Classic Comedy That Gets Better With Time

Rating: Null/10 (3 July 2011)

Ghostbusters (1984)
**** (out of 4)
Classic comedy about three parapsychology professors (Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis) who set up a business where they trap ghosts. Soon New York City is overrun with various ghouls and goblins as Judgement Day might be coming and it's up to the group to try and stop it. GHOSTBUSTERS was made as a summer blockbuster but it went way beyond your typical blockbuster style and ended up becoming one of the greatest comedies ever made. It could be argued that the cast and director were never better in their careers and that all of them were at the top of their game while making this picture. I think a great deal of the credit has to go to the screenplay, which mixes in the special effects with some very sly dialogue that really makes you believe everything you're seeing. The paranormal aspects of the story are so well done that you can easily accept what's going on and this here takes care of the adventure side of the story. The screenplay really goes all out when it comes to the comedy as we get one non-stop laugh after another because the dialogue always has our characters winking at the viewer and especially the character played by Murray. While all of the performances are great it's clearly Murray's show as he works wonders with the womanizer who has a smart reply to anything going on. Seeing Murray work the dialogue the way he does and the way he brings humor to his part is something truly remarkable to watch because he makes it seem so easy. Both Aykroyd and Ramis are also at the top of their game and the trio really do work extremely well together and in the end they could be called one of the most memorable comedies teams in the history of cinema. Even the smaller roles are played to perfection with Sigourney Weaver as one of the clients, Rick Moranis as her nerdy neighbor, Annie Potts as the wise-cracking receptionist and Ernie Hudson as the fourth worker. THe special effects hold up extremely well today even when you compare them to the recent CGI trend. Just take a look at Slimer to see how perfect the visual effects are but it's also important that these creatures are so memorable as they also add an additional bit of life to the film. Slimer is in the movie just a matter of minutes and yet he too became rather legendary in his own right. GHOSTBUSTERS is about as flawless as a comedy can get as we get pretty much everything you'd want in a picture like this. There have been many films to come along since but none of them have contained the amount of magic, charm and just all out fun as what you get.