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Doesn't Anybody Mind Ivan Reitman?

By Miscellaneous | | January 13, 2010 |

By Miscellaneous | | January 13, 2010 |


I like to play devil’s advocate sometimes, and so I’ll always take an opportunity to disagree with Dustin solely for the purpose of introducing a Blog Trends roundup. But this time it’s easy. I have nothing bad to say about Ivan Reitman and I look forward to his fourth take on the Ghostbusters franchise.

Yes, fourth, because I’ve always accepted Evolution as basically a remake of Ghostbusters, only with aliens — or whatever you’d consider them — rather than ghosts.

Maybe it helps that I’ve never seen My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Fathers’ Day, Six Days Seven Nights or Junior. All I know is Dave is the best Shakespearean comedy sort of political satire ever made (I think). And, though I’ll certainly get a lot of shit for saying this, I like Twins more than Stripes. Seriously, what’s funny about a bootcamp farce that’s more LOL than the idea of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito being twins? Actually, what movie idea before or since Twins has been more LOL? That’s right, none.

Reitman’s surely a better choice than Judd Apatow, who’d put the Ghostbusters deeper into a four-way bromance, or Ivan’s son Jason Reitman, who’d probably have Slimer speaking in lame, writerly Juno-speak.

Here are some bloggers who, like Dustin, fear the return of Reitman:

  • Mark at I Watch Stuff:
    Yes, the director of the previous Ghostbusters films is directing the next one. So let’s try to be excited that the old crew is back together, while somehow trying to forget that the last film Reitman directed was… god, My Super Ex-Girlfriend? Couldn’t we get David Gordon Green to do this instead?
  • The Playlist:
    Geeks seem to be excited about this confirmation, but we’ll remind everyone that Reitman’s last directorial gig yielded, “My Super Ex-Girlfriend” in 2006 and there hasn’t been a great film since 1993’s “Dave” with Kevin Kline (yes, “great” is relative here).
  • Vince Mancini at FilmDrunk:
    I like Bill Murray as much as the next guy, but Ghostbusters seems like the epitome of a movie that could only work in the 80s — Yeah, yeah, and then there’s like this ghost. But not like, like a human ghost, but like this big ball of slime that gets snot on everything… *snorts another line* — so I’m not sure why they’d choose to make a sequel now. Reitman of course directed the first two Ghostbusterses back in the 80s, but is perhaps best known for the 1997 classic, Father’s Day. Haha, a tie for a mustache, good one, Robin!
  • Lane Brown at Vulture:
    Lest you feared that Ghostbusters 3 might not live up to the original 1984 film or its 1989 sequel, Ivan Reitman has confirmed that he’ll return to direct. We’re keeping our expectations low, though, until Rick Moranis signs on.

And here are a bunch who, like me, are celebrating (well, I wouldn’t go as far as to say I’m celebrating. Mostly I’m just like blah, and eh. But I’m not complaining is the point):

  • Neil Miller at Film School Rejects:
    For now there should be some rejoicing, as Reitman is clearly still the man for the job. As producer and director of the first two Ghostbusters films, he built an enduring franchise and delivered characters that are unarguably iconic. If speculation holds up and the cast returns, there’s no doubt that Ghostbusters 3 has a shot at fitting in perfectly with two already-classic comedies.
  • Paul Young at ScreenRant:
    This is fantastic news for fans of the franchise. Ghostbusters is one of the classic comedy films of the 80’s, and even though Ghostbusters 2 wasn’t quite up to the same standard, it did have its high points *cough Sigourney Weaver in her bra cough*
  • Sean Dwyer at Film Junk:
    Today is a good day to be a Ghostbusters fan. […] All in all, I’d say this is great news, even though Ivan Reitman’s most recent film, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, was pretty uninspired.
  • Katey Rich at Cinema Blend:
    Presumably we won’t really know anything for sure until the screenplay is finished, but at least with Reitman officially on board, we know the franchise will stay in the good hands it started with (yes, we’re forgetting My Super Ex-Girlfriend for the time being).
  • Peter Hall at Cinematical:
    Good news, everybody! […] I’m sure that Columbia pictures would like the new film to function as a possible gateway for further films, but with Reitman and friends all coming back for it, we can at least rest assured that it won’t solely be a passing of the torch.
  • Alex Billington at FirstShowing.net:
    Give or take the new screenwriters, it looks like the whole family is back again for Ghostbusters 3. We’ve known for a while Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, and even Rick Moranis, would be back, but now I think it’s time to cast the newcomers. At least we know this will be in good hands!
  • Devin Faraci at CHUD.com:
    All of this is, I guess, good news. Not that I think Ghostbusters 3 is good news. And looking back at Reitman’s filmography, I notice that he directed a grand total of three films actually worth owning on home video, with most of the rest of his history filled with movies you might stick with for a half hour on TBS. So it’s not quite like Reitman is an infallible god, and he’s really 1 for 2 on the Ghostbusters films.

    Still, if it’s going to get fucked up I’d rather see it get fucked up by the original guys. There’s some sort of dignity in that for me.