendered practically impossible. Look at Dumb and Dumber, or Zoolander 2. Half the time what was funny is now not, and while Ghostbusters tries to sidestep that problem, they end up in the same cheap boat as every other forgettable remake/sequel made after a 20-30 year gap.

6.5 outa 10. A lot of funny moments, but a lack of cohesion and an over-awareness of the original material makes this a disappointingly average comedy. Sorry, ladies.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty: A Daydreamer's Dream

Well I somehow made it to the press screening and worldwide premiere (!) of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty despite missing my 6:05 a.m. bus, making my boyfriend drive me 40 minutes to Hamilton, taking the train in, cabbing my way up to the Lincoln Film Center, lugging an overstuffed backpack and a canvas bag holding a laptop and copious amounts of writing materials, and waiting in line for two hours for a good seat.

Yes, we rather got off to a bumpy start.

BUT! Despite this somewhat hectic morning and having only gotten 4 and a half hours of sleep, I'm happy to report that nothing could keep me from staying awake and totally captivated throughout this movie. (The free Diet Coke also helped.) Also got to enjoy a press conference after the movie with some of the cast, including Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Steve Conrad (the writer, also responsible for movies such as The Weather Man and The Pursuit of Happyness).

(Also at one point they were all ten feet away from me as they

were waiting to be announced!)

So the plot of the movie revolves around Walter Mitty, an ordinary guy that sometimes lets his imagination run away with him. Desperately failing to connect to those around him, he retreats to his imagination looking for a more exciting way in which various situations could play out. When the story begins, he is working for Time Magazine (with borrowed logo from the actual company), who is making the transition from print to online (sadly mirroring the actual company's real-life decision in 2009). But on the day he receives news of this looming transition, he also receives a gift from amazing mythical photographer Sean O'Connell (Sean Penn), who gifts him with a last roll of film and a hand-picked image for Time's last cover.

The only problem is, Walter can't find it.

The story then blossoms into Walter Mitty breaking out of the office and the city that he's rarely left in an adventure to find the lost negative. Along the way, he gets help from office colleague Cheryl, reconnects with his family and his past, and finally gets to do the exciting things he's always dreamed about.

Caught mid-daydream. 

I was SO EXCITED to have the opportunity to see this movie. An avid fan of the original story upon which the movie is based, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by James Thurber, and also the 1950s movie starring Danny Kaye, I was interested to see what direction it would take. (Additionally, the trailer showcases the one most beautiful sequences in the film, which just makes you want to quit real life and travel the world.)

I mean come on, who doesn't want to longboard in Greenland?

The first half of the movie fully delivered what I wanted to get from it. We get to see all of the impossibly amazing things that Mitty gets to do in his mind, which so sharply contrast his humdrum existence, that they're simultaneously captivating and hilarious. With short mind-wanderings into things like a Matrix-esque fight with his boss, to jumping into a third-floor apartment building that's on fire, to (my personal favorite) a scene in which he imagines he and Cheryl growing old together despite him having "Benjamin Button Disease" (hilarious). These scenes really keep the movie funny, and carry a tongue in cheek look at, really, what a lot of blockbuster movies look like.

But this is not your grandfather's Walter Mitty. Unlike Danny Kaye's hilarious romp from the 50s, this movie really has Mitty searching for his own identity, and reaching out for a part of his personality that he's kept muffled for decades. As my BFF Ben Stiller said (yes, I can say that now), they really wanted to step away from Danny Kaye's version of the character, and embrace a Mitty whose vivid imagination was more a yearning for things that he wanted to do and less of a retreat from the real world.

The only problem I have with this new take, however, is that it takes away from what makes the material so entertaining. By adding depth to the character of Walter Mitty, you give him purpose yes, but you subtract some of the entertainment value, which is a shame because that's where Stiller and Wiig both really shine. In fact, their interactions in his fantasies were what really stood out to me and gave them believable chemistry. In general, the best parts of this movie were the imagination scenes in the beginning, but about halfway through they're kind of done with that and begin putting Mitty in real-life adventure situations. Which is cool, but then the movie ends with his character being so different that it creates a bit of a disconnect from the original story.

I feel like we're growing apart...

I did love the cinematography and the soundtrack, though. There are a lot of folksy indie bands on there that give you some really inspirational tunes. Additionally, the locations where they chose to shoot were absolutely breathtaking. Scenes shot in Greenland and Iceland are especially stunning. When asked why they chose these two locations (because they seem a bit...less traveled), Stiller remarked that they wanted the landscape to seem like something people had never really seen before. Which is a good point because who goes to Greenland?

Kind of takes "small town" to a new level, no?

7.5 outa 10. I very much enjoyed it but I'm a little disappointed we couldn't see more of Mitty's imagination.

Comes out on Christmas!

And just for good measure (clearly we have two completely different movies here...)

Despicable Me 2: Kristen Wiig is Taking Over the World...And That's Okay.

Felt like I was in high school again this past Friday when I went out to see Despicable Me 2 with my boyfriend and his little brother (just to clarify, his "little" brother is a 6'2 sophomore in high school, and yes, we are all nerds).

If the one in the middle was a girl...then this would look like us...

Plot: Gru, now a single dad, spends his days looking after his little ones and (unsuccessfully) trying recipes for various jams and jellies that he hopes to sell.  When he is suddenly kidnapped by a woman who ends up working for the Anti-Villain Agency (or something), he is then recruited to reach back into his darker days and try to help them find a villain that has been tampering with a top-secret serum that turns cute things into monsters. Bonding with the woman, named Lucy (Wiig), he finds that maybe his feelings for her are a little more than professional. And of course, bringing up the rear are hilarious characters such as El Macho (who was rumored to be the most manly man in the world, dying as a result of being tied to a shark strapped with bombs that landed in an erupting volcano, hahaha), Dr. Nefario, and the three little girls (with a special emphasis on Agnes; omg so cute).

Could he finally have met his match?

Hmm, what to say. Did I like the movie? Yes. Was it funny? Yes. Was it hilarious even? Yes. But was it as memorable as the first one? Impossible.

Unfortunately for kids' movies, I think that sequels' screenplays and plots tend to revolve around events and not necessarily character development. What makes the original Despicable Me so hilarious is the fact that Gru is so grumpy and hateful in the first half and then finds his mushy side when he decides to adopt the three girls. This is missing in the newest edition. Gru, instead of being his regular hateful self like in the last one, is made to find compromise between being a grump and the kind-hearted man that he discovers within himself in the first film. Therefore there isn't much to expand upon character-wise besides highlighting his romantic side (which has always been decidedly awkward). Who better to match his awkward turtley-ness than the Queen of Awkward, Her Majesty, Kristen Wiig.

This girl.

Wiig definitely brings the humor in her first heavy role in a kid's movie. However, her flighty/spazzy sort of humor doesn't really add much depth to her character either and we're sort of left with a cartoon romance. Which, I guess isn't a big deal since it's a kid movie and all, but it doesn't make the film particularly memorable. I would've liked to see them stir up some conflict with Gru going back to his evil ways or something a little more interesting.

Would've liked to see a little more of Evil Gru though...

However, the minions (as always) really beefed up the chuckles and I was laughing the whole time regardless.

Not bad, Dreamworks. Solid 7 outa 10.

Friends With Kids: Not Bridesmaids 2...But Still Good.

Oh dear...Has it really been almost two weeks? Jeez...I feel kinda bad. Bet you're all waiting for the latest reviews with bated breath. My bad, kids. My bad.

It's ok, guys, I know you need your fix.

Anyway, so on the rather blustery day (Winnie the Pooh? Anyone?) of Saturday, Allison and I went and saw Friends With Kids, starring half the cast of Bridesmaids. But do not be fooled, this movie is filled with all kinds of emotional issues that are more serious than you might be expecting.

Hint: Apparently these things aren't adorable all the time.

The plot revolves around Julie (Jennifer Westfeldt) and Jason (Adam Scott, whom you might recognize from Stepbrothers). Both have been best friends for forever and have been looking at the lives that their best friends now lead as parents. Seeing all of the emotional strain that it puts on their friends' marriages and deciding to opt out of that, they decide to have a child together but see other people. However, even as they start dating the people of their dreams, they start to question the decisions that they've made.

How could having sex with your best friend possibly get complicated!?

In the same vein as Will Farrell going from hilarious and outrageous comedies like Stepbrothers to incredibly serious fodder like Everything Must Go, FriendsWith Kids is not going to be the sequel to Bridesmaids that we've all been dreaming of. That being said, though, the movie gains in emotion what it loses in cheap laughs. In a realistic sort of backdrop, you can feel the characters' confusion as each couple starts to question, defend, and even make rash decisions about their marriages and friendships. And as for the main friendship/romance(?) between Julie and Jason as they try to raise their little baby boy, nothing seems less caricatured.

And I mean, check out the sick cast. need I say more?

Jennifer Westfeldt really wrote and directed the whole thing, which I find incredible. I had no idea when I was watching the film, but she really did a good job bringing all of life's elements into the plot: friendship, romance, love, despair, success, failure, things not making sense in life even though they're supposed to on paper...gah. Good movie. Stuck with me all day on Sunday.

Just a really sweet and really realistic love story, guys. Go see it.

8 outa 10 (I'm a sucker for romantic movies)

Also don't be deceived by how light the trailer seems, there's actually a lot of drama in this as well. Enjoy!