You should always be honest with the ones you love and Ghostbusters, I truly do love you, to the depths of my ectoplasmic soul, but this is a terrible trailer.

I refuse to accept that it means that the movie dropping in July will be terrible as well since “terrible” is a pretty low depth to get to. There are details within this trailer that I know I will like in the movie but they’re drowning underneath the broad strokes of raunchy and/or obvious yet unfunny jokes, uninspired editing and footage choices, and a tone that makes it seem like this is a reboot of “The Real Ghostbusters” animated television series rather than the 1984 supernatural comedy that is constantly ranked as one of the funniest movies of all time.

The premise of the Ghostbusters franchise sounds ridiculous when you put it down on paper: disgraced scientists become paranormal exterminators who capture and trap ghosts with nuclear powered equipment that their smartest teammate created in a broken down firehouse. Their ride is also a modified ambulance from the 50s.

The genius of the 1984 and yes, even the 1989 sequel, is that the premise is treated and accepted seriously, like all good sci-fi movies do. The comedy arises out of the personalities of its characters, never the circumstances of what’s happening. Do we laugh because Bill Murray gets slimed by a ghost? No, we laugh because he’s annoyed while his teammate Dan Akroyd thinks it’s a great scientific encounter. Do we laugh because a hundred foot marshmallow man is walking down the streets of Manhattan? No, we laugh because Ray is the only one on the team who thought there was no way Mr. Stay-Puft was going to be a bad harbinger of the apocalypse.

This trailer makes it seem like Paul Feig and team never saw or understood what was appealing about the original films. Perhaps it’s unfair to compare it so strongly to its predecessors but that is exactly the risk franchise films take today. You can not add to the landscape and hope nobody pays attention to how you actually fit into it.

Or the way you actually don’t, in this case…

P.S. I love you Kate McKinnon. You’re an angel and can do no wrong. Marry me. Now.

Check out my video review below if you want to see me profess my love to my future wife Kate a bit more. Thanks!