Credit – Jesse Grant WikiMediaCommons
Well, well, well. It looks like if you actually make a good story the fans will come. And that’s exactly what happened with the magic of ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’, in its premiere weekend, taking the number one spot away from Disney’s ‘The Eternals’. With a weekend domestic haul of 44 million and a total global accumulation of 60 million, ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ might be the movie that showed the fans that they were not forgotten. Directed by Jason Reitman, son of Ivan Reitman who directed the first Ghostbusters, ‘Afterlife’ seems to have been a hit with families, specifically in the Northwest, Southwest, and Midwest sections of the country. ‘Afterlife’ is also tracking, internationally, ahead of similar releases such as ‘Free Guy’, ‘Jungle Cruise’, and ‘Cruella’, as much as 92%. With the upcoming Thanksgiving long weekend for much of the country, ‘Afterlife’ will undoubtedly bring more families to the theaters and claim the number one spot for the second straight weekend. Despite negative reviews among critics, audiences have been cheering, as ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ scored big with old and new fans alike.
Is Ignorance Bliss?
Full disclosure…I haven’t seen ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ yet, but I am planning to see it this week, so my article is based solely on reviews and the numbers I have seen for it. I will have an article later in the week with my full review, but I wanted to sum up the negative reviews with one I read from Clarisse Loughrey, who is a film critic over at the Independent. Loughrey bases her whole article in a comparative way between the original ‘Ghostbusters’ and ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ in a way that makes me question whether she saw the original movie at all. She claims to be a fan of the original ‘Ghostbusters’ but starts out her article with this:
“‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ has made me question what people even liked about the original. Growing up, I understood the 1984 film to be a scrappy though wildly successful comedy about a pack of down-on-their-luck dorks incidentally proving the existence of the astral plane and getting blow jobs from ghosts.”
Who remembers a movie they are supposed to be a fan of by writing they understood it to be something? That statement sounds more like someone told her what the movie was about, she watched a trailer for it, or she read a review about it. I would argue she never even saw the movie,(I don’t even think she was born yet when the original ‘Ghostbusters’ came out), but that doesn’t mean she didn’t see it…I’m just arguing that she didn’t. She then proves my point further when she states that ‘Ghostbusters’ was the film that opened the door to films like ‘The Jerk’, ‘CaddyShack’, and ‘Trading Places’…all of which came out before ‘Ghostbusters’! ‘The Jerk’ came out in 1979, ‘Caddyshack’ came out in 1980, and ‘Trading Places’ came out in 1982.
“It was the film that opened the door to the likes of The Jerk, Trading Places, and Caddyshack.”
The rest of the article proves Loughrey’s ignorance of the original ‘Ghostbusters’, when she has to describe to her readers that Ecto-1 is “really just a pimped-up Hearse”, or when she says the kids find original proton packs that “have enough juice to wreck a small city.” No, duh! Anyone whose anyone, that’s a fan of the original ‘Ghostbusters’, knows and understands these small facts that don’t need an explanation. Those scenes are there for us to cheer and bring back memories of the original.
‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ Pays Reverance to the Original ‘Ghostbusters’
There is no way that Clarisse Loughrey is a fan of the original ‘Ghostbusters’. She never reveres ‘Ghostbusters’ as a movie that helped define an era in movie making and what the 1980’s represented. At one point, she blames ‘Afterlife’ for making the original team of Ghostbusters into superheroes.
“And when something strange starts lurking in the neighbourhood, every new discovery suddenly becomes imbued with lore and mysticism. The Ghostbusters can’t just be dorks anymore – Hollywood has made them superheroes.”
“The word of the day here is “legacy”. And just as the title of “ghostbuster” is passed between the generations, so has the job of Ghostbusters director. Jason Reitman has positioned his film as a tribute to the work of his father, Ivan, on the 1984 film. He’s also remarked that his sequel “hands back” the franchise to its fans. To that, I say: which fans? The fans, like me, who simply enjoy Ghostbusters for what it is? Or the fans who’ve entirely subsumed Ghostbusters into some wider mourning for lost childhoods and a time when they felt the most important and powerful of all?”
Well, of course! That’s the point! That’s great storytelling. Jason Reitman is paying reverence to what came before him by telling a story that shows and tells the audience how important storytelling should be. Loughrey ends her review by comparing ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ to ‘Ghostbuster 2016’ which is apples and oranges. ‘Ghostbusters 2016’ was a remake of the original frame for frame, but with an all female cast, that was a mockery of the original in all senses of the word. Loughrey claims that at least ‘Ghostbusters 2016’ didn’t take itself too seriously, and compared it to an SNL adjacent comedy. I would argue again, that the original ‘Ghostbusters’ did take itself seriously, through very distinct character personalities that only made the humor and jokes land that much more efficiently. I would also challenge Loughrey to show me any true fan of the original ‘Ghostbusters’ that was a fan of ‘Ghostbusters 2016’…I don’t think you can.
The 80’s Were a Magical Time in Cinematic History That Hollywood Should Reflect On.
I write my articles on pop culture, from a place of passion and a lot of times, first hand experience. For example, seeing the original ‘Ghostbusters’ in the theater for the first time, when I was 14 years old. Some movies just have an impact on you and stay with you in a very sentimental way. ‘Superman’, ‘The Empire Strikes Back’, ‘Back to the Future’, and ‘Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan’ all come to mind. All of these movies and many more, had such a visceral connection with me, that they are my go to things to watch when I just need to get away, or need a break from the daily goings on of everyday life. Those movies, and in particular, the movies of the 80’s, were a magical time in cinema that I don’t think we’ll ever get back. I can’t remember a time before or since, that a decade could produce so many wonderful memories. This is what being a fan really is like. I would argue that the 80’s invented the fandom. I will throw in a few caveats for those that are screaming at me right now. I will say that the original Star Trek series created a phenomena of its own, just as ‘Star Wars’ did in 1977, but those were singular instances. The 80’s just saw franchise after franchise become hits, creating fandoms left and right. Unfortunately, with todays box office choices, that visceral feeling is few and far between, because Hollywood likes to play it safe. The results we are fed, are boring replicas of assembly line garbage. Clarisse Loughrey, in my opinion, can’t know what it’s like to experience a movie like ‘Ghostbusters’ for the first time, because Hollywood has lost there way and doesn’t know how to make movies like that anymore. Loughrey just can’t comprehend the difference…it’s not her fault. I believe her article is a great defense on why to go see ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’. From everyone I’ve listened to and people who have seen it, Jason Reitman has attempted, and oft times succeeded, in bringing back that magic that all fans of the 1980’s remember.
Related: Ghostbusters: Afterlife
