Ghostbusters Review: 6 Ups And 4 Downs
5. The Gender Politics Are Front And Centre (And Work)
OK, let’s address the Stay Puft Marshallow Man in the room. The gender-swap recasting is far from the end of the movie’s politics. Like Paul Feig’s other films, this is very much about where women fit in modern society, and it’s pulling no punches. We see how they’re treated in the scientific community (and the film has a nice undercurrent of scientific method versus scientific glory) and as celebrities, and it's with resistance.
That’s right – the movie is about the backlash, viewing it in the cold light of day with a mixture of punching-back and derision. Some of the more targeted jokes – and there’s a lot - were probably added in after the casting reaction, but the movie is intrinsically built on how people would react to a female Ghostbusters and asking what that says about all parts of society. That’s… really quite smart.