One of the 5 funniest films ever!

Rating: 10/10 (27 July 2008)

I recently posted on one of the boards here my top 5 comedies ever and GHOSTBUSTERS made the list. And this was not some off-the-top-of-my-head choice b/c I couldn't think of anything else. It was solid! I hadn't seen the film in a while, but it remained fresh in my memory as being utterly funny and special. Being an 80s movie, it's got that general 80s vibe going (for it, IMHO). But yet it doesn't feel or seem nearly as dated as a lot of 80s movies, I think mainly b/c of how amazing the special effects are and how plain funny it is. I think the special effects are the key: they make GHOSTBUSTERS seem otherworldly, like you are watching a parallel universe version of New York City, but still New York. It's just different from the typical 80s movie, not just in terms of plot, but also in terms of look, tone, and feel.
GHOSTBUSTERS is just plain funny. At the heart of all the humor is one Mr. Bill Murray. The man is a comic genius! He's so smarmy, sardonic, and cocksure that he exudes hilarity. These so-called comic actors nowadays have barely a speck of the comic delivery and timing that Murray possesses. It's really kind of sad b/c Murray should have been getting Oscar nods for stuff like GHOSTBUSTERS, not LOST IN TRANSLATION. It's a shame that a great comic actor has to resort being in dramatic hogwash in order to get recognized by the bozos at the Academy Awards!
Murray has sterling support in the form of Dan Ackroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Annie Potts, Rick Moranis, and Ernie Hudson. Actually, Ackroyd and Ramis wrote the screenplay for GHOSTBUSTERS and have spun a confident yarn. It's amazing that they can believably deliver these lines with straight faces! "Gozer"! "the Keymaster"! "Zhoul!" The director Ivan Reitman has done a superlative job. The climactic ending is one of the best ever put to screen. Many comedies, heck movies in general, tend to fall apart in the 3rd act, but not GHOSTBUSTERS. The conclusion is just as satisfying as the first part of the film.
One of the funniest, most confident films that you will ever see in any genre! GHOSTBUSTERS!