Dollar Tree Cinema: Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (Revisited)

 “Ghostbusters: Answer the Call” (2016)
Starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Chris Hemsworth
Directed by Paul Feig
Written by Katie Dippold and Paul Feig
Based on the 1984 film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis
Rated PG-13 for supernatural action and some crude humor

Welcome to another installment of Dollar Tree Cinema, watching and discussing movies I acquired for just a buck at Dollar Tree, much to my youngest daughter's chagrin. She doesn't understand why I “need” more movies, just like I don't get why she “needs” more of those rubber pop-it things shaped like stars, hamburgers and Peppa Pig. Oh well, agree to disagree.

From amid stacks of movies whose titles sound just slightly different from films you've actually heard of, I pulled the 2016 reboot of “Ghostbusters.” Having watched it before, I considered $1 a bargain, though I can hear some people now swearing they wouldn't bring this movie into their home if you paid them.

What I thought before: It's a funny movie that came nowhere near the heights of the original but didn't deserve the animosity it got.

What I think now: Pretty much the same.

I was curious about the movie from the start, since I'd been among those wishing we could get more Ghostbusters ever since “Ghostbusters 2.” You'd hear rumors about possible sequels or remakes through the years, with various names potentially attached.

If it's not going to be a sequel, like “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” (which I haven't seen yet), it makes sense to me to veer away from the original. I don't see the point of having four guys, however talented and funny, going through the same material as a classic that almost can't be improved upon.

So replacing them with women – four hilarious women – didn't bother me, like it apparently bothered others.

Of course, if you didn't like the movie, it's not automatically because of misogyny. But if you wrote it off as bad without watching it (which is not the same as just not being interested), I don't really understand that.

Despite the gender swap, “Ghostbusters: Answer the Call” – as it was oddly retitled sometime between announcement and release, apparently to differentiate it from the original – does hew close to the source material, which sometimes works and sometimes does not.

Supernatural goings-on at a historic house reunite Abby Yates (McCarthy) and Erin Gilbert (Wiig), childhood friends who literally wrote the book on the paranormal before Erin decided to pursue a more serious academic career. Together with bizarre and brilliant engineer Jillian Holtzmann, they form a trio reminiscent of Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz and Egon Spengler in the original, though none is a 1-to-1 match.

They're joined by subway employee Patty Tolan (Jones), who has witnessed the supernatural and is seeking answers as well as camaraderie. She's the Winston Zeddemore of the group, bringing some real-world common sense to the supernatural shenanigans.

I laughed out loud multiple times, even from the earliest scenes, thanks to awkward exchanges of apparently improvised dialogue. None of the lines really had the classic weight of the imminently quotable 1984 film, but funny is funny.

The movie goes a little bit more in-depth with the supernatural plot, where in the original, the story is there but took a backseat to the characters and comedy. The use of a central villain who plays with the pseudo-science more than Gozer, who it always felt to me just sort of appeared in the original, was a nice touch. But as the movie marches toward its climax, things get a bit messier, though still pretty funny.

With the exception of McKinnon, who is just so out there, the rest of the main quartet seems to be playing versions of the character types we've seen them do before, though McCarthy is dialed down while still delivering the laughs. That's not a complaint, just an observation – it works.

References to the original are uneven and at times awkward. While McCarthy's knowing question asking who people faced with supernatural problems are gonna call was good, the development of the famous Ghostbusters logo, the use of a tricked-out hearse as their mode of transportation and even the development of their proton packs felt forced, getting to points we expected. Holtzmann's continued modification of the devices to include proton grenades, a ghost chipper and more iterations, though, built on the familiar nicely, culminating in an impressive action sequence.

Despite the PG-13 rating, this version has very little I'd worry about my daughters watching, where the original has a number of lines I hope they wouldn't get or that I might skip. Plus, girl power.

This is an enjoyable movie, but it has to be compared to a film that is so special it's hard to recreate. As much fun as the ghosts and the slime and all that were, “Ghostbusters” showcased a terrific cast, nailing dialogue and forming something greater than the sum of its parts. “Ghostbusters: Answer the Call” has a tremendous collection of parts, but it doesn't all come together, and that may be due in part to being assembled in such a large shadow.