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| Ghostbusters |
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 (10/10)
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Runtime: 105 |
| Public Rating: 8.58 (67 votes) |
Director: Ivan Rietman |
MPAA Rating:  |
| Genre: Horror/Comedy |
Year: 1984 |
| Writer(s): Harold Ramis & Dan Akroyd |
| Distributor: 1 |
| Reviewed by: Greg C. |
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You all know the words, so let's kick this one off by all of us singing together: "Who ya gonna call?" And you all know the answer. For those of you who DON'T know the answer, let me first say shame on you. Now let me tell you the answer: "GHOSTBUSTERS!"
Chances are, if you've seen a comedy from the 80s, you've seen Ghostbusters. The movie was a cultural phenomenon, launching both the movie and the theme song to the top of their respective charts in 1984. The movie went on to spawn a sequel, a cartoon series, and set a standard for the Horror/Comedy genre: Big laughs, big scares, and big special effects. The movie remains as the defining movie for big-budget comedies (even though it only cost 30 million to make), and many movies have tried to best it ("Men in Black", Rietman's own "Evolution"), but the formula is best mixed in this perfect movie.
The idea is simple yet original: Three college professers are kicked out of a university after their grant is pulled due to their wild experiments (in the opening scene, we see Peter Venkmen, played to perfection by Bill Murray, giving shock treatment to two people if they don't read the card he holds up, out of their eyesight, only he lets his hormones take control and never shocks the beautiful volunteer), so they form thier own company of "paranormal exterminators", called Ghostbusters. What happens is they get a call, much like a 911, they strap on their nuclear accelerators and go attempt to catch the unfriendly appartation.
Well, before they know it, New York is suddenly overrun with ghouls, spooks, spectors, and ghosts, and while this is good for buisness, it leads to something "big" on the horizon.
Now I'm not going to go any further on the plot, I'll leave it up to you. The acting in this movie has got to be one of the best ensemble comedy cast ever assembled. Bill Murray deadpans like no one else, and this is quite possibly his besy performance to date (though "Groundhog Day" and "What About Bob?" are close seconds). Dan Akroyd and Harold Ramis are good as the eccentric scientists who are just a little too wrapped up in their work, Sigourney Weaver takes a break from killing aliens to try her acting chops (to a very good extent), Annie Potts does what she does best with that annoying accent of hers, and Rick Moranis gets his first real exposure here. Ernie Hudson plays the fourth Ghostbuster (the role was intended for Eddie Murphey, who opted Beverley Hills Cop instead) who is merely intrested in the pay (and also utters the films best line: "When someone asks you if you're a God, you say 'YES!'").
The movie works on all levels. You can't help but enjoy yourself as these guys chase a green spector through a hotel, to almost no avail, and the climactic duel with a Stay-Puft Marshmellow man on top of a skyscraper is as thrilling as it is funny. This is one movie for the library.
Rated PG for violence, language and sensuality.
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