Movie Review: Ghostbusters (1984)

“Ghostbusters” is one of those iconic movies from the 80’s that most people look back on fondly. I remember loving this movie as a kid, and with the new Paul Feig reboot on the horizon, I figured it was time to revisit the franchise. I have to say, this is not a movie that holds up flawlessly. The main things that give the film charm is the combination of a fantastically entertaining performance by Bill Murray at the peak of his career, and a theme song that is as much of an ear worm as any song imaginable. There are, however, quite a few lackluster components to this film. While it’s fun to sing along to the theme song, the Ghostbusters soundtrack contains a lot of terrible 80’s music that age has not been kind to at all. For example, this song “Savin the Day” which, surprise, is used for a scene where the Ghostbusters save the day is both predictable and just generally terrible.

Another disappointing element of the movie is the portrayal of gender. While Sigourney Weaver had played the badass Ripley five years earlier in the move “Alien,” her character in this film is essentially helpless. While she starts out turning down the sarcastic and sexist advances of Bill Murray’s Dr. Peter Venkman, she later seems to soften to his approach and grow fond of him. The plot then shifts as she becomes literally possessed by a demon entering earth through a portal in her apartment. This obviously means she needs saving, and lacks any sort of real agency in the film. The lack of a strong female character in the film makes me happy that the new reboot is starring a female cast. It will be interesting to see if the message conveyed and the tone of the humor will change once the gender dynamic has been swapped.

Obviously “Ghostbusters” is a lighthearted popcorn flick and not a drama, so it can get away with being one-dimensional to a certain degree. What surprised me upon re-watching the movie was just how many of the jokes themselves fell flat though, as they went for the easy and predictable punchline.

Overall: Ghostbusters is more of a film to rewatch for nostalgia’s sake, and less of a truly good film in my opinion. While watching the all-star cast wrangling ghosts with proton packs and getting slimed presents a certain degree of satisfaction, there are certainly more problematic components to the film than I remembered.

Rotten Tomatoes: 78% (Top Critics)

Top billed actors: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Sigourney Weaver and Ernie Hudson

Rated PG.