After the dismal failure of the 2016 reboot of Ghostbusters, producers decided to go in a different direction with the franchise. Director Jason Reitman, the son of Ivan Reitman, the director of both of the original Ghostbuster movies, co-wrote the script with his friend and frequent collaborator, Gil Kenan. Instead of the big city, they put the movie in a small town in the middle of nowhere and gave it a low-resolution look to make it feel more homely and comfortable to the average family.
Which, honestly, I think was a good idea. Because, you have to know who your demographic is when you’re marketing something. They made this movie for the fans. Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan thought about a script and went “let’s give the fans what they want”. As opposed to the previous movie, where the writers tried to TELL the fans what to want. And that’s never going to go over well with fans.
But I think this movie did very well for a sequel. First, I’ve never seen Paul Rudd in something I didn’t like him in. Second, it followed the story nicely. It moved the canon along while keeping the old stuff in place like any good franchise should. It was a well written script. And unlike the previous disaster of a sequel, there was nostalgia, but just enough of it to be nostalgic. Things weren’t trotted out to make you go “hey! Look what’s in the movie!” Because they knew they had written a good enough movie that they didn’t have to do that. But they put things in there that were central to the plot like the mini Stay Puft men, and the original Ghostbusters commercial. Those things are nostalgic, but they’re also part of the story.
And making the movie in memory of Harold Ramis is something that you don’t see very often in the movie industry. People die all the time. Harold Ramis died in 2014. This movie was made in 2021. This movie wasn’t made specifically in memoriam of Harold Ramis. But 7 years later, to put it, not in the credits, stuffed down somewhere underneath the names of the craft service people or something; But to display it so prominently like that at the end of the movie, that this was a special memory for Harold Ramis, a legend of the movie industry, is a touching moment.
So, yeah. Go and see Ghostbusters: Afterlife. It’ll make up for watching that horrible 2016 Ghostbusters reboot. And there’s plenty more about it that I’m sure you’ll like. Did somebody say “zombie squirrels”? No. No, that’s not really a thing… But, either way, it’s still a funny movie. And as always, keep on watching, with a smile on your face…
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