Who you gonna call?...Ghostbusters!

Rating: 9/10 (12 June 2017)

Ghostbusters is quite simply one of my most beloved films of all time. The iconic production is a perfect marriage of a special effects extravaganza with spectacular performances to create one side- splitting gem. Bill Murray is the undeniable star and he's in top form as Dr. Peter Venkman a sly, laid back scientist with deadpan delivery that seems more concerned with dating his pretty client Dana Barrett than actually getting to the bottom of her disturbances. Sigourney Weaver nicely straddles the line between exasperated annoyance and charmed love interest. Bill Murray likewise has great camaraderie with his fellow Ghostbusters Dr. Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Dr. Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis). Those two are also responsible for writing the finely tuned screenplay. It zips, it pops and it never lets up. Ernie Hudson joins them later as Winston Zeddemore. He delivers my favorite quip after the group is blown away by the lightening bolts of an evil entity from another dimension. There is a slew of funny dialogue and Rick Moranis' nerdy portrayal of Louis Tully delivers a lot of it. He's hilarious. "Okay, who brought the dog?" he grins after hearing the growl from the long horned beast hiding in his closet. The spectacular special effects support the story, but they never threaten to overshadow the actors. The technology was state of the art at the time, even earning an Academy Award nomination. But it lost to the mine cart scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Perhaps time has rendered the optics a bit quaint to a modern audience. The sight of that devil dog leaping from the closet and running around the city is the most dicey. But it's the comedic interactions between characters that hold our focus, not the whiz bang appeal of the visual displays. OK so there's that "monster" near the end that dwarfs everything else. When the Destructor of their choosing threatens the city and their very existence, it's memorable. That's the kind of silly moment of brilliance that make you realize you're watching a work of creative genius. Oh yeah. I adore this film.