Ghostbusters (1984)

Directed by Ivan Reitman

Released June 8, 1984

Written by Dan Aykroyd & Harold Ramis

Movie Synopsis Courtesy of IMDB

"Three former parapsychology professors set up shop as a unique ghost removal service."

This movie is one of the classics from the 1980s. There are very few people who haven't seen this movie, even though it was released over 30 years ago. It is a classic that caused a sequel and a remake in 2016. While you can never live up to the original, having a remake of a movie normally shows just how popular the film is. ( I have already ranted about how I feel about remakes, so that is all I am going to say about that).

It is also easy to see that this movie has a cult following because they have their own theme song! The title track of this movie didn't only help amplify the movie when it was first released, but it has helped Ghostbusters stay relevant all these years. People still play this song every Halloween and the lyrics are quoted anytime that a comment about ghosts is brought up. This movie is a prime example for how music is just as important in a film as the script. Music helps to carry the film and without it, you would lose the feel and the emotion for a lot of films.

Speaking of ghosts...does anyone else find it strange that the term ghost is used very loosely in this movie? I mean there are easily two different kinds of ghosts in this movie, plus other activity that is more supernatural than actually ghosts. You have ghosts, like the first one we see, that looks true to a human ghost. Then there is the creature ghosts. The colorful blobs and weird things that don't look like a ghost of anything. Then on top of that, there are all the supernatural spirits. People getting possessed, turning into dog like monsters, and creatures coming from another realm. To me, most of that didn't seem like ghosts, it just felt unworldly. 

With all of these ghosts running around, you would think that Bill Murray's character would care more about the job he is doing. It seems like in every scene he changes how he feels about all of this ghost stuff. Sometimes he thinks there are no such things as ghost, then he is trying to start a company that finds ghosts, then he goes and doesn't take anyone serious about what they are calming is happening, and other times he seems like he could care less about anything. It just is a strange dynamic that he is so unsure and uncommitted to ghost busting.

One thing that really bothered me in this movie was Ernie Hudson's character. There was no point to his character, he didn't need to be there. He barely has any lines and his character doesn't add anything to the group that they didn't already have. I don't understand why they had his character in the first place. 

One of my favorite scenes in this movie was when the Ghostbusters were fighting with the Mayor and the EPA guy.

I wish the guys wouldn't have been so hard on Ray. Having the Stay Puft Marshmallow guy as the last "ghost" that they have to defeat is not that bad! Honestly, I think that is one of the best things they could have had to fight. Because unlike a creature, a person, or animal, the marshmallow is just that, a marshmallow. He can't move that fast, he doesn't have claws or breaths fire. He really is a very low-key villain to defeat. And, they even get a snack afterwards .

Janine Melnitz: "Do you believe in UFOs, astral projections, mental telepathy, ESP, clairvoyance, spirit photography, telekinetic movement, full trance mediums, the Loch Ness monster and the theory of Atlantis?"

Winston Zeddemore: "Ah, if there's a steady paycheck in it, I'll believe anything you say."