H'ween Horrorthon: 'Ghostbusters' (1984)

"We’ve been going about this all wrong! This Mr. Stay-Puft isn’t so bad. He’s a sailor, he’s in New York; we get this guy laid, we won’t have any trouble!"

—Bill Murray as Dr. Peter Venkman

Ah—the summer of 1984!

To be the age of twelve again! God, I wish! I was fortunate to have taken some early art college courses at Pratt Institute in NYC. I got my first ever LP for my birthday. It was "Colour By Numbers" by Culture Club. I was starting middle school in the fall. I was cast as the Tin Man in my sixth grade production of The Wizard of Oz. I had my first official trip to a VHS video rental store. I'm pretty sure it was the last Halloween I ever trick-or-treated. It was also the year I discovered a great concept called: the Summer Movie Blockbuster.

There were a variety of movies to choose from, but I generally made it a point to pick a movie that I knew I was going to enjoy. My choice was none other than Gremlins! Somehow, the idea of freaky, reptilian monsters tearing all through a town on Christmas Eve was my idea of a great batshit time. I also remember seeing the trailer for Meatballs and Stripes director Ivan Reitman's comedy Ghostbusters with Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis, which was advertised ad nauseam as the next big summer movie blockbuster. My initial reaction to it was..."What in the [blankety-blank] is this crap?!"

I wasn't exactly enticed. The idea of watching what I figured would be some disposable movie about "paranormal eliminators (or exterminators)" wasn't exactly giving me the urge to blow allowance money on it. Hell, Ralph Macchio and Noriyuki "Pat" Morita had a better shot of earning it with their hit movie, The Karate Kid (which they did), or The Neverending Story, The Muppets Take Manhattan, or even Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. And then, a funny thing happened.

I turn on the radio and suddenly, I'm hearing this song; all day, almost constantly without end. The chorus sounded almost like a battle cry. It was probably the most requested record single of it's time. It was Ray Parker Jr.'s classic theme for the movie—of which I bought the soundtrack LP (yes, I was quite the soundtrack collecting connoisseur). I eventually saw the music video on television. It was then that I softened my position on seeing the movie. This actually didn't happen until 1985 when it was featured in my middle school movie night.

Did I love it? Not initially at first. Bill Murray, as Dr. Peter Venkman, was too smug and irritating for me. Dan Aykroyd, as Dr. Ray Stantz, was too milquetoast and whiny. It was, however, the late comedy actor/director Harold Ramis as Dr. Egon Spengler who was the selling point. He was a tried-and-true nerd, like me. He was fascinated by the work he did. He wasn't afraid to be his own man and use his intellect whenever he deemed possible, which was all the time. Sharp-tongued Annie Potts and meek nerd Rick Moranis had earned genuine laughs from me and yes, I was blissfully unaware of the fact that Sigourney Weaver was already a star, thanks to a little-seen film by Ridley Scott called Alien, from 1979. Even, the eventual fourth addition, Ernie Hudson, spouted off a few good lines. And of course, the big special-effects gag, a ghost modeled after the late John Belushi named "Slimer" had a few really good scenes. But, still, I wasn't a big fan.

The Teaser Poster

The Actual One-Sheet from 1984!

Here's the plot: Bill Murray (the smug one) and his two scientist colleagues: Dan Aykroyd (Mr. Milquetoast) and Harold Ramis (the sharp one) all get fired from Columbia University, even after a breakthrough in their research of which they finally made contact with a ghost from beyond. They go into business for themselves as "paranormal investigators and eliminators." They're a flop at first (delineated by their snarky secretary played with relish by Annie Potts), until a scared new client, Sigourney Weaver, walks in after she had eggs fry openly on her counter and she had a demonic demi-god named Zuul pay her a visit through her refrigerator. The trio are now in business (oh, yeah—Slimer's debut in a snobby Midtown Manhattan hotel helped considerably) and are the darlings of NYC. The plot thickens when a blowhard from the EPA (William Atherton, of Die Hard fame) threatens to shut them down. It helps that he releases all the poltergeists, entities, and demons they were storing all over NYC and the trio now must have their day in court at City Hall. Do they end up saving the world from the evil Gozer the Gozerian and The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man? Did Cinderella marry the prince and live happily ever after? Uh-duh!

Seriously, my two cents as follows. This was the movie that took repeated viewings for me to finally appreciate it. Horror and comedy were strange bedfellows, even though they've been standards since the days of (Bud) Abbott and (Lou) Costello. But this was indeed the first of its kind. A scary horror comedy. It wasn't a comedy that used horror elements for its narrative (i.e. Young Frankenstein) or a horror movie that incorporated comical elements (i.e. Creepshow or An American Werewolf in London). But an authentic hybrid of very adult, improvisational comedy and special effects-laden horror scenes, all provided by Richard Edlund, who was responsible for the terrifying ghost-fest: Poltergeist. The Murray performance I managed to find funny, especially when I finally got the jokes. The rest of the cast all seemed to be enjoying themselves as they were making it; most notably in the scene between Weaver and Murray of which they were spoofing The Exorcist and the demon dog that terrorizes Rick Moranis' party (the partygoers describing either a bear or cougar that went berserk). It was reported that the original screenplay by stars Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis had gone through more improvisation than filming the actual text written on the page—and yes, it shows! Today, I consider it a total classic. A wonderfully funny/scary, spontaneous and terrifically entertaining film. It always makes the cut in my 'Thon, and may very well be for years to come.

Footnote: I was one of the few people who actually appreciated their 1989 sequel, Ghostbusters II, despite it being the most polarized movie sequel ever. Yes, I found it funny and high-spirited, but it was lacking the freshness and daringness of the original; opting more for a family-friendly vibe. But, still, I was one of the very few who defended this one from its many detractors. I could even stomach the Bobby Brown theme song that never quite got the acclaim that Parker Jr.'s classic theme got (just the song - not the movie cameo). There was always the anticipation for a Ghostbusters III, which never materialized—and in all sincerity, I'm glad it never did.

Another Footnote: I gave a sheepish, somewhat against my better judgement pass to the all-female reboot in 2016. Yes, I liked Kristen Wiig in the Aykroyd role and Melissa McCarthey in the Murray role. Kate McKinnon earned some solid laughs in the Ramis role (the ONLY cast member who couldn't make a cameo in the new film version, so they gave him a copper bust). It was, however, Leslie Jones (the Hudson role) and her motor-mouth act that stopped everything dead in its tracks for much of the film. As it turned out, all the hype and bells/whistles proved me right. There's no substitute for the original.

"Who you gonna call?" Do you really have to ask?

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