This is just as much fun as the 1984 original.
But it goes deeper than that. Director Jason Reitman — who co-wrote this new film’s script with Gil Kenan — also honor that four-decades-old classic. Although we’re introduced to an entirely new set of characters, the all-important tone and balance are maintained: same snarky humor and whimsical atmosphere, along with some genuinely scary jolts and gotcha moments.
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| Following a wild, hell-for-leather chase, Trevor (Finn Wolfhard, left) Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) and Podcast (Logan Kim) realize that something definitely is wrong inside the ominous mountain outside their small town. |
Composer Rob Simonsen even quotes much of the late Elmer Bernstein’s score for the 1984 film, at first teasing us with occasional chordal hints, and finally — as we move into the exciting third act — unveiling Bernstein’s primary themes in their entirety.
(Bearing in mind how much of Bernstein’s music is used, a highly visible co-credit for this film’s score would have been proper, rather than the tiny “original themes” acknowledgment buried deep within the voluminous end credits crawl.)
Considerable time has passed in this franchise’s universe, as it did in the real world. Following a spooky, suspenseful prologue, we meet single mom Callie (Carrie Coon), her 15-year-old son Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and 12-year-old daughter Phoebe (Mckenna Grace). Everything has gone wrong in poor Callie’s life, up to a sudden eviction that leaves them homeless.
With nowhere else to go, they drive to the tiny community of Summerville, Oklahoma, where her long-estranged father spent the final decades of his life in a ramshackle farmhouse. Callie hopes to sell the place and its contents for enough to make a fresh start, but a local Realtor (Annie Potts, fleetingly reprising her role as Janine Melnitz) gently explains that the land is worthless, and the property burdened by debt.
So they settle in. Reluctantly.
Trevor, a typical teenage boy, immediately makes a clumsy play for Lucky (Celeste O’Connor), who works at a retro, roller-skating fast-food joint. He’s obviously punching above his weight, but she finds him amusing, and tolerates his presence; he soon joins her clique of friends.
Callie, mindful that her curious, super-smart but socially hopeless daughter needs some sort of focus, enrolls Phoebe in the local middle school’s summer session science class. She immediately comes to the attention of Podcast (Logan Kim, utterly adorable), so named because he constantly films and interviews anybody who foolishly fails to evade him.
The irrepressibly cheerful Podcast is an impetuous, fearless chatterbox; Phoebe is quiet, shy and stoic. She also can’t tell a joke to save her life (a cute running gag with a terrific third-act payoff). But they’re both inquisitive and boldly (foolishly?) scientific. Naturally, they become fast friends.
Phoebe also catches the eye of the class teacher, Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd), an affable guy with a laser-focused interest in seismology: specifically the region surrounding Summerville, which seems prone to far more than its share of earthquakes.
Gary and Callie meet cute fairly quickly, and their flirty banter draws an eye-roll from Phoebe. Back at home, she’s more intrigued by the chessboard in her bedroom, and by a series of other-worldly “nudges” that lead her first to a PKE meter, and then — concealed beneath sliding-block-puzzle floorboards — a tightly closed proton pack.
Not that she has any idea what these items actually are, of course, but — when she shares her discovery — Gary absolutely does, remembering full well what happened in New York City, back in the 1980s.
Trevor, meanwhile, has found a decrepit 1959 converted ambulance/limo in the garage. He, too, is oblivious to the circular logo and ECTO-1 license plate.
Reitman and Kenan reveal these (and many other) telling details in teasing bits and bobs. Indeed, much of the film passes before we even learn the identity of Callie’s father. We viewers recognize all the gadgetry, and know what’s coming, but this story’s characters remain clueless and curious for quite awhile.
Until those seismic hiccups, and ominous doings in an old mine buried deep within an ominous mountain, become impossible to ignore.
If Reitman’s directorial approach occasionally seems to evoke memories of Stranger Things, that’s likely no accident; Wolfhard’s presence further amplifies this comparison. He makes Trevor a typically reckless teen, his unchecked emotions all over the map.
The impassive, studious Phoebe looks, sounds and dresses like a female version of television’s Young Sheldon, and that’s likely a coy inside joke; McKenna Grace’s Paige Swanson has been Sheldon’s super-smart nemesis for several seasons. She’s by far this story’s most interesting and best-played character; Grace’s performance is sublime.
Gary is charming, affable and just slightly goofy; Reitman wisely prevents Rudd from employing the insufferable smugness that has infected far too many of his light-comedy roles. Coon is persuasive as an overwhelmed single parent trying to do her best.
Lucky is more archetype than credible character: a cute, perfectly poised and mildly superior young woman just waiting to become besties with Trevor. That said, O’Connor certainly has presence, and she’s a plucky addition to what soon becomes a Scooby Gang.
As for the ghosts, it’s a shame Slimer doesn’t reappear, but — when discovered — the metal-eating Muncher is an entertaining substitute. And let’s just say the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man’s resurrection is both bizarre and delightfully tasteless.
The various bits of Ghostbusters tech evoke a smile, both for their vintage appearance, and — in some cases — the manner in which they’ve been enhanced. As the best example, Callie’s father apparently spent considerable time upgrading the ECTO-1: a “reveal,” when it occurs, guaranteed to make viewers cheer.
The all-stops-out climax also features just the right amount of sentimentality; longtime fans will love it.
Indeed, longtime fans will enjoy everything about this film, and newbies certainly will be encouraged to check out its 1984 ancestor. Reitman has done his father — Ivan Reitman, who directed that earlier classic — and all the Ghostbusters proud.
Oh, and do hang around during the end credits; you’ll be suitably rewarded.
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