Who ya gonna call?

Rating: 10/10 (5 December 2003)

This was one of the first films I grew up with as a child. I remember watching Ghostbusters on video, and then I would rewind it and watch it all over again. I must have seen this film at least 100 times, and I'm happy to say it is still enjoyable to me even today.
The basic premise of the film is rather daft, but because of such a great cast, Ghostbusters rises far above what might have been a completely idiotic film, and instead becomes a comedy classic.
For anyone who hasn't seen Ghostbusters (if such a thing is possible), it is about three parapsychology professors Dr Peter Venkman (the wonderful Bill Murray), Dr Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Dr Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) who are booted out of Columbia University because of their sloppy research methods.
Now faced with unemployment, our trio decide to go into business for themselves. They set up the first 'paranormal, investigations and eliminations' business ever to grace New York City. In short, they are the Ghostbusters, our first, last (and only) line of defence against the paranormal world.
Their first customer comes in the shapely form of Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver), who has just had a nasty encounter with her fridge! It turns out to be something much more than she ever could have imagined, as she is possessed by something called Zuul, and is now preparing for the coming of Gozer, the demi-god.
The Ghostbusters are now suddenly faced with an army of ghosts, an officious EPA inspector, and a possible apocalypse. These are all the plot threads neatly woven into the story, right up to the hilarious ending with Mr Stay Puft, the Marshmallow Man. (I kid you not).
Directed by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, they have truly created a masterpiece. Bill Murray is perfectly cast as Venkman, His typical deadpan routine and laid-back manner is a perfect foil when faced with such other-worldly things. He gets all the best lines, and his delivery is spot-on. For example, when Dana is telling them what she saw in her fridge:
"Generally you don't see that kind of behaviour in a major appliance".
Dan Aykroyd is good as 'the heart of the Ghostbusters', a well-intentioned man who has a tendency to cause problems for the group, (after all he does think up Mr Stay Puft. He co-wrote a well thought out, witty script.
Harold Ramis manages to be funny in a way I can't properly explain. Some of the faces he pulls when in conjunction with the dialogue of the other cast members are hilarious. He is funny in a serious sort of way, if that means anything. He is the brains of the group, which means he is the only one who really knows what the hell is going on. He has shown a dab hand at directing in recent years, and I'm sure he came up with a lot of good ideas for this film. The best film he directed was Groundhog Day, pairing him up once again with Bill Murray.
Sigourney Weaver gives a solid performance, and Ghostbusters is one of the first films that launched her on the road to stardom after Alien. She's certainly not out to play the damsel in distress, and carries herself strongly enough almost as she did as Ellen Ripley. She is certainly one of the first actresses to provide a role-model for other women as strong, female characters.
The other characters have their moments too. Rick Moranis is not really that memorable as Louis Tully, but when possessed as the Key Master, he is quite funny. (Especially the scene where he gives the wagon driver the evil eye). Annie Potts is great as Janine Melnitz, their acerbic secretary. Like Murray, she is quite deadpan in her delivery too: ("I've quit better jobs than this").
Ernie Hudson as Winston Zeddemore only comes into the film about halfway, and he always seems like an outsider when compared to the other Ghostbusters. However, he has a good chemistry with Aykroyd. The scene where they're talking about the end of the world is good, and its just a shame they weren't partnered up together more often.
Some of the special effects have dated a little, for example, the Devil Dogs look a bit fake now. But some of the other special effects are still pretty good, like their proton packs, Slimer, and Mr Stay Puft is a magical marvel of special effects work. I understand some of the effects coordinators were the same people who did Raiders of the Lost Ark. That must have been the scene where the Nazis opened the Ark.
Where the quality of the effects may have diminished a little, the film more then makes up for it in comedy. Some of the gags are quite subtle, written on a personal level that only the Ghostbusters could understand. With excellent lines from Murray, you can't complain, such as:
"Why worry? Each of us is wearing an unlicensed nuclear accelerator on his back".
The ending is suitably daft, but doesn't cheapen the story in any way. All the actors have a terrific chemistry, and they obviously enjoyed making this film. They have all met before on shows like Saturday Night Live, where they learnt to understand each others abilities and compliment each other to come across as funny as possible. This film really enhanced their careers. The theme song may seem a bit cheesy to some people, but I like it. Sometimes I find myself humming it without realising.
Definitely Ivan Reitman's best film, and (with the exception of Evolution) its just a shame he can't make films like this more often. It's a pity the sequel didn't live up to the excellence that was Ghostbusters.