Ghostbusters retro review

It is hard to believe, but June marks the 30th anniversary of Ghostbusters, one of the seminal comedies of the 1980s. Three decades, two cartoon spin-offs and one sequel later, it remains as fresh, funny and engaging as when it was first released…

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Ghostbusters, is a hybrid of two trends that took hold in the 1970s and changed Hollywood. In 1975, Jaws became the first summer blockbuster. Two years later, Star Wars would become an even bigger sensation and the big-budget special effects film was born. In 1978, National Lampoon’s Animal House became the third highest grossing film of the year behind Grease and Superman. Suddenly, R-rated low-brow comedies became big money makers.

Many inferior special-effects film and gross-out comedy clones followed, but Ghostbusters combined both in a slick package that found a perfect balance of laughs and special effects. It  lampooned the heroics presented in big-budget effect films and made scatological humor more palatable to family audiences.

Animal House and Ghostbusters were both co-written by Harold Ramis, who also played Egon Spengler, and he infuses the films with a gleefully anarchic spirit and strong anti-establishment themes. It is telling that the human villain of Ghostbusters is Walter Peck (William Atherton), an inspector for the Environmental Protection Agency.ghostbusters

The Ghostbusters, a group of recently redundant university professors who set themselves up as “paranormal investigators and exterminators,” are essentially the Marx Brothers with Bill Murray’s Peter Venkman clearly the wisecracking Groucho of the group. Our introduction to the character shows him using a research experiment as a means to bed a student. As his love interest Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) later points out, he’s “more like a game show host” than a scientist.

Murray’s antics, which were largely improvised, are perfectly balanced by Dan Aykroyd’s geeky enthusiasm and Ramis’ dry, deadpan line delivery. Saturday Night Live veterans Murray and Aykroyd were the bigger stars, but Ramis’ understated performance quietly steals many scenes.

Ramis’ fellow SCTV cast member Rick Moranis as Weaver’s nerdy neighbor is also an invaluable asset to the film. The way he rambles on about health food and accounting is endearingly awkward. You feel bad that he doesn’t have a chance with Weaver against the quick-witted alpha male Murray.

And then there’s those glorious pre-CGI special effects. The mix of optical effects and models have held up remarkably well with only a couple shots failing to convince. Creations like Slimer, the demon dogs and Stay Puft Marshmallow Man still look fantastic and are reminders of how effective and dynamic practical effects can be.

Alec Kerr