Terrific Entertainment

Rating: 10/10 (25 July 2000)

If anybody hasn't seen this movie, go out and buy it right now. The DVD version is terrific, but any form of this flick is a must-have. I wholeheartedly say that this movie is one of my all time favorites. Watch it over and over agin and you'll see: the jokes never bore, the laughter is always flowing. Ghostbusters is a Hollywood Smash.
The story in Ghostbusters is about 3 scientists at Columbia University: Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Raymond Stanz (Dan Aykroyd), and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis). They are the crack team in the parapsychology department but soon find that their antics push them out of the University and onto the street. With new technology, they open up their own business: they investigate and eliminate ghosts in New York. At first, Dana Barett (Sigourney Weaver) is their only customer. She has had some ghostly apparitions in her apartment and needs help, and Venkman especially wants to help her. But soon, all of New York City is engulfed in spooks and Dana, along with her eccentric neighbor Louis (Rick Moranis), become the focus of summoning Gozer, a vicious evil that could easily destroy the world. With a new recruit, Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson), the Ghostbusters set out to save the world.
This movie is an excellent comedy, thanks to a great script by co-stars Aykroyd and Ramis. They setup the characters wonderfully, so that each adds something unique to the wacky group. Murray and Moranis are given the best material of their careers and Aykroyd, Ramis and Annie Potts have a collection of zingers. The story is made believable, in spite of the obstacles, and the visual gags plus the sharp dialogue make for an unforgettable comedy classic.
The visual effects are also very good. They help deliver a couple of nice scares in the movie like when Dana gets captured by the Terror Dog or when, as Zuul, a minion of Gozer, she telepathically destroys her own apartment. Richard Edlund and company has done a fine job.
All these things, along with the great title theme, make for a film that lived up to and exceeded the hype. Everything about this movie clicks; nothing seems to be out of balance. I really loved this movie and I think that everyone else would too. Go out and pick up a copy of Ghostbusters today.