Maybe the hate towards the actresses was something superficial like half of them being loud and overweight, none of them are sex symbols. Anything I see Melissa McCarthy on the cover on I'm not interested in the film at all or I just don't care about her.
I think the stars and Feig shot themselves in the foot when they started attacking the audience by accusing everyone of being sexist etc before anyone had even said anything about the film. Once they did that it was all down hill.
Not to mention no one wanted this film. What they wanted was a sequel with the originals not a remake/reboot whatever the hell this was meant to be.
The cast lacking chemistry didn't help either.
The cast look like they belong in a romantic comedy type of movie.
Calling everyone a sexist is like if you made an OK film with an all black cast and blamed it's failure on racism.
If you want a female lead in a genre it's always better to go with a guy/girl cast.
Everyone was against a remake/reboot because the original was something that really can't be improved upon.
The original was brilliant due to the chemistry of the cast in my opinion. They managed to make a feature film out of what could have been a silly SNL skit. It couldn't have been remade any better with an all male cast.
The white women look Rom Com, the big black woman, I don't know, I recall her rants on twitter in regards to all of this and she just comes across as loud and angry. I saw some of her "comedy" routines and they are also just angry.
I don't think anger as a creative shtick works well for women. When men do it, they can infuse some humour and frustration into it. When women do it, it just comes off naggy and over bearing.
Think there were things about the original cast that didn't quite translate to women very well, some of them feel like generic male types and it just feels awkward and clunky having women behave like that.
shareI only ever watched the two trailers but from that it looked like the women weren't playing off each other like the original cast did. They are just delivering these really unfunny lines and hoping for the best.
shareThe trailer really killed it for people since it was really badly cut.
shareI still recall the drama on the IMDB forum the threads probably still exist here. The true believers of this film were crying "Oh but it's a trailer, of course they won't show you all the best parts!"
Ummmm... yeah that is kind of the point of a trailer. To entice you.
I think the lack of congruity to the original and unrealistic depiction of women was pretty obvious in the trailer, and showed the visual effects were too Disney compared to the original where the ghost effects were a lot more grotesque and demonic.
shareI felt like they were trying so hard to avoid stereotypical female characters that they failed to make the characters recognisably feminine. I think that's why the characters felt like they were developed as generic male characters and then awkwardly "translated" into female characters. The female characters did not feel in the least bit familiar or relatable to me even though I AM a woman and I know tons of women. The whole film felt inauthentic. In my family we maybe managed two decent laughs for the whole film.
shareMakes sense. I'm male but just felt from the trailers (never bothered with the film) that they were going through their paces. One part from the trailer where the angry black one decides to stage dive and no one catches her she falls flat on her face "is it a black thing or a woman thing?" she asks.
Neither. It is a you're too bloody big thing!
I know what you mean about them not seeming authentic. For me it was unauthentic as Ghostbusters, they seemed more like they were playing dress up.
Tonally it was like a rom com where the original was a lot more scary.
I think a guy/girl team would've been better from a marketing or comedic standpoint.
I think they messed up with the cast for a start. Also they didn't seem to know themselves if they were going for a remake, a reboot or a sequel they seemed to try and do all three. They could have done it all so much better. A mixed team, drop the whole girl power shit, include the originals in their original characters.
I think they just got it wrong before they even started filming and then attacking people for not liking it or criticizing it just killed it right off.
The original cast handing over the Ghost busting reigns to a mixed sex team is what fans wanted.
Think attacking people for hating or criticising it was the most damaging to the movie along with the trailers which were pretty badly put together.
It was doomed from the get go and a large reason for it was a third movie being in development hell for so long.
shareWritten by someone who doesn't understand women or hates stereotypical female characters because it's degrading to women.
They aren't the type of women who guys would wanna date.
The all female aspect was a gimmick, it's like doing an all black production of Hamlet.
They aren't the type of women who guys would wanna date.
IRRELEVANT...OTHERWISE I AGREE WITH YOUR POST.
The original cast probably weren't that attractive either to women. But they were realistic portrayals of types of men. Murray/Venkman - the Playboy on a budget, a sleaze and cynic but charming in his own way. Akroyd/Stantz - the fanatical nerd, Ramis/Spengler - the straight man, Hudson/Zeddemore the guy who just wants a job and doesn't care what he does!
You can relate to all of them because perhaps you are one or know one. The characters in this film just seem one dimensional. And lack chemistry.
Would an all female team work if they had realistic depictions of women? Maybe if you got different writers or actresses.
The characters and actresses look like they belong in a generic romantic comedy. Aside from Kristen Wiig none of the actresses are mega popular with male viewers.
Maybe, Oceans 8 flopped but again was that poor casting, a worn out franchise, girl power nonsense? I haven't seen it so I don't know, but then I thought the male Ocean's films sucked as well.
I think there is a possibility that it could have worked. Maybe.
1/ Original Ghostbuster's in the film, working mostly in the lab their daughters in the field. Or a mix of the both. But I think having the original guys to some extent is key the "handing over" that you mention in another post. Would also work with a mix of sons and daughters as just having daughters is kind of cliche and Woke.
2/ Drop the Girlpower shit. It will just alienate 50% or more of your audience and it provides no relevance or enhancement to the story.
3/ An actual funny cast with chemistry. Actresses who are fans of the original films. I can see the angry black woman or the fattest white one watching Ghostbusters and liking it. They are just there for the ride and it shows.
4/ Writers and a director who like the original series. Unlike this one.
I don't think all the women have to be "hotties" but just women that a realistic and that you want to know. That is the key part of so many male based films, you want to hang out with the guys.
Female versions of things sell better as a hero's work colleague or distant relative.
If you want a female Ghostbuster a goth girl like Kylie from Extreme Ghostbusters or a nerdy girl Ariel Winter/Alex from Modern Family, if it was twenty years ago Janeane Garofalo.
If you want men on the team Chris Pratt and Bill Hader.
You would want actresses to be slim so they can run fast.
You don't need to be fat and ugly to be funny, look at the women in Modern Family they're not hideous.
Definitely needed a younger/more happening cast. As has been mentioned the cast is just wrong, men don't want to date them and women don't want to be them. They are middle aged and look and act it.
Could have some unknown's as well as long as they fit the cool nerdy factor required.
Chris Pratt would make a great Ghostbuster, I thought Hemsworth had fun hamming it up. Hugh Jackman would also work. It's easy with the men, men tend to behave that way, just having fun, half arsing things like contraptions that catch ghosts. To do the same with women you need actresses who have that self deprecating kind of humour without going into the gutter like Schumer who would also turn it into some kind of Feminist fest.
I think Amy Adams could work as well as Isla Fisher as well as the ones you mentioned.
Think having having them all women really didn't matter it's the quality that matters, the all female cast did feel like they making it for a female ordinate audience which probably alienated movie goers and may had resulted in it's lukewarm reception.
Needed younger cast to appeal to a younger wider demographic like teens in the upcoming film or in their 20's and 30's. A genre movie starring four middle aged women was never going to be an easy sell with any major demographic especially when half of the actresses are huge draws at the box office.
I'm not sure the likes of any of the 2016 actresses inspired any huge enthusiasm to see it.
shareAlso Allison Brie would be ideal.
shareLauren Ash from Superstore would've been ideal if you wanted a girl buster.
shareNAIL ON THE HEAD...WITH ONE MINOR CAVEAT...I LOVED KATE MCKINNON IN THE FLICK...MAYBE THATS THE MALE OF ME TALKING.
shareI have never really thought about whether anger "works" creatively for women in acting. I can see that it might, at times, but it didn't seem like it worked in this movie, that's for sure.
shareIn terms of comedy I don't think anger works for them creatively. If you look at Eddie Murphy on Beverly Hills Cop for example, he uses anger in a very funny way. He says some very serious things at times but is comedic about it. I don't think there are any female comedians/comedic actors who have managed to pull that off yet.
shareThe only actress out of the group I actually like is Kristen Wig and its rumored she hates the movie.
shareNah, that's silly.
I do think however, that Paul Feig is a terrible director and most of the main cast was pretty bad.
They're just not good actresses, imo (besides Kristen Wiig), but even if they were, nothing could've saved the movie from Feig's awful directing.
The problem was is that Feig was trying to jam a square peg into a round hole, the actresses were playing generic male types that don't quite translate to female characters very well and just feels awkward and clunky. Many of the lead actresses feel like they belong in a generic romantic comedy, no man would wanna date them and no woman would wanna be them.
shareI can only speak for myself, but that's not at all what bothered me about the film.
Not sure how they played male types, besides maybe Kate, but her character was just weird.
I haven't seen many romantic comedies, so I dunno about that, but a lot of the scenes dragged on and on and felt really out of place. It was just like all the other Paul Feig movies... boring and uninspired.
Also, you can relate to characters (or just find them interesting) without wanting to date or be them.
Feig is too worried about women's rights to make a great film.
As discussed on this thread they felt like unrealistic depictions of women probably because it was made by feminists who think they can make strong women by having behave like men. They don't have the lovability of the original cast.
I actually usually enjoy McCarthy and Wiig. I think Wiig is sexy. I just don’t think the script was at all funny. I’m not at all familiar with the other two ladies but they did nothing to elevate the material.
shareWould the script had been better if it had more man power by having an mixed cast of guys and girls? Only if you got a different writers.
shareAre you suggesting I would have liked it more if it just had more men?
shareMaybe.
The all female female aspect felt like it was being made for a female ordinated audience which probably alienated a vast majority of audiences and may have contributed to it's lukewarm reception. A movie revolving around a concept as bizarre as ghostbusting wasn't going to appeal to enough women alone to be profitable, to be frank a genre movie starring four wacky women was never going to be an easy sell with any major demographic especially only half of the lead actresses are huge draws at the box office.
But I did intentionally seek it out in hopes of it being enjoyable.
I loved and have watched Bridesmaids a handful of times.
There's something about the original Ghostbusters made back in the 80's where an all male team enhances everything Ghostbusters, fact it was all men made it feel more natural but when you look at 2016 with all women it feels forced like many woke stuff, so there's weird things about Ghostbusters that didn't call for all women.
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