Why A Girl-Powered 'Ghostbusters' Matters
Curse you, Paul Feig, for making me care about a new Ghostbusters movie. The director of Bridesmaids, The Heat, and the upcoming Melissa McCarthy/Jason Statham action comedy Spy just had to go and get Sony interested in a female-centric reboot of the Ghostbusters franchise (Variety). I can’t just write off another Ghostbusters film, be it a reboot or sequel, as an example of Hollywood unwilling to let decades-old franchises rest in peace. Because, yes, a female-centric Ghostbusters reboot is automatically more interesting than one merely starring the old cast or a new generation of male comedic actors. Whether any of this comes to pass, that Sony is potentially willing to accept the idea that a famously male-centric fantasy franchise can be as successful (if not more successful) with women in the hero roles means that Ghostbusters 3 (or whatever it ends up being) now matters.
The possibility of a major fantasy franchise that happens to involve a handful of major female actresses, be they comedy stars or dramatic actresses wanting to play in the sci-fi comedy sandbox, is important. A girl-powered Ghostbusters film won’t necessarily Be better or funnier than a male-centric one. And it can be argued that Hollywood should be doing more than taking known properties and switching the gender or the skin color (Reel Talk). But a female-skewing Ghostbusters film, if it’s successful, is a good start to Hollywood hopefully crafting new properties that don’t default to the “four dudes to every one pretty girl” template. That Sony seems willing to go for it is encouraging, even if I’d imagine part of their willingness is a desire to keep Ghostbusters alive at any cost. http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2014/08/04/yes-a-girl-powered-ghostbusters-does-matter/
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