So, there's a new trailer for the reboot of Ghostbusters that stars ladies. Please don't call it Lady Ghostbusters, people get very upset. (I'm going to keep calling it Lady Ghostbusters because this whole thing feels like a parody of Hollywood diversity efforts, but whatever. You shouldn't do it because that's very #problematic. Also, just watch: Leslie Jones' character will be very #problematic because she is African-American and not a scientist. Just hold on for the #takes.)
Yeah, so, as someone said to me on gchat after this dropped: "There are no jokes." And it's true! There are no jokes in that trailer. There's, like, a gross-out gag revolving around ghost vomit and a "Leslie Jones has giant hands and will hit you if you're possessed" joke.
But, really, there were no jokes in the original Ghostbusters trailer either:
I think it was Ace of Spades, maybe it was someone else, who once made the point that there's nothing inherently funny about the busting of ghosts and that the original movie only really works because of the interplay of the personalities. That's very true! And this gives me a modicum of hope, because Kristen Wiig is actually pretty funny on the big screen (terrible on SNL; funny in movies) and Melissa McCarthy seems to be doing the version of Melissa McCarthy that is kind of subdued and mousey rather than the version of Melissa McCarthy that is outré and in your face with all her outrageousness and bodily fluids.
Plus, it stars Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones, who are among the only two reasons anyone should be watching Saturday Night Live right now. I'm not saying these four are as good as Murray and Ackroyd and Ramis* in their prime, but Bridesmaids and The Heat and Spy are all funny, so I'm willing to give director Paul Feig the benefit of the doubt, I guess.
Still.
It doesn't really look good. Does it? It looks ... over-produced? Part of the charm of the original Ghostbusters was just how silly the effects looked. The ghost effects make this look like a slickly generic ghost movie—like The Haunted Mansion, maybe. I dunno. I'm cautiously optimistic. But please don't believe anyone who tells you this trailer is "awesome" or "hilarious" or "amazing." They are wrong. AND NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO BE WRONG ON THE INTERNET.
Not on my watch.
*Or, um, Ernie Hudson. It's funny, he's really only in the movie for the last third or so. Poor guy.