Ghostbusters 2016 Trailer and Reaction

Alright. So… here’s the first trailer for the new Ghostbusters movie, coming this July. Directed by Paul Feig, this is an origin story once again. This time with a team of women. Before you watch this trailer, though, if you haven’t already, scroll down past this one to the next one.

The following is about a minute and a half shorter than the official trailer. It cuts out some of the stuff that makes the official one a bit confusing to casual viewers that don’t know that it’s not “Ghostbusters 3.” After you watch the one below, if you’d like more, go ahead and watch the full trailer above.

Now that you’ve taken a chance to watch one or the other, or both of the above trailers for the new Ghostbusters film, what did you think?

Here’s how I reacted: I laughed more than I thought I would. I watched it again, and laughed again. The dialog in the film seems to be quotable so far. There’s one line in the official trailer that I didn’t really appreciate being included, but realize that if a guy said the line, it would guide you to think differently about it: “every crack.” That said, it’s possible that, like even the last trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, they could cut that line out of the final film. I’d appreciate it.

I really like the Holtzman character. She’s quirky and fun, and the scene with the wig and the hat made me laugh out loud. It’s a classic set piece in many movies and TV shows, but she made it feel unique. According to the director, that wasn’t how it was written in the script, but the actress found the hat and added it when they filmed, and it landed. I feel like there may have been a lot of that going on during filming. Word is that Bill Murray did a ton of that on the original Ghostbusters, and Sigourney Weaver actually changed a line of hers, instead of saying Peter Venkman was “more like a car salesman,” she said “game show host.”

I liked the feel of the trailer, overall. It feels like Ghostbusters. I’ve been, and will continue watching this movie’s progress like a hawk. I still think that it should take place in the same universe as the original two films. The cool thing is, it probably could, if they do a parallel dimension thing. I mean, what if, when the original Ghostbusters crossed the streams, it did send Gozer to “the nearest parallel dimension,” where Ray demanded Gozer go in the original film? Just a thought.

Here’s where I now stand: I feel no differently about the direction that the movie went from the start of production. I’m still upset that the movie is a completely different universe and doesn’t follow in the footsteps of the originals. I’m not upset that the team includes women. It’s been done before, multiple times. The Real Ghostbusters had Janine join the team at times, and the Junior Ghostbusters had a girl among them. Plus, Extreme Ghostbusters has a woman, and the IDW comics have multiple women busting ghosts. That said, I would have appreciated just one guy on the team. Bill Hader anyone? My dream cast for the film also included Emma Stone as a ghostbuster.

I’ll see this movie. I’m in. But the movie needs to wow me. It needs to make me feel like it belongs next to Ghostbusters 1 and 2 on my shelf. I’m not going to say it’s a lost cause based on the trailer, any more than I’d say it’s an instant win based on the trailer. I’ve seen too many great trailers for clunkers and terrible trailers for fantastic movies to ever base my entire opinion on what amounts to 2 minutes of a much longer motion picture.