Movie Musings: Ghostbusters

I've been doing a ton of traveling this summer and this past weekend it felt really nice to keep things local. On Saturday night I went to dinner and a movie on Mass. Ave in Arlington with one of my besties. We began the night with a vegetarian feast at Zhu that ended with chocolate fried ice cream. Then we walked one block up to the Capitol Theatre to see Ghostbusters. 

I have to admit, I'm not one of those 1980s babies who grew up being obsessed with the original Ghostbusters movie. I think I've seen it three times in my entire life. That being said, I was really excited to see how director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, The Office, Arrested Development) would handle the reboot, especially with an all female cast. 

*SPOILER ALERT! Do not read on if you do not want to know anything about this movie or its characters.*

The four girl power Ghostbusters are played by Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones.

Kristen Wiig's character Erin is a physics professor at Columbia who is up for tenure. Her reputation becomes threatened when her department head discovers she has co-authored a book about paranormal activity. Her fellow scribe is former high school classmate Abby, played by Melissa McCarthy. I was so relieved to see Melissa McCarthy is a role that didn't require obsessive slapstick, fart and poop jokes and grotesque sexual comments. 

Abby's partner in her paranormal research is Jillian, played by Saturday Night Live's Kate McKinnon. I stopped watching SNL years ago so I wasn't very familiar with McKinnon, but she was hands down my favorite character in the movie. She inhabited the role of scientific genius with just the right balance of quirk and madness. I loved the scenes where she would allow the ladies to test new weapons and she would get so much joy and satisfaction from watching her experiments come to life. 

The fourth Ghostbuster, who basically forces herself into the group after a ghost citing in the New York City subway, is Patty, played by Leslie Jones. Jones is also a Saturday Night Live veteran. 

In addition to this powerhouse list of female actresses, the movie also provides a little eye candy in the form of Chris Hemsworth, who plays the Ghostbusters' receptionist. He sucks at the job but Erin (Wiig's character) has a serious crush, so they keep him around.

His body winds up being held captive by a ghost, creating some pretty hilarious scenes. Even better than the scenes where he's possessed is the dance number he performs during the closing credits. Make sure you stay in your seat all the way until the very end! 

The story line for this film kept me entertained and laughing the entire time. It was exactly the right mix of action and conflict with a dash of female bonding. It was also cool to see so many streets in Boston, as most of the film was shot right here in the Hub. Check out this list Boston.com put together of all the on-camera locations.

For those who are mega fans of the original movie, most of the cast members make cameos in the reboot - Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, Annie Potts, Slimer and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. And you better believe the original theme song gets worked in too. It's impossible to hear that song and not get excited. 

If you have been on the fence about whether or not to see Ghostbusters in the theater, it is 100 percent worth it. Given all the special effects I think it is much more impressive on the big screen than it would be streaming on your laptop or tablet. 

*Image sources 1, 2, 3 and 4.