Amanda Leslie
30 years ago, three professors of parapsychology saved New York City from supernatural attacks. Now, a new pack of occult opponents has hit the streets to rescue the Big Apple from paranormal wrath. This time, the team has one small difference: all four ghostbusters are female.
July is the release month for a revamp of the 1984 beloved paranormal classic Ghostbusters, but the trailer’s release in early March has whipped the Internet into a frenzy, from excited fans to whiny men who resent women being both seen and heard.
There were months of speculation and fan castings, but donning the jumpsuits this time around will be four successful female comedians. The scientists of the group are Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, and Kate McKinnon. Their roles are Abby Yates, an author and proponent of paranormal existence; a dorky physics professor named Erin Gilbert; and Jillian Holtzman, an engineer, respectively. Rounding out the team is Leslie Jones, whose character Patty Tolan is an NYC subway worker.
Adding a dose of nostalgia, there are rumored to be cameos by the original actors, from Sigourney Weaver to Bill Murray.
The film suffered criticism due to its lack of diversity (one black woman does not make a diverse movie) and stereotyping of a minority character, as the only non-scientist is a black woman with a less than prestigious vocation. We can only hope that Jones’s character is more than the “street smart” woman portrayed in the trailer that bitch slaps the ghost out of possessing McCarthy’s body.
I am optimistic for this reboot. There are not nearly enough women in leading roles in Hollywood, and with any luck this will help blaze a stronger trail for gender equality in media.
Dan Aykroyd, a star of the original film, tweeted that the trailer is “just the beginning of a fun-filled summer with [his] paranormal sisterhood,” and I hope he’s right.
Ghostbusters arrives in theatres July 15. Who you gonna call?
