I’ve spent a lot of years examining every detail of Ghostbusters as a cinematic phenomenon and along the way, over everything else I’ve learned about the film, if I’ve learned nothing else, it’s these two things.
1) There isn’t some aspect of Ghostbusters that isn’t in some way special, either as a best-example-of, or set-the-standard.
2) Like all movies, not everyone will love it, though many will and do.
It’s for this reason that I’m really choked at The Onion’s AV Club.
A favorite read of mine since it first budded off its satirical parent site, it’s been a place for excellent interviews, reviews, and pop culture deconstructions as long as I can remember. But content is king, and the king demands volume, and volume can lead to trouble. In this case, this week’s Better Late Than Never? column, in which a film that many think should be seen, hasn’t been seen by the reviewer, and in viewing it, they comment on if they hype is deserved or not.
Watching and commenting on Ghostbusters, Genevieve Koski writes the worst kind of review possible, though it is very popular; it is the easy path, or perhaps a better description would be, the slippery slope. It is easier to go negative than be positive. And regardless of whether the negative is deserved, Genevieve, fearing the Internet she writes for, or perhaps just being a typical product of it, decided to attack before she could be attacked.
I’ll leave it to you to read the review, which if nothing else is supposed to be a unique chance to hear the thoughts of someone new to the film, though I wish she’d done more of that. She raises the fair point that some of Ghostbusters’ long-lived popularity is due to nostalgia – this is entirely correct, and in fact, I think many of us older fans have admitted as much.
She puts forth an excellent suggestion, that a great deal of kids – born around the time Ghostbusters was in theaters – who had older siblings, were introduced to the film by those brothers and sisters, increasing the number of wistful nostalgics beyond only those that saw it at the cineplex. She takes it a step further and says in some cases, parents that enjoyed the film will play the same role. This is all entirely true, something we as fans understand all too well, because we know this effect didn’t stop in the 80s – parents who saw the movie as kids are now introducing their own kids to the film. It is for this reason, she argues, that lone children like herself were more likely to have missed out on the film. Right on. Excellent stuff.
Next it’s deconstructing the film, examining the weaker points of the film to her – the effects (yes, they’re old, but honestly, they weren’t exactly cheap examples of the technology of the time – perhaps she’d like to complain about black and white films next) and the comedy (which is all Murray, she says), and the story (which, essentially, ranges from non-existent to stupid.)
Fair enough, she wasn’t head-over heels about the movie – that’s OK. A lot of people aren’t. Some people didn’t like Star Wars. Some people don’t like Citizen Kane. Films are art, and art is subjective, so yeah, to each their own.
Then it all goes to crap when Genevieve opts to defend her points by going on the offensive; She didn’t hate the movie, but if asked how much she enjoyed, it wouldn’t be a lot (fair enough) “and it would surely incur the wrath of hordes of Ghostbusters fans”…
…really? That’s unkind. Sure, it’s the Internets, Jake – and sure someone might take her to task – it wouldn’t be the first time online – but as a carpet-bomb, preemptive strike, on ALL fans, that’s kinda cruel.
What’s odd is that she makes her original, not entirely wrong point about the role of nostalgia in the film’s legacy, and turns it into The Only Reason This Movie Is Popular. Highly arguable, but why bother, since she manages to do so herself in the same article, by pointing out that;
- The film has a 93% Freshness rating at Rotten Tomatoes
- It has glowing reviews at IMdB
- It was “the top-grossing film of 1984 (and 31st highest-grossing in history)”
And that last one is the kicker. You can argue that it’s childhood fond memories that keep it popular today, but you don’t get to be a top-grossing film in a year, and top-grossing film of all time, for the same reason. A film reaches that level because a lot of asses, many of them adult (as the film was PG – the P means “Parental”) went and saw it.
If she’d just left it at “I didn’t like it”, it would have been fine. If she’d gone a bit further, but stopped at “I think it’s popular because people are holding onto their childhood”, sure, whatever.
But she didn’t. She decided to make her summation thus;
If you look past the memorable lines you’ve quoted your whole life and the effects that wowed you when you were a kid, you’d probably find that what’s left of Ghostbusters is a wisp of a film, enjoyable in fits and starts, but ultimately kind of clumsy and forgettable. But why would you want to do that? You go right on ahead and keep loving Ghostbusters if it makes you happy, guys, I’m not here to stop you. Just don’t be disappointed when the next person you foist it upon doesn’t share your love.
I’ll paraphrase for easier understanding;
Ghostbusters isn’t the hot shit everyone thinks it is. But if you love it, you keep on loving it. By the way, I’m assuming if you do love it, you’re an asshole.
Thanks Genevieve Koski. You should have kept it impersonal.
I’m leaving the comments open – try not to prove her right, please.
Thanks, Dan, for the link.
[UPDATE]
Lost in a sea of 1000+ comments, Koski did take a moment to address the main thing I was huffed over;
At the risk of restirring the shit storm, I’m going to address just one quick thing about this piece, because I think it’s where most of our problem is stemming from. To everyone who found this condescending, that is honestly, truly, 100 percent not what I was going for, and if it came off that way, I am sorry. I never meant to imply that viewing Ghostbusters or any other movie through a nostalgic lens changes its worth to you personally or to society as a whole. I was just addressing the fact that as someone who doesn’t view it that way, this is what I saw, and establishing where I was approaching the movie from: someone with no emotional ties to the movie whatsoever. I was well aware when I wrote this that I would be in the minority not liking it, and perhaps that’s where the defensive tone came from. But that final paragraph really was intended to be genuine and not at all mocking. I mean it when I say you should keep right on loving Ghostbusters. The point of this wasn’t to convert anybody, or even to “review” the movie objectively… that’s not what BLTN is about, as Tasha said. It’s one person’s experience with the movie, mine, and while I wish it had been as great as all of yours, it wasn’t. Trust me, I wish it had been. It would have made this a lot easier.
I’m more surprised at the handful of comments that disliked the first but thought the second was excellent. I mean yeah, I prefer 2 to 1, but I still absolutely love the first film.
I would say those who dont love it are the assholes. she prob sucks too see a movie with.
“If you look past the memorable lines you’ve quoted your whole life and the effects that wowed you when you were a kid, you’d probably find that what’s left of Ghostbusters is a wisp of a film, enjoyable in fits and starts, but ultimately kind of clumsy and forgettable.”
I find this quote funny. Thats like saying:
“If you take out the jokes in this comedy, it isn’t really that funny. Also, if you take out the special effects that are meant to depict something fictional but fun, the movie looks stupid.”
You can’t remove aspects of a movie that make it good and then say it sucks. Most movies have memorable lines in them that stay with an audience which makes the audience remember the movie, for better or worse, allowing the movie to carry on through time. It just so happens Ghostbusters has a some good ones and a catchy song too. Is it nostalgia or is it still genuine like of a movie because it has great acting by some of the best comedians of the time, great special effects that still look good for what they are trying accomplish, and some of the most memorable elements of any movie (Theme, GB Logo, Ecto-1, Mr. Stay-Puft, etc).
Here’s the thing that tells me Ghostbusters will stand the test of time for years to come and why it is now being given serious looks by involved parties for a third movie: My nephew is 4 years old and he started talking about Ghostbusters one day after some kids at his school has seen the commercial for the new game and were all excited for it. My sister told him that his Uncle loved Ghostbusters and I told her he could play the game at my place when she brought him over next. Flash forward, I pop in the Wii version for him (he is only 4 remember) and off we go, busting up Ghosts in the Segdewick hotel, watch The Big White Ghost (Mr. Stay-Puft) stompin through the streets, havin a ball. For S’s and G’s, I threw in the XBOX version so he could see the “real” game and when the intro movie played and the GB theme kicked in, and I will always remember this, my little nephew start boppin his head and tappin his foot to the music! I didn’t encourage him or do anything for him to imitate, he did it all on his own.
So here we have my 4 year old nephew, new to all things GB, and already he is boppin and bouncing to Ghostbusters just like his uncle all those years ago. That tells me that Ghostbusters truly is timeless, that it will be apart of culture and families for many more years to come.
I feel sorry for her really, It seems she lacks the understanding of what a good film truly is. Yes it is a fil and it is Art, but you have to look at the facts more than the opinions before going on and bashing it for your own sake. Yes it’s Nostalgic for us older fans, but to reiterate the point of the New fans (not some of the bandwagon jumpers as of late, but the true new fans, 4-8 year olds who have not played the new game) love the Ghostbusters Films wholeheartedly. and It makes us older fans feel good seeing new people fall in love with the same movie that we did oh so long ago. It’s the character development that keeps this movie timeless, and memorable. When talking to someone, you know for a fact that their favorite character was Venkman or Spengler, Why because they are relateable. They are two unique personalities that have a way of becoming memorable for more than just their one liners and scenes, but for the way they interact and give the unaudible looks to one another that conveys how they feel. That is something that special effects did not have anything to do with.
aside from the fact that i know full well that there are people who do not like this movie, she has to be mindful of the kind of film this was intended to be, a lighthearted silly film about four guys trying to do an unbelievable job no one else could do.
The nostalgia argument does not work all the time.
There are films and television series that I absolutely cannot watch at my age. She said that Raiders and Back To The Future held up much better to her than Ghostbusters. I love those films equally and I really don’t think that’s true. It’s just a matter of someone not liking the film, no need to say that it’s been coasting on nostalgia for 25 years.
Mike hit the nail on the head. She says to take aspects out of the film (the comedy and special effects), and that its then not as good. That’s like saying if you take the ending out of a movie that it had no climax or final point. In other words, it makes no sense. She’s basically saying “Its good because of the comedy and special effects”, which is exactly why its supposed to be good… its a comedy!
I bet if you take an ingredient out of a cake, that it would probably not taste as good too. She should write a review about that.
I find it difficult to trust any movie critic who seemingly hasn’t seen any f**king movies…
I just read that guy’s review. I only have one thing to say… he is very ignorant.
Whoops! I just realized it was a GIRL that wrote that review.
So, to correct my own ignorance… SHE is ignorant.
I’m blown away by this, her sheer stupidity is apparent. ((for several reasons listed above))
I hate to stereo type this, but I honestly think it’s a girl thing, I was dating a girl ounce upon a time who told me she hated Ghostbusters, this was before the game, when I mentioned it quoted it several times a day.
I actually broke up with her over her hate of the films, because to me I couldn’t see having children with a woman who hated the movie I in essence use as my comfort food. If I’m sad I watched the movie, if I had a bad day, I watch the movie, if it’s raining outside in goes the movie.
I wanted my kids to watch the DVD’s so much that they were unwatchable, I wanted to have my kids want to dress up as Ghostbusters for Halloween.
So was it really unreasonable to want that? To want my kids to want the same thing I do, the same thing I taught my brother to do, the same thing I taught my cousins to do?
Anyway back to the point, I a few years ago stayed with a friend, and popped in GB he was riveted, even after I fell asleep he watched one until the end and two all the way through. ((Yes I know falling asleep during GB is sacrilege, but it was late and I was tired, and I don’t think I did anything wrong really.))
So my friend bought the copies the twentieth anniversary edition, and for the next six months would say ghostbusters quotes, and I’d have to answer them and tell him what movie they came form and who said them…
Anyway to get back to my point, out of everyone I’ve ever showed GB to, the only two people who haven’t liked it were my ex, and my sister who kept falling asleep, but after keeping her awake she finally admitted she liked it and I reveled in it.
So yeah, I have to say that for some reason it’s more likely that a chick won’t like GB than a male.
Personally, I wouldn’t have even granted her any attention with a post like this. It’s a foolish, naive review and even if it was non-biased, its not going to swim well with hardcore fans. I say let her hate all she wants, it’s not going to change MY mind, and that’s all that matters. If it was some personal vendetta for her to bring the film down, I could very eloquently provide rebuttal. But it’s not, it’s an online review. On a moderately popular site. A site that will, come tomorrow, have something else to parody and/or trash. Under the rug it goes.
“Wow, I’m slamming something with long-lasting popularity. I’m so edgy and hip. I must have VERY discerning tastes if Ghostbusters isn’t good enough for me.”
Tune in next week, as Miss Koski attacks hot fudge sundaes, Tetris, and the act of respiration! Man, I don’t often see someone reach so far to find something to hate. Inspector Gadget couldn’t reach that far!
Betcha she watched the movie against her will (from one sentence she wrote, most likely her boyfriend) with intent to hate, because she wanted to watch something else. Something like Sex and the City, which apparently she loves despite it being no less fanservice-ish than Ghostbusters. PVP Online (webcomic) drew parallels between the two, both being a quartet of adults who do their thing in New York, each with a distinct personality and skillset. Fans have which character they think represents themselves all picked out (mine’s Egon). But in the end, the Ghostbusters look cool battling things that terrify normal people with one of the more unique sci-fi weapons ever invented… and the cast of SatC look like a horse and three hookers, all trying desperately to be HALF as memorable as Ghostbusters. 10 years from now, let’s see who is remembered by more (hint: the quartet with their own emergency vehicle).
An ill-conceived review by someone who clearly washed down their popcorn with Haterade does not mean that I am low-class for enjoying a clearly awesome movie. There’s a reason I don’t review romance novels: I hate ‘em. There’s no way I can give one an unbiased review. I don’t even bother reading them because I’ll be tempted to write a scathing review, unable to separate “not my cup of tea” from “people pay money for this?” and trying not to develop adult onset diabetes from all the cloying sweetness. It’s like the movie reviewer who hates sci-fi movies slamming every sci-fi movie that comes out, rather than passing the assignment to someone who can tell good sci-fi from bad (and enjoyably bad from torturous bad).
That’s my take on this review. YYMV.
*bows*
“The effect? I’ll tell you what the effect is! It’s pissing me off!” The effects of the first film were great! For crying out loud, the effects crew created the effects for the proton stream from scratch! And look how amazing it is! This woman has no idea what she’s talking about.
Anthony, I understand your thinking, but sometimes you have to call bullshit on stuff. Not her review of the movie – right or wrong, it’s her opinion. I person’s reaction to a film is their own, whether everyone agrees or not. But when you move past the subjective, and into the personal, characterizing those that DO like the movie in a negative way, well… that’s bullshit.
It irks me when people attribute plain “nostalgia” as to why GB is still such a phenomenon in 2009…What ever happened to it just being EXCEPTIONALLY good?
Yes, all ghostheads and even casual fans have very fond memories of our youth and growing up with the films and cartoon…But for us said fans our love of the film, the franchise, and everything inbetween TRANCENDS that petty go-to word to describe missing one’s formative years…
We eat sleep and breathe GB, the tech, the guys, the ghosts – All of it…Through our repeated watchings, the video game, the toys, the lifesize packs and suits…This is by far more than a “urning for the past”…
I just hate it when people try to explain something away easily like that…For me the love affair with GB started way back in ‘84, and as long as I’m still kicking will always be that way…
I have fond memories of my childhood yes – With the once makeshift backpack + curling iron “Pack and Thrower” and RGB action figures drenched in Ectoplazm…But my love for this franchise never wained wiavered after I became a teenager, or especially into adulthood…
And for me it’s an insult to imply otherwise…
Wow. This is sad. You guys are reading WAY too much into the review. She makes some decent points on why she didn’t like it and some of which I agree with. The movie is a definitely classic but it isn’t a masterpiece. It definitely has its faults. Clumsy? Yes? Forgettable? Not if you’re fan. And that’s the point – she isn’t. If you guys were given the task of reviewing Dirty Dancing or any other classic film from the 80’s that appeals to women, most of you would have the same complaints. Ghostbusters just isn’t her cup of tea, guys. Nor should it be. Respect that and move on.
It’s a little beyond that Tom.
Are you reading any of the comments?
I see where Tom is coming from, but the fact is this chick wrote this review to be against the grain. I’m kinda sure I would not like sixteen candles which is a classic, and if I would write a review of it the review would probably be negative so whats the point except to upset the true fans. If people like it they like, and if they dont they don’t. No one needs to justify what they think.
I think the whole problem is that it comes off like she’s trying to goad the fans of the franchise into attacking her. From what I understand from at least one of the comments though, she always has this condescending attitude.
I read a couple of her other reviews and came to the conclusion that she is not worth the time. She raves about “So You Think You Can Dance” and some cheesy rap musicians debut album(which sounded awful to me). Her opinion is not worth much to me and I would take anything she says with a grain of salt, maybe not even that. Don’t let this child’s opinion affect yours.
I agree with Teamhair above. I also looked at some of her other reviews and came to the conclusion that the defective link is the reviewer herself. If it were a reviewer whose opinions I liked and they spoke ill of Ghostbusters, I might give them a little credence. Instead, all I saw was a very hidden layer of disdain from movies that happened around her childhood and that she didn’t get to see because she didn’t have sibblings. ( That’s her reasoning, not mine. ) Someone get her a tissue.
Doesn’t Genevieve look like the type of person to walk in front an boson dart? I’m just saying.
She’s not one of us. She has completely different tastes in movies and that’s okay. Besides, she is from a site known for it’s satire and parody, so her views really shouldn’t be taken seriously in the first place – anyone remember their Star Trek piece earlier this year? If this was meant to serious and to belittle fans and I don’t think it was, just simply ignore it. If that’s the case, all she’s looking for is attention and the best thing to do is not give her any.
Wow. I was good ol’ lovin’ Switzerland who could care less until she called me an “asshole.” I think she went a bit far. I guess she rates her movies – and random strangers she’s never met – by her own subjective, personal feelings instead of by any objective, unbiased reasoning, turning it into more of a blog than a movie review and alienating everyone who isn’t a close friend or family member of hers. I mean, I just don’t see the point of reading a movie review like this unless I knew her personally.
I cannot deny that my love for Ghostbusters is influenced by the nostalgia of having grown up with it. But I find it to be a ridiculous suggestion that nostalgia is a primary reason for the film’s popularity. It was popular the year it was made too, and you can’t say that was because of nostalgia.
All in all though, I respectfully disagree with this reviewer’s opinion. Ghostbusters was not a perfect film(is there such a thing?), and it’s perfectly fine for some people to not like it. Just as she had only seen Back to the Future and Raiders of the Lost Ark long after they were old, I can say the same thing myself. BttF is now one of my all time favorites, but I found Raiders to be forgettable. To each his(or her) own.
I adore the AV Club, but sometimes they’re way off. Case in point: some of their columnists nearly broke their backs blowing their collective load over “Where the Wild Things Are”. Frankly, that movie was dreadful.
I don’t take offense at this article. Taste is subjective. Other people likely tried ramming this bit of pop culture down her throat prior to Halloween.
Additionally, appreciating Ghostbusters may depend on if you prefer Bill Murray’s understated humor in Wes Anderson films to that of his work prior to “Lost in Translation”.