Ghostbusters (1984) Columbia/Comedy-Horror RT: 105 minutes Rated PG (language, crude references, sexual material, frightening scenes) Director: Ivan Reitman Screenplay: Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis Music: Elmer Bernstein Cinematography: Laszlo Kovacs Release date: June 8, 1984 (US) Cast: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, William Atherton, David Marguiles, Slavitza Jovan, Alice Drummond, Jennifer Runyon, Steven Tash, Michael Ensign, Jordan Charney, Reginald VelJohnson. Box Office: $241.8M (US)
Rating: ****
Who you gonna call? If you know the answer, then you probably grew up in the 80s. In the summer of ’84, there wasn’t a kid alive that didn’t automatically reply, “Ghostbusters!” upon hearing the question.
It comes from the hit comedy film Ghostbusters starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis as a trio of wacky scientists who open a paranormal extermination business after losing their jobs at Columbia University. It’s an exception to the general rule stating that big budget special effects tend to destroy comedies. It’s a tricky proposition putting together such a film. Special effects require a lot of detail-oriented work while comedies require spontaneity. Many times, the two things just don’t mesh. Look at what happened with Steven Spielberg’s 1941 (1979). Personally, I liked it. But it’s definitely flawed. The mayhem and destruction ultimately overpower the movie’s comedic aspects.
That doesn’t happen in Ghostbusters. Director Ivan Reitman (Stripes) blends two distinct genres- special effects-oriented horror and dialogue-oriented comedy- into a seamless whole. He doesn’t skimp on either one either. The effects are fantastic and the comedy hilarious. There’s a very good reason that Ghostbusters spent most of the summer at the top of the box office charts.
Dr. Peter Venkman (Murray in one of his best roles) sees science as something of a hustle while his colleagues, Dr. Ray Stantz (Aykroyd) and Dr. Egon Spengler (Ramis), are obsessed with proving that ghosts exist by capturing one. After they’re tossed out of Columbia for doing nothing of value, they open the aforementioned ghost extermination business. They develop high-tech equipment (basically nuclear accelerators in back-pack form) capable of capturing ghosts which they deposit in special containment units back at home base (an old firehouse).
At first, people think they’re a joke. That changes after they successfully deal with a paranormal situation at a fancy hotel. Paranormal activity increases in New York and their work load becomes so heavy that they hire additional help in the form of Winston Zeddemore (Hudson, The Crow).
Venkman is interested in hooking up with concert cellist Dana Barrett (Weaver, Alien), a client who hires them to investigate strange goings-on in her apartment. It’s connected to the origin of the high-rise building she lives in as is the ongoing paranormal activity in the city. Opposition arises in human form in the shape of arrogant EPA lawyer Walter Peck (Atherton, Die Hard) who insists they shut down their containment system immediately. They refuse. He returns with a court order. The system gets shut down and all hell breaks loose in the Big Apple. It’s up to the Ghostbusters to save the day and the entire city from complete annihilation.
One of the many great things about Ghostbusters is the willingness of the cast to stand back and let Murray steal the show. Rarely has one movie contained so much quotable dialogue. Most of it comes courtesy of Murray. It appears as though Reitman allowed him to ad-lib which just infuses his lines with a greater sense of spontaneity. When a possessed Dana comes on to him, he tells her “I make it a rule never to get involved with possessed people.” When she gets really passionate, he follows up by saying, “Actually, it’s more of a guideline than a rule.” There are too many great Murray lines to choose from so here’s my favorite line in the entire movie, one I still use to this day.
Egon: “I’m terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought.”
Murray may be the center of attention in Ghostbusters, but the rest of the cast have their moments as I just expressed above. A great supporting cast includes Rick Moranis (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids) as an annoying nerdy neighbor who has the hots for Dana. Somehow he knows when she’s walking down the hall. Annie Potts (Pretty in Pink) plays Janine the smart-mouthed, no-nonsense receptionist who claims to have quit better jobs. Weaver is great in her first full-fledged comedic role (no, I’m not counting the miserable Deal of the Century!). She’s kind of the straight woman to the antics of Murray and company. She’s also smoking HOT! It’s an all-too-rare case of a cast in possession of flawless chemistry.
The special effects are phantasmagorical! Some of them are positively mind-blowing. It’s amazing what can be done on a $30M budget. It was a lot of money 40 years ago, but it’s a mere drop in the well these days. Once again, I must point out that Ghostbusters looks infinitely better than the CGI-heavy vehicles that have come to define 21st century moviegoing. The apparitions look very real to me, but in a comical sense. I’m partial to the little transparent green ghost (aka “Slimer”).
The screenplay by Aykroyd and Ramis is both intelligent and well-written. The plot is rather nonsensical, but makes sense in an absurdist sense. By now, we all know what happens in the climax, so I won’t feel bad about discussing the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, a gigantic manifestation of an evil god of destruction. How it comes to be is fascinating albeit silly. The writers don’t feel the need to dumb it down in making it easy to understand. The scientific explanations regarding paranormal phenomena sound plausible because the characters are intelligent. They state dubious facts with such conviction that even non-believers might take pause to rethink their own beliefs in such matters.
I’m glad the makers put so much effort into Ghostbusters. It’s visually impressive and riotously funny. It even has a bouncy theme song by Ray Parker Jr. that’s still fun to listen to. All the hard work put into it paid off in spades. It’s easily one of the best summer movies of the 80s. They just don’t make ‘em like this anymore. Seriously, they don’t. NONE of the sequels have come close to recapturing the magic of the original.
