Who you gonna
call? Since 1984 there is only answer to that question: GHOSTBUSTERS! Now an
established part of pop culture, in no small part thanks to Ray Parker Junior’s
signature theme song, it was at the time one heck of a gamble. What were the
odds that a comedy/horror movie filled with some of the most expensive special
effects at the time and starring the wise-cracking comedian from Caddyshack and Stripes, one half of The Blues Brothers, and the heroine from Alien would become a massive hit? With
Canadian director Ivan Reitman at the helm and Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis on
writing duties, it turns out the odds were pretty good.
I didn’t watch Ghostbusters until sometime in the mid
90s when it was playing on TV at my grandma’s house, but before that it was
firmly ingrained in my culture. Plenty of kids could hum that earworm of a
song, the animated series was doing pretty good, and I had a horn shaped like
Slimer on my bicycle. I think I actually ended seeing Ghostbusters II before the first one, which is probably why I don’t
think it’s as bad as people say. However since I saw both movies at a very
young age, I did think they were pretty scary. It’s funny now, but when you’re
around eight years old seeing some freaky gargoyle chase poor Rick Moranis into
Central Park is close to terrifying. On the upside he later got to make out
with Sigourney Weaver.
The movie’s MVP
is of course Bill Murray as the unethical, but charming Dr. Peter Venkman. When
first introduced he is conducting paranormal experiments on two students at
Columbia University in New York City to determine if they can read the symbols
on the cards he is hiding. If they get the wrong answer they get a small
electric shock, but what they don’t know is that he is cheating by sparing the
attractive female test subject and telling her she has a gift. Venkman does
know what he is doing when it comes to ghosts, as he and his colleagues Dr.
Raymond Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Dr. Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) encounter a
real one haunting the New York Library.
Unfortunately the
powers that be at the university have grown tired of their bizarre work and
throw them on the streets, which is when Venkman has the brainwave to go into
the private sector. As a kid I didn’t realize this, but this movie is quite the
rallying call for the small business owner. The three scientists pull their
resources together, invest their life savings in a dilapidated fire station,
and hire a secretary (Annie Potts) they can barely pay in the hopes of using
their scientific to knowledge to catch ghosts for money. Surprisingly their
entrepreneurship pays off, first with a call at an expensive hotel where green
ghost Slimer, whose appetite was based on the late John Belushi, is devouring
the room service trays.
Next thing you
know the guys are busier than ever, catching ghosts everywhere from Chinatown
to Central Park, and being interviewed by Larry King. They even have enough
funds to hire a fourth Ghostbuster, Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) who gets
to explain things for us non-scientists when a crisis of Biblical proportion
hits the city: “I’ve only been with the company for a couple of weeks, but
these things are real. Since I’ve joined these men, I’ve seen shit that’ll turn
you white.” Well, that makes things pretty clear as far I am concerned.
In addition to
having to deal with Sumerian god Gozer the Gozerian, who is entering this world
through the corner penthouse of spook central inhabited by Sigourney Weaver’s
character, the Ghostbusters must content with federal bureaucracy in the form
of William Atherton’s nosy EPA agent who thinks they are a fraud and should be
shut down. Between the successful story of small business owners and the
federal government depicted as the bad guys, Ghostbusters turned out to be a surprising rallying cry for
Republicans.
Politics aside,
it remains a hugely entertaining and unique movie. The special effects are a
bit dated of course, but the jokes aren’t. “Yes, it’s true,” says Murray of
Atherton’s character: “This man has no dick.”
For years there
have been talks of a mythical third film, and according to the latest news we
should soon see a remake starring an all female team of Ghostbusters.
Regardless of the characters’ gender, this will be a huge risk given the
cultural legacy of the original. But, the odds certainly weren’t in Reitman’s
favour when he first started shooting back in the 80s.
As long as they
honour the spirit of the original only one question should remain by the time
the credits roll: Who you gonna call?
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