Ghostbusters (2016) * * *

Directed by:  Paul Feig

Starring:  Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Andy Garcia, Neil Casey, Bill Murray, Chris Hemsworth

I admit the trailer to the reimagined Ghostbusters with female leads did not look promising.     I scoffed.    Not because of some misguided belief that the original film is a Holy Grail in filmmaking and a remake is akin to heresy, but because I was not a fan of director Feig's earlier efforts.    Bridesmaids, Spy, and The Heat averaged 1.67 stars between the three.    (That's two stars for Bridesmaids and Spy, plus one for The Heat).     Remakes and reboots are so common in Hollywood anymore that complaining about them is as futile as complaining about the weather.     It just is and we must accept it.     I liked the original Ghostbusters plenty and I enjoyed Ghostbusters II (1989), although that puts me in the minority.    

This version has a charm of its own.     It is not a remake as much as a reimagining.     The cast does not strain for laughs, but the laughs come from within the characters.     None of the ladies turns into a foul loudmouth.     They retain a certain sweetness and likability.     Yes, there is lots of slime, but at least someone isn't assaulted with bodily fluids.    There is surely the temptation to try and outdo the original film or aim for the lowbrow, but this version wisely avoids both.     Those who disliked Ghostbusters attacked it with a savagery reserved for early 2000's Ben Affleck movies.     But, I'm not here to review their reviews, I'm here to provide my own.    

The four principals are Dr. Erin Gilbert (Wiig), a Columbia science professor looking for tenure and disavowing anything to do with a book on ghosts she wrote years ago with her then-friend Dr. Abby Yates (McCarthy).    Yates and her lab partner Jillian Holtzman (McKinnon) have created technology which would help track ghosts.     Patty Tolan (Jones), a Manhattan subway worker who saw a ghost on the tracks, is the fourth and joins the other three later.     Erin, Abby, and Jillian investigate rumors of a haunted house and after confirming the presence of supernatural beings, go into the ghostbusting business.     They set up shop right above the Chinese restaurant that is forever shortchanging the number of won tons in Abby's soup.     More ghosts are sighted and a malevolent outcast hotel janitor (Casey) is helping to unleash them on the world.

The ladies hire a stud receptionist named Kevin (Hemsworth), who is dumber than a box of rocks, but stirs up lustful feelings in Erin.    He wears glasses without the lens not as a fashion statement, but because the lenses kept getting dirty.     Answering the phone is quite the challenge for him.     The movie is able to milk some pretty inventive laughs out of Kevin's stupidity.    The Ghostbusters make headlines after battling malicious ghosts at a rock concert (much to Ozzy Osbourne's consternation), but are soon asked to admit being frauds by the mayor (Garcia), who has federal agents working undercover on the disturbances and doesn't want the cover disturbed.     Or at least I think that was the play.  

Jillian is the techno geek of the four, forever gleefully inventing gadgets on the fly to battle the ghosts.    The proton packs the Ghostbusters carry act as laser lassos to trap the spirits.    And there is no mention of an apocalypse if the streams were ever crossed.     Of the four, McKinnon is the scene stealer.    She wears giant goggles and really gets into DeBarge's Rhythm of the Night, (although she thinks it's by Devo).     She perks our interest without even trying.    Emotions escape from her as if there is no more where that came from, which is sublimely fascinating.     I'd like to know what she does in her leisure hours.    Wiig more or less plays it straight, although she is really cute when she sets eyes on Kevin.    McCarthy, refreshingly, never reverts to being a mean potty mouth she defaults to in other films.     Jones is the most vocal, no-nonsense member of the group.    The good thing, no one tries to outdo each other in the name of cheap laughs.     Each stays in her lane.   

I am happy I gave Ghostbusters a shot.    The perky, underdog ladies battle the ghosts (and the evil janitor) and I found myself caring about them, which is how good comedies work.     If the people are interesting, then the rest works itself out.     There are cameos by Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts from the original that don't distract.     Even the Sta-Puft marshmallow man returns in the climactic battle.     I can honestly say I'd like to see more of these Ghostbusters, but the scathing critical reviews and underwhelming box office may make this unlikely.    But, you never know in Hollywood.