Ghostbusters (1984)
This July, we're getting a new Ghostbusters movie. I'm always wary of remakes and reboots, but it seems like this one at least has its heart in the right place. We'll see how it turns out this summer, but in the mean time, you can watch the 1984 original on Amazon Prime.
Ivan Reitman's horror-comedy is one of those movies that's had such a massive influence on American pop culture that you can't even point to one particular aspect that's become ingrained in our everyday lives. Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis' script is brilliant, the entire movie is eminently quotable, it's got a wonderful soundtrack by Elmer Bernstein and one of the most iconic theme songs ever courtesy of Ray Parker, Jr., and it features arguably career-best performances from some of the funniest people from those bygone days when SNL was funny, with a memorable supporting cast, especially Rick Moranis, William Atherton and Annie Potts. Ghostbusters is the movie I'll always think of first when I think of Bill Murray, before he entered the "melancholy bastard" phase of his career with Rushmore and Lost in Translation.
You've probably already seen it already. It's a distinct possibility that the only way you haven't seen Ghostbusters is if you've actively avoided it, somehow. It's amazing how well it all works. The actors play off of one another without missing a single beat, and it's funnier than any other three comedies I can name put together. They don't waste any time on backstory, but you get a solid sense of each character from the second they show up. Venkman is a complete and total asshole, and one of the best things about the movie is that he's basically just as much of an asshole at the end. Ray is the credulous, well-meaning paranormal scientist, Egon takes the science way too far and is completely disconnected from anything resembling reality, and the always-awesome Ernie Hudson joins the group as Winston, who's ex-military rather than an academic, but might be the only level head among the entire bunch.
Also, I can't tell you how much this movie scared the living crap out of me when I was a kid. Just look at that thing. If there's one thing that worries me about the remake, it's that CGI, in general, just isn't frightening, there's nothing "there," the fakery is more obvious, and one balancing act that Ghostbusters has always achieved very well is sharp humor juxtaposed with genuine frights. The ghosts in the original are seriously terrifying. Gozer the Traveler is a distinctly Lovecraftian entity with no true form and a set of bizarre rules by which it's summoned. There's even something fucked up and distinctly unsettling about Slimer - I think it's those beady little yellow eyes. Bleh, just look at him. Ugly little puke. Originally, this was going to be a much crazier and weirder movie, with time travel and a bunch of other stuff, and I'm glad they kept it sort of grounded in a recognizable then-present-day New York City.
On a side note, one unequivocally positive thing to come out of the hype surrounding the Ghostbusters remake is that we're apparently getting our first Hi-C Ecto Cooler juice boxes in over 15 years. Ghostbusters contributed enormously to the over-saturation of slime-fascination toys that were prevalent in the 1980s. There are a lot of things I wish kids these days (obviously, I'm shaking my cane as I say that) would have the benefit of experiencing, but the top two might be 1. arcades, and 2. slime. I had Gak, Mad Scientist, Ghostbusters Ectoplasm and half a dozen other probably-toxic slime toys when I was young, and I hope that sort of thing makes a comeback.
Available On: Amazon Prime.
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