With the release of the "Ghostbusters" reboot two weeks ago, people are finally being exposed to the comic gold of Kate McKinnon. McKinnon’s character, Jillian Holtzmann, is a nuclear engineer who teams up with two paranormal investigators (played by Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy) and a subway worker (Leslie Jones) to help save New York City from a paranormal apocalypse. Her character truly showcases McKinnon’s comedic chops at their best. As one of my personal favorite comedians, it thrills me that she is finally getting a feature on the big screen.
McKinnon has been involved in sketch comedy since 2007, but her big break came when she joined the cast of " in 2012. With fantastic celebrity impressions and memorable original characters, she quickly became a fan favorite. Her impressions of Justin Bieber and Ellen DeGeneres never fail to bring me to tears from laughing. In the 2015-2016 season of "Saturday Night Live" she had a recurrent impression of Hillary Clinton that was impeccably timed with the election. Clinton herself even appeared in a sketch with McKinnon as Clinton. One of her best characters has to be a woman who was abducted by aliens (and was treated very unprofessionally) that even made Ryan Gosling break character during the show. Now she is one of the established stars of the show and likely will stay with the cast for years to come.
Fans of "Saturday Night Live"have loved her from the beginning, but now with "Ghostbusters," more and more people get to experience her wild and wacky humor. McKinnon herself says that Holtzmann is the most similar character to her actual personality that she has ever played. Holtzmann has the best one-liners of the entire movie, including a particularly hilarious bit where she refers to Pringles as “salty parabolas.” She’s the lovable weirdo who helps to break the tension and to balance the comedy of Wiig, McCarthy, and Jones.
Additionally, McKinnon has not gone unrecognized by the television community. She has been nominated for four Primetime Emmys including Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics. She also has made news as the first openly lesbian "Saturday Night Live" cast member. In the previously mentioned sketch including the real Hillary Clinton, McKinnon perfectly and not-so-subtly called out Clinton’s delay in actively and proudly supporting marriage equality.
Mainly, I am so happy that McKinnon is now receiving the publicity she deserves. The all-female "Ghostbusters" has provided a fantastic opportunity to showcase four of the best comedic actresses in the business right now. McKinnon definitely was one of the lesser known actresses when the cast was released, but I have no doubt that she is the one that moviegoers will remember.
It is my hope that this movie, combined with "Saturday Night Live" will help McKinnon’s career to grow so that we can see her even more on the big screen. Her career has the potential to be as successful as Wiig’s, but with her own sense of individuality and unforgettable style. Stay weird, Kate.