Ghostbusters comeback
“Ghostbusters: Legacy” on ZDF
Trevor (Finn Wolfhard, l.), his sister Phoebe (Mckenna Grace, M.) and Podcast (Logan Kim) in a scene from “Ghostbusters: Legacy” photo
© Kimberley French/ZDF/dpa
Not every revival of an old cinema hit succeeds: But it works in “Ghostbusters: Legacy”. Director Jason Reitman tells the story of his father Ivan Reitman in an original way.
The more uncomfortable the present, the rosier the past often appears. 40 years ago the “Ghostbusters” was a huge hit in the cinema – oh, cozy 80s. In 2021, the science fiction fantasy comedy “Ghostbusters: Legacy” came to the cinema as a sequel to “Ghostbusters – The Ghostbusters” (1984) and “Ghostbusters II” (1989). ZDF is now showing this retro comedy as a free TV premiere – on Wednesday at prime time (March 20th, 8:15 p.m.).
And the 80s film hit stays in the family, so to speak: director Jason Reitman seamlessly follows on from his father Ivan Reitman’s (1946-2022) successful comedy. The result is not a tired imitation, but a charming and well-cast continuation.
Despite all the nostalgia, the film impresses with believable characters: Reitman Jr. tells the story of a dysfunctional family. Single mother Callie (Carrie Coon) is broke and moves with her two children Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) into her dead father’s eerie house in a town in Oklahoma. The precocious Phoebe (“I’m a scientist!”) is in constant conflict with her mother, while the older Trevor finally wants to fall in love.
Then the two kids find their grandfather’s remains in the haunted house. Meanwhile, the earth in the provincial town is shaking more and more often. Finally the wild hunt for the lightning-fast ghosts begins. The family is supported by Phoebe’s nerdy classmate Podcast (Logan Kim) and the cool teacher Mr. Grooberson (Paul Rudd), who is also dating lonely mother Callie.
The ambience in the province is nostalgic with a jukebox and roller skating diner. There is nothing digital here. Then Trevor finds a dusty Cadillac in the garage, the legendary “Ecto-1”, and the ghost hunt can begin.
The funny marshmallow men quickly scurry through the supermarket shelves again. And there is also a reunion with the now very gray ghost hunters from 1984: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson.
They come to the aid of the young ghost hunters in their crumpled combat fatigues with bulky backpacks and monstrous weapons. And the fourth member of the group sends greetings from the afterlife: Harold Ramis, who died in 2014, is being reanimated as a good grandfather ghost thanks to computer technology. Even the nastiest characters will soon no longer have a chance.