Alright! Today I'm reviewing the 1984 classic Ghostbusters, which, along with David Lynch's Dune, turns this into 1984 central. Next thing you know I'll be talking about authoritarian government and revolutions.
But let's stick to Ghostbusters for now, since the third one comes out this week and it's prime nostalgia season. The first thing I have to commend Ghostbusters for is the fact that it's actually hilarious. A lot of 80s comedies aren't as funny as generational nostalgia would suggest, but Ghostbusters holds up. It's aged perfectly, a rarity.
The PG, however, didn't age that well. There are a few moments in here where you're kinda thinking... wow... this is... a kids' movie? Mhmm, nothing quite like 80s PG, home of Big and Airplane!
The special effects also aged pretty well. I'm not entirely sure how they did it, but for the most part, it looks incredible, at times better than the 2016 reboot if only for the distinctive flair. Aside from the devil dogs not looking particularly great, everything holds up. I'm never taken out of the moment by obviously dated 1980s effects or comedy, it remains timeless, part of the reason it's called a classic.
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| This is my favorite joke in the movie. |
Ghostbusters is also made a classic by the titular characters. All four are incredibly funny, made up of a powerhouse comedy cast with the likes of legends Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd, Rick Moranis, and Ernie Hudson. Even Sigourney Weaver gets a chance to show off comedic chops!
Each one hits the four core aspects of comedy - deadpan, random, naive, and everyman. They knew what they were doing and it shows. It's a solid movie through and through - the solid "get the gang together" vibe, getting the busters up and running relatively quickly, and then a big finale without a bloated runtime (A practice lost on modern Hollywood productions).
The movie also has a lot of subtlety and parallels that you have to admire. I can't explain why, but the scene where Aykroyd and Hudson just sit in a car together and talks bout the Bible is so incredible to me. It humanizes them so well, it's the rare quiet moment often lost in comedy movies.
And you can't talk about Ghostbusters without mentioning how incredible the theme song is. Is it the greatest song ever written for a movie? Maybe. Only time will tell, and it's been going 37 years strong.
My one criticism of the movie is that Venkman kind of comes off as a jerk. That's in part due to the deadpan nature of Bill Murray and the character's personality, but sometimes it made his motivations hard to buy (Like if he even believed in the paranormal). It's not really a problem, it's just not my cup of tea.
The movie's still great though. Couldn't ask for a more hilarious mood-lifter. I actually found myself watching this after being thoroughly depressed from Dear Evan Hansen.
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| Let's go Afterlife. |
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