Ghostbusters: Answer The Call

I'll be honest. When the news came out that Paul Feig was rebooting Ghostbusters (the original movie is in my Top 5 films of all time) I was excited. Finally! A new Ghostbusters movie. It didn't really matter to me that there would be new characters (that was to be expected) or that it would be a reboot (although that wasn't the route I would have chosen). I was just excited for some new Ghostbusters adventures.

But when I saw the movie in the theater I was disappointed. It wasn't funny enough. There were problems with the plot (they catch ONE ghost and then suddenly they're prepared for a ghost apocalypse?) and how cartoony it got at the end with Rowan turning into the Ghostbusters logo ghost. However, there were some things about the movie that I did like. I liked the characters of Erin and Holtzmann almost immediately. Patty grew on me. To this day I'm still not a big fan of Abby (she really doesn't get much of a personality aside from having an obsession with soup). Kevin was hilarious, but a bit TOO stupid for something like Ghostbusters. I can see him being brought in as a joke, but surely they could have found a better out-of-work receptionist in New York City.

So there were things I liked about it, but it was mainly the tone of the movie that put me off from really loving it. Well, that and what I considered to be editing/story issues. After Martin Heiss (Bill Murray's character) gets thrown out a window by the ghost named Mayhem the movie doesn't really pay attention to the passage of time in any way that makes sense. The Ghostbusters gain fame and a reputation for being crazy/frauds only hours (I'm assuming) after they catch Mayhem and it seems like less than 24 hours before they have to deal with the big ghost battle in Times Square. The movie really needed a montage similar to Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989) showing them busting ghosts over a number of days/weeks in order to really push the idea that these women have become famous enough to warrant the attention of the mayor. 

With all the problems I felt the movie had, I never really watched it in it's entirety more than twice after it initially hit blu-ray. I re-watched the theatrical version and then watched the extended version. By that point it was clear we wouldn't be getting a sequel because it underperformed at the box office. 

But a few weeks ago I caught the tail end of the extended version of the film on TV and realized that the perfect version of the film was combination of the theatrical version (which had the better jokes) and the extended version, which I think has some important (or just plain cool) scenes. Among these are Erin leaving the team after punching out a "reporter", the Ghostbusters using the "cross the streams" plan of attack to close the portal, and appearances by some ghosts who weren't in the theatrical version such as the flasher ghost and the bar ghost. 

I think keeping those scenes in the theatrical version would have not only made for a stronger film (at least in terms of Erin's character arc) but also would have made the film more fun for fans. 

Anyway, after watching the film again a couple of more times recently, it really has grown on me. Once you stop comparing it to the original film (and characters) and put aside some of the editing choices it becomes a lot more fun. So much so that I've recently started adding more Ghostbusters: Answer the Call merchandise to my collection, such as the Funko Pop figures and Hot Wheels dinkies of the Ecto-1 and Ecto-2. I'm really starting to wish we were getting a sequel to the film, as I think it would be fun to see the characters brought back and given more depth and having more adventures. Thankfully, IDW Publishing has brought the reboot Ghostbusters back in their comic books including a crossover story with the original Ghostbusters and even a five issue Ghostbusters: Answer the Call mini-series.

So here's to Erin, Abby, Patty and Holtzmann. The Ghostbusters. It's a real shame those characters (and the actresses who played them) probably won't get a second chance to answer the call in live-action. They deserved better.