The 80's were the glory days of action/sci-fi comedies
and Ghostbusters is somewhere at the top of that list. Ghostbusters is a case of everything coming together at the right moment. The movie was released in June, 1984. Ramis, Murray, and Ivan Reitman had just finely tuned their comedic engine with Stripes three years earlier.
This is Bill Murray at the height of his powers.
The role and actor come together in such a perfect pairing, Peter Venkman is how we identify Murray's comic persona. This is largely due to the fact that, like Stripes, the part simply gave Murray room. I wouldn’t call it wiggle room; more like gaping expanses to fill with his brand of pseudo-improv. When we think of how funny Murray can be, or even Bill Murray the man, I would contend we're largely thinking of Venkman; the character in which all Murray's talents and tricks were brought to bear.
The rest of the casting seems to fit like a glove as well. Aykroyd’s genuine fascination with the supernatural inspired the script and filled Ray with a loveable, boy-like exuberance and sincerity. Christopher Walken, Christopher Lloyd, Michael Keaton, Chevy, and Jeff Goldblum were all considered for Egon, but I can’t imagine anyone other than Harold Ramis filling the role. His stoic impression of the character, round glasses, and Kramer hair (before there was a Kramer) are iconic in their own right. Annie Potts and Rick Moranis nail their small parts, pumping every second of their screen time full of character and laughs. Winston (Ernie Hudson) doesn’t have a lot to do in the first film but does bring an important and likeable dynamic to the group with the perspective of an outsider looking in.
One fascinating item to ponder is just how different Ghostsmashers, er, Ghostbusters would have been if the finished product were closer to Dan Aykroyd's original concept. The Ghostsmashers were supposed to spend the movie traveling through time, space, and other dimensions fighting huge ghosts like Stay Puft with wands instead of proton packs. Roles were intended for John Belushi, John Candy, and Eddie Murphy. After Reitman pointed out the budgetary impossibilities of the original concept and John Belushi died, Aykroyd and Ramis completely reworked the concept and wrote a script in three weeks that was more grounded.
Ghostbusters has moments in it that are just magic. Perfect little snippets that make you grin like an idiot every time you think about them and couldn’t possibly have been executed any better. Moments like the first time they power-up Ray’s proton pack in the Sedgwick Hotel elevator and Peter and Egon slowly back away. And the scene that encapsulates everything Ghostbusters is: when Peter shows up at Dana Barrett’s apartment for their date and she’s been possessed by Zuul. The way Murray deadpans his way through this scenario, reacts to Sigourney Weaver who is totally committed, and drops perfectly scripted lines like bombs…it is perfection.
The film has a certain anti-establishment slant. Take a look at any character who represents authority or the uppercrust and notice that they are all extremely stuffy jerkholes: Dean Yeager, Dana’s Violinist friend, and Walter Peck, one of the biggest dillweeds in the history of movies. Was there any character in the 80's who was less likeable than this guy? I'd rather hang out with Ferris Bueller's principal.
Ghostbusters is also an undeniable love letter to New York City; certainly not the first or last but, I believe, one of the best. When the ghostbusting business takes off and we get the montage of the Ghostbusters running throught the streets and down the sidewalks of New York carrying smoking ghost traps, again I can’t stop smiling. These shots are filmed at distance with extremely long lenses to truly make the team a part of the city. It is genius and it is fun and it ranks with the top montages of the 80’s. (It also contains the extremely bizarre dream segment with Ray and an erotic ghost. How did that not get cut at some point?) Despite the scene of ghost-love, this montage firmly rooted the movie in our reality.
Three more words: Ray Parker Junior.
