Movie Review: Ghostbusters: Afterlife Revels In The Past
Ghostbusters Afterlife was filled with nostalgia. Personally, I remember seeing the “emo” first trailer, and being a little worried that director Jason Reitman had taken his father’s classic and given it the present society’s belief that “modernity” and grimness are the same thing. Honestly, dark takes are becoming as popular as remakes, and what made Ghostbusters: Afterlife so special is that it was a happy continuation of a legacy.
Things can be “particular” with classics, especially when it comes to both modernizing them. “People” want the “same ol,” and Ghostbusters: Afterlife attempts to expand the “classic’s” universe by making its main protagonists two kids: Finn Wolfhard’s moody Trevor and McKenna Grace’s excited Phoebe. Both are the ying/ yang or Wednesday Adam versus a Care Bear that are placed under just the right circumstances to take the mantle of their unbeknownst, ghost-busting lineage. In many ways, this film thrives off of its nods to the original and following of typical cinematic tropes. Single Mom (Carrie Coon’s Callie) tries to make ends meet and decides to move her kids to an inherited home in the middle of nowhere, of which the kids find a secret room, with secret things, and unleash what feels like a violent power over the town they wished they had never moved to but, by the end of the film, will grow to love. We have seen this film before, and Ghostbusters: Afterlife has no problems with that. Instead, it is embraces its old fun, puts new faces at the helm, and says… “You want classic! I’ll give you classic! I’ll even give you Paul Rudd!”
Honestly, with the amount of jokes that go into Paul Rudd’s inability to age, he might as well be in The Eternals. Playing love interest Grooberson, Paul Rudd creates a heartbeat as the reliable adult helping these kids, and their new friends Celeste O’Connor’s Lucky and Logan Kim’s Podcast, maneuver through demons, hellhounds, and possessed marshmallows. He is, like much of the movie, goofy, silly, effortless, and entertaining enough for you to stay watching. In essence, that is the core of Ghostbusters: Afterlife. It just wants to be watched: no overthought or new ideas. Simply enjoy the past!
