Ghostbusters (1984)

It's slightly amazing to me that a Ghostbusters remake with an all female cast has been the hot button issue for movie fans this year. The discussion around the film has been pretty ugly (he says diplomatically) with a lot of critics using blatant or subtle sexism to defend their anger at one of their childhood favorites getting a new coat of paint. So why do grown man-children (I've honestly seen little to no female voices raising this opinion) love this movie so much that they feel the need to defend its honor against the "evil Hollywood machine"? Well I'll try suss that out in today's review.

By now you know the drill. The movie stars Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, and Harold Ramis (the wild man lothario, the jargon machine, and the nerd respectively) as three disgraced paranormal scientists that determine the best way to clear their good names and make money is to begin a business catching ghosts. However, when their business goes from fledgling to booming, the team wonders if something more sinister is around the corner.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly why this movie resonates with its audience so much. By modern standards a good deal of it is dated, including Bill Murray's hound dog persistence after Sigourney Weaver and the effects while state of the art in the day, aren't terrible impressive now. Well here's my guesses.

#1 The Heroes Are Nerds Who Know Better

I think this is a highly underrated element of this film's appeal. I've seen plenty of people posit that kids loved it because the idea of hunting and trapping the ghosts of their nightmares really stuck with them (which I'm certain is true), but when you look at the heroes they are ideal nerd heroes. I may love Captain America and working out, but that doesn't mean my bicep can curl a helicopter. But our folks here are only able to do what they do because they researched it...for their entire lives...even when people laughed at them...and now they are rich heroes...who then save the universe from a giant evil they predicted was coming...using technology they made themselves at home. You get the picture. It's a great angle for anyone who's ever been told their passion is stupid or been bullied about their knowledge.

#2 The Tone

If we wanna talk a reboot worth dreading, let's talk about changing the tone of this light adventure comedy into something darker and grittier. While admittedly some of the humor is more adult, in general Ghostbusters is just goofy fun. Pretty much everything in the production is designed to make sure you don't take things too seriously. The ghosts all look like cartoons, their attacks at worst simply take over a body or slime somebody, and even the music is all upbeat piano rock or synth music. Pretty much everything in this movie tells you that our heroes are never in any permanent danger which means quips from Bill Murray can land one after the other. I mean even the gigantic monster that comes to quash New York City is a gigantic marshmallow man.

#3 Everyone Is Cast Perfectly

While I love to rail against type casting, this is a perfect example of how to use it to your advantage. The Ghostbusters themselves all highlight the talents of their respective actors. Ernie Hudson is our everyman, Dan Akroyd is our enthusiastic puppy, Harold Ramis as the droll but knowledgeable one, and Bill Murray as the wise-cracking easy going fella who's probably only in this for the money and female affection. This core is perfectly designed to bounce off of one another as Akroyd and Ramis get each other excited, Murray plays off of their absurd dialogue. and Hudson provides either a new perspective or an outsiders commentary to it all.

But we all know the team and why we like them. How about the supporting roles? Equally good. Sigourney Weaver is a good place to start as she provides a great female foil to Murray (aka someone who can sniff out his B.S.) in the first two acts and then goes full sex pot for her possession. Likewise, Rick Moranis nails the well-intentioned but kinda irritating dork next door and his subsequent animalistic transition. The list goes on and on. William Atherton adds another grade A prick to his resume, David Marguilies feels like a great comedy mayor, and Annie Potts provides plenty of fun weirdness and attitude to Janine.