Of all the comedies out there, one of the most loved by film fans is Ghostbusters. I mean, come on: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis, and more, all of which do a great job with a great film. So let's get started.
So here's the plot this time:
Drs. Venkman, Stanz, and Spengler of a New York University are chucked out by their dean because of lack of activity or something like that. But the group has been working on paranormal activities, chuckle chuckle chuckle. After experiencing a ghost apparition in the New York Public Library, the team decides to have a business of their own, calling themselves the Ghostbusters.
So we next meet Dana, a future client of the Ghostbusters who sees her eggs jump out of the carton and fry on the counter, and sees a strange world where a creature cries out Zuhl in the fridge. She goes to the Ghostbusters, and Peter Venkman immediately falls in love with her.
Next, the Ghostbusters go from a joke to celebrities as they recieve dozens of calls every day to exterminate ghosts. They hire a new recruit, Winston Zedemore, who teams with Ray Stanz where he trains him to become a Ghostbuster. But problems are just around the corner.
A member of the humane society or something like, Walter Peck, comes and wants to investigate what's been going on. Peter refuses and the guy vows to come back with a warrent. Dana meanwhile is attacked by a dog creature, Zuhl. The other dog, Vince, attacks Louis Tulley, the next door neighbor of Dana.
Peter shows up at her apartment to go out on a date and help her on her case when she seduces him. She tells him that they are preparing for the coming of Gozer, who will bring judgment on everybody, or something bad. Tulley ends up being picked up by the police and taken to the Ghostbusters.
Walter Peck returns with an officer and technician, and they shut down the thingy that holds the ghosts. As they are released, Zuhl and Vince are united and begin to summon Gozer...by having sex. Yeah, that's right. The Ghostbusters are arrested because of the release of the ghosts.
As disaster start to occur around New York, the mayor calls upon the Ghostbusters to see if they can help. They warn him about disasters that haven't happened yet, and he believes him, pretty much putting Walter Peck out of business. So the Ghostbusters go to save the day.
They reach the top of the apartment and see Gozer appear. Ray tries to deal with it, but fails. The four busters take on Gozer and she dissapears. She shouts down that the destructor has come and that they must choose the form. They all empty their heads, except for poor Ray who thinks of the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man, who comes in gigantic sized and begins to destroy the city.
The Ghostbusters realize they must destroy the place where Gozer appeared, a sort of gateway, and when they do, the blast is enough to turn Stay Puff into a marshmallowy mess. Dana and Louis come back, and the city is saved, and the Ghostbusters are now not just celebs, but now heroes.
So now to go through the grading scale:
Acting: 10 out of 10. Perfect performances by the Ghostbusters themselves and also by Weaver and Moranis.
Entertainment: 10 out of 10. Comedy rules constantly.
Screenplay: 10 out of 10. Excellent, written by Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd themselves.
Directing: 8 out of 10. Ivan Reitman does an excellent job.
Technical Credits: 10 out of 10. Visual effects, music, and the production design are all exciting.
Genre Fit: 8 out of 10. Sometimes goes a little toward horror, but it is pretty consistant as a comedy.
MPAA Rating: 9 out of 10. A little language and accidental brief nudity make it a strong PG, but it would have been a low brow PG-13 had it come out a few years later.
Stupid Scenes: 10 out of 10. Hardly a gag doesn't work.
Deeper Message: 3 out of 10. The only low rating, considering how this is made purely for entertainment.
Beginning: 28 out of 30. A fantastic start.
Middle: 27 out of 30. Great middle.
Ending: 28 out of 30. Fantastic ending.
Final Score: 161/180 or 89%. An A- just short of an A. Literally, it came down to 89.4444% or something like that. So that means it is a truly excellent film. Definately worth a watch.
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