Review of Ghostbusters (1984) by Jacob B — 07 Aug 2017

A long-forgotten film reviewer described this movie as "a perfectly told joke" and I couldn't agree more. Ghostbusters has always been, in my estimation at least, one of the funniest and most engaging movies ever made.

There are several reasons for this, but they all start with the stellar direction from Ivan Reitman, who never really gets enough credit for his contributions to the movie that the cast does. Credit is also due to the wonderful and brilliant writing from Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis in a truly remarkable happy accident of ingenuity.

The ensemble cast is quite remarkable too, including Bill Murray, Aykroyd, Ramis, Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, Ernie Hudson and William Atherton. Bill Murray steals the show, for the most part, but there are lots of great moments for the rest of the cast and each of them have their moment to shine.

Combining gothic elements, art deco, and a gritty New York sensibility, the actual look of the film really stands out and makes it one of the best-looking comedies, probably ever produced. Due to the popularity (and rightly so) of the film's theme song, Elmer Bernstein has never been given quite enough credit for the delightful incidental music.

At times it can be whimsical and upbeat, but it also manages to capture the fun of the film's more sinister moments and even its romantic side. Industrial Light And Magic also really out-did themselves and enhanced the story's possibilities with the great special effects on display.

The ghosts look great and scary, the proton wand shooting and trapping shots look incredible, and the final showdown of the movie is nothing more than pure spectacle. Hardly any film has ever combined horror and comedy so well, and still remained so accessible to so many viewers.

If it goes down in history as the funniest comedy of all time, I would happily smile and agree in response.