July 20, 2016 The Skanner Page 7
Film Review: ‘Ghostbusters’
Far Funnier Than the Original
Arts & Entertainment
The ‘Ghostbusters’ Interview: Who
You Gonna Call? Kate and Leslie!
By Kam Williams
For The Skanner News
C
Leslie Jones, Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, and Kate McKinnon star in the new ‘Ghostbusters’ movie.
By Kam Williams
For The Skanner News
R
eleased way back in the summer
of ‘84, “Ghostbusters” raked in
almost a quarter-billion dollars
at the box oice, making it the
most successful comedy of the 1080a.
Enough time has apparently passed to
remake the much-beloved farce, though
director Paul Feig (“Bridesmaids”) has
seen it to tweak the plot, starting with
changing the gender of the leads from
male to female.
Wisely, Feig has not only tapped a
quartet of consummate comediennes in
Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate
McKinnon and Leslie Jones but crat-
“
Holtzmann (McKinnon), Professors of
the Paranormal at the mythical Higgins
Institute of Science.
The eccentric academics are gung ho
to explore the haunted house, despite
the fact that they have been unable
to prove the existence of any appari-
tions. En route, they pick up Abby’s
estranged BFF, relatively-skeptical Co-
lumbia Professor Erin Gilbert (Wiig),
and Patty Tolan (Jones), a token booth
clerk scared by a spook she saw in a
subway tunnel.
But the fallout from bad buzz caus-
es all the profs to lose their jobs. Un-
deterred, they proceed to turn a lot
above a Chinese restaurant into a re-
search lab, hire a handsome, half-wit-
...a hilarious reboot that pays homage to the
irst ilm while remaining refreshingly unique
ed a script which plays to each of their
respective strengths. The upshot is a
hilarious reboot that pays homage to
the irst ilm while remaining refresh-
ingly unique in its own right. Plus, the
movie features surprisingly-amusing
appearances by original cast members
Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney
Weaver, Ernie Hudson and Annie Potts
in new roles.
The point of departure is stately Al-
dridge mansion in Manhattan, where
we ind a tour guide (Zach Woods) in-
advertently releasing the disembod-
ied spirit of Gertrude Aldridge (Bess
Rous), a serial killer who had been per-
manently locked in a dungeon and fed
through a slot in the door ater killing
all of her family servants in 1894. An at-
tack by the evil apparition prompts the
slimed victim to enlist the assistance
of Abby Yates (McCarthy) and Jillian
ted secretary (Chris Hemsworth) and
convert a hearse borrowed from sassy
Patty’s mortician uncle (Ernie Hudson)
into the oicial Ghostbusters mobile.
Cue the resuscitated, Oscar-nominated
theme song.
Soon, these self-proclaimed “Conduc-
tors of the Metaphysical” develop an
arsenal of high-tech gadgets ranging
from ray guns to a ghost shredder to
a motion-activated proton glove. And
not a minute too soon, since the next
thing you know, New York City is being
invaded by an army of menacing appa-
ritions.
A laugh-a-minute, female empower-
ment fantasy far funnier than the orig-
inal.
Excellent HHHH
Rated PG-13 for action and crude
humor
Running time: 116 min
omedienne Leslie Jones was
hired as a writer by Saturday
Night Live in 2014 and quickly
gained popularity ater a mem-
orable on-air appearance during the
show’s “Weekend Update” segment.
So, she was subsequently oicially
invited to join SNL’s ensemble cast
during the show’s 40th season.
Earlier this year, Leslie shared the
stage with Tracy Morgan, Chris Rock
and Whoopi Goldberg in an epic
Academy Awards sketch in a montage
re-imagining some classic, Oscar-win-
ning ilms with black actors. Her mov-
ie credits include Chris Rock’s “Top
Five,” Judd Apatow’s “Trainwreck,”
and the upcoming Masterminds,
co-starring Kate McKinnon and Kris-
ten Wiig.
Currently, Leslie can be seen on TV
in an Allstate Insurance commercial
that’s in heavy rotation.
Kate McKinnon is also an SNL cast
member and has been nominated for
three Primetime Emmy Awards for
her work on the show. Since coming
aboard in April 2012, she has enter-
tained viewers with her critically-ac-
claimed impersonations of Hillary
Clinton, Justin Bieber and Ellen DeGe-
neres.
Kate was recently seen in Sisters op-
posite Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, and
as the voices of Wife Fish in Finding
Leslie Jones
Dory and of Stella in The Angry Birds
Movie. In December, she’ll co-star
opposite Jason Bateman and Jennifer
Aniston in Oice Christmas Party.
Kam Williams: Hi Leslie, hi Kate.
Thanks for the interview.
Kate McKinnon: [Shouts] Kam! how
are you?
Leslie Jones: Hey, Kam.
KW: I’m doing great, and I absolute-
ly loved this ilm.
See INTERVIEW on page 11
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