Review of Ghostbusters (1984) by Matthew O — 26 Aug 2016

With the new movie that just came out, I thought that this would be a good time to talk about the original GHOSTBUSTERS movie. Since it's a movie that came out in the 80's and it's not exactly family-oriented, I have virtually no nostalgia over this movie. I never watched this film as a kid. The first time I actually watched it was when it was re-released in theaters for its 30th anniversary.

As a standard film, it's fine. But as a summer blockbuster, this movie is a perfect definition of that. It's mindless fun and entertainment with goofy but very likable characters performed by some very enjoyable actors. The basic concept of three guys who start a business to catch ghosts that apparently go on a rampage in New York City is pretty ridiculous, but at the same time unique. And I really like how they go all the way with the absurdity of this idea and don't take it that seriously. The witty and humorous writing along with superbly entertaining performances from Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis, and that super catchy song are what make this movie for me. Seriously, who doesn't know that song? The chemistry between the three main characters works off wonderfully, and is responsible for about 75% of my overall enjoyment of the film.

The stuff that centers around the main characters is just okay for me. When it focuses on them, it's fun and entertaining. But when it doesn't, it's not all that interesting. I don't really care about the secretary, or the relationship between Dana and Venkman, or the weird situations with the nerdy guy. Though it is pretty cool to know that Rick Moranis had improvised a lot of his lines.

Some of the special effects still look good to this day. The practicality of paranormal activity, like the eggs popping out of their shells, papers flying out of the cabinets, even the animation on Slimer still holds up pretty well. But some effects do not hold up well, like... at all. Most of the shots in the climax are obviously blue screen shots with models of buildings, and especially the stop-motion done on that possessed dog creature thing looks really bad. It probably didn't even look that good when the movie first came out.

I'm not a huge fan of the original GHOSTBUSTERS, It's not among my favorite movies of all time. But for an entertainingly mindless 2 hour film with enjoyable characters and a lot of memorable lines, it's a perfect and fun summer movie. Just not something I would watch over and over again.

Grade: B+.