Ghostbusters

“Before there was ‘Casper"...before there was ‘Men in Black’, there were only ‘Ghostbusters’”. As a kid, my introduction to the Ghostbusters was the Saturday morning cartoon “The Real Ghostbusters”. Thus, the theme song “Ghostbusters” became a part of my life early on. For a time, I even thought the cartoon came before the movies. As I grew up, I started to understand the humor of the film but the heroic nature of the characters I had of them as a child remained. I feel that “Ghostbusters” legitimized a genre that includes films like “Men in Black”, “Tremors” and “Armageddon”: that of the epic comedy or science fiction comedy. The film can be compared with “Raiders of the Lost Ark” but instead of bringing together two of the greatest film storytellers, we are seeing some of the greatest comedians and comedic filmmakers in one project. Not only is the film funny but it also has its scary moments and a lot of thought was put into the science aspect of it.

“Ghostbusters” utilizes the entertaining story model of the unlikely hero, or in this case heroes. The Ghostbusters are amateurs at what they do, being the first paranormal exterminators to use science, and they are established realistically at the start of the film as university professors. During their first call to the hotel, it is obvious that they are just learning. Then they are called upon to save the world. Liken it unto pest exterminators being asked to fight a 75-foot bug destroying a city. The film also uses the story motif of a group of different individuals who work together on a quest. Peter Venkman is the sarcastic, wise-cracking member of the team but he is the leader of the group which is unique. Egon Spengler is the brains and the straight man. He contrasts enough with the other characters that he is funny himself. Ray Stantz is the heart and Winston represents the average, cool New Yorker or the rookie. These four men create a functional but funny team that end up doing great things. Etco 1 is practically a character in the film for me because of how iconic it has become. It exits from the Ghostbusters' headquarters like a superhero during the first call that the Ghostbusters get. The siren is unique because I have heard many like it but not exactly like it. As a child, I was more concerned about Ecto 1 during the climax of the film than the main characters. Now that the film is a beloved comedy, the opening scene almost makes you cheer once the librarian screams and you hear Ray Parker Jr.’s Oscar-nominated song. The movie is cleverly written in such a way that when it comes to the initial occurrence in Dana’s apartment, we can’t tell just how this scene will effect the rest of the movie. Are we just being introduced to new characters or is Zuul going to be the villain in the movie? Only later in the film do we understand exactly what is going on. The film is not as predicable as some comedies. The romantic angle between Peter and Dana is also handled well in that at the start of the movie, we don’t think there is any chance of them ending up together. The movie has too many funny moments to name every one of them in one sitting but there are some that must be mentioned. The Ghostbusters commercial is very cheesy and funny. The first call is such an amazing sequence. It is probably one of the most iconic moments in a science fiction comedy. The three guys have almost no idea what they are doing. I love the line from the maid, “What the hell are you doing?” because you can’t see her mouth saying the line. Slimer is cartoony when compared with other ghosts in the film but that is his purpose. The special effects used to bring him to life are still impressive for the time. I love how Pete gets out his pen and pad when it comes time for the hotel to pay up. I also love how Egon silently tells Peter with his fingers how much to charge. They can charge anything they want when you think about it because they have a monopoly on the ghostbusting market. I mean, who else is the hotel “gonna call?”

Mostly due to the use of the theme song, I love the montage as the Ghostbusters become famous and busy. After the montage during Winston’s first scene, the headquarters has gone from new and clean to messy and busy. It is a good use of set design and decoration to tell the story. We later understand why the Ghostbusters are so busy and it isn’t good news. Some good news however is that Dana becomes a silent fan of the Ghostbusters, being their first client and all. After Peter is famous, Dana still sees him as odd but starts to see the humor in that. He is less phony and that is probably the reason why she reluctantly agrees to a date. I like Pete’s reaction to Dana being possessed. He knows that she is possessed but is having a little trouble resisting her new look and attitude. I love the line “What a lovely singing voice you must have.” When Pete tells the men not to shut off the containment grid, we can tell he is serious. The fact that Peter is serious for once tells us that this is not going to go well if Peck gets his way. I chuckle however at how Egon, Peter and Janine move towards the stairs. It is funny that Dana and Lewis after being possessed end up sharing a kiss where as before, Dana couldn’t stand Lewis. When the Key Master and Gate Keeper finally meet, we laugh but we also know that it isn’t good news in the story. I love Peter’s funny line: “You will have saved the lives of millions of registered voters.” It leads nicely into the climax. The Ghostbusters enter the apartment building heroically but then the film cuts to them tired and worn out as they climb the endless stairs. Editing and music provide the humor in that moment and that shot looking up the stairwell interestingly enough looks like the album cover of a famous band. I enjoy the call back to the scene in the library when Peter says, “Go get her, Ray.” Another heroic moment for the Ghostbusters is when they prepare their proton packs in a counterattack on Gozer. Again, the music really helps with the mood. The diminuendo has some great moments. I love how Peter is the only one not covered completely in marshmallow. The film has a lot of “exclamation points” to end it such as Winston’s line “I love this town”, the theme song, Slimer and “Cleanin’ Up the Town” during the start of the end credits.

The cast & creators are some the best comedians of the time and the movie has other aspects that make it special. The cast is full of “Saturday Night Live” alumni. With the exception of Rick Moranis, “Ghostbusters” was my first introduction to every actor staring in it. Bill Murray easily leads the show after John Belushi died during the writing phase. Murray improvises much of his dialogue and I feel that was a key part in the film success. When you can exercise that kind of freedom, the final product is special. It is wonderful that Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis are staring in the film, playing characters they created. When you look at the list of considered actors for the part of Egon, the only one that I feel could have matched Ramis’ performance was Christopher Lloyd. At the same time, I feel that the straight man angle would have been lost had Lloyd been in the film. The contrast that Ramis brought to the team was perfect. Sigourney Weaver's persona from “Alien” gave the film the fear aspect that it needed. I can somewhat imagine John Candy as Lewis because the character was written for him but Rick Moranis made the character his own. I love how Reginald VelJohnson shows up as the cop at the jail by the way. Ivan Reitman was very qualified to direct this film and I love his final product. For the first time in the blockbuster era that began in 1975 with “Jaws”, we have a comedy film with legitimate special effects. Even though the effects can be cartoony at times, it is for the purpose of the story and not because of neglect. The climax for example has amazing effects for the time. Interestingly enough, we are laughing at sight of the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man but not because of any cheesiness in the special effects as you might expect; it is because of the idea of a 75-foot mascot destroying New York. The effects look great as seen through 1980's eyes. The idea of paranormal exterminators is not new because we have such films as “The Exorcist”. Even Abbot & Costello and Mickey Mouse have undertaken this in the genre of comedy. So what makes “Ghostbusters” different? Part of the reason is the serious approach to the scientific aspect. Aykroyd is obviously intrigued by the subject and knows a lot about it. You can tell that by the script. Also the props have a lot of thought put into them like the proton packs. The uniforms of the Ghostbusters are very plain but cool at the same time for some reason. The Ghostbusters changed the persona of any kind of exterminator. Suddenly, pest control outfits became or started to look cool at least to me. Elmer Bernstein is unsung master of musical scores in Hollywood and his score for this movie portrays both comedy and terror in a nice blend.

Apparently, New York was excited for “Ghostbusters” because they kept seeing the car and the logo during production. Busy streets were also shut down during filming. The city was not disappointed with the final film. I am glad that I got to see this movie in a theater as part of a summer event. I am also happy by the fact that the film is co-written by a Canadian and that the first drafts were written in Canada. “Ghostbusters” is #28 on the American Film Institute’s list of greatest comedies and my favorite film of 1984. Beside the nomination for Best Song at the Oscars, it was also nominated for Best Visual Effects. The movie is smart, frightening at times and very funny. It had a lot of talented people involved. The movie also contains wisdom. For example, “when someone asks you if you’re a God, you say YES!”

4.5 Stars