For many years comedies were not thought of as being blockbusters. They would be successful as they were relatively cheap to make and usually made a profit. However in 1984 one film came along that changed that.
I have a very distinct memory of my parents taking me and my brother to see 'Ghostbusters' when it was first released. I also remember my father taking great delight in my brother and I being scared by the ghost librarian at the beginning of the film. I also remember being a huge fan. It is always interesting to watch films that you love in a cinema. I find that because you are watching it in an environment where you are focused on the film you can notice things you may have missed in past viewings. Especially when seeing it at home where you can become easily distracted. What I noticed most about this film is the acceptance of ghosts by everyone in the film. Even the person who you would consider its biggest skeptic, Dr Peter Venkmen. I know that they see ghosts and so must accept that but why? They do not look into other alternative explanations for why or how they are happening. Or if they are really a hoax. But I think that it is this acceptance by the characters that makes it acceptable for the audience. We go along with all the silliness of there being ghosts attacking New York city because these characters accept it. We do not doubt for one minute their beliefs. So not only do you have a great plot and convincing characters but you have them doing and saying incredibly funny things. I will be the first to admit that the sequel is not as good as the first film. The plot is almost identical and while still very funny it is not at the same level of hilarity as the first film. One other thing I noticed about both films was how much smoking they have in them. We do not see it very much in movies anymore so when you do see it as much as you do in a film like this it really stands out.
One of the great things about the cast of this film and more specifically the three leads is their friendship. Bill, Dan and Harold have been friends for ages and worked together quite a lot before these films. The films feel like a group of friends getting together to have some fun and filming it. This fun then comes across in their performances and so we as an audience have fun too. Most of the other cast are sort of straight people to the fun of the main three. With the exception of Rick Moranis who plays the ultimate nerd so very well. This would be one of the first comedy films for Sigourney Weaver and she is excellent. Considering what she has to go through. The highlight for me in the second film was the performance of Peter MacNicol. I soon became a fan of his from this film and always looked forward to seeing him in films and TV.
One of the greatest comedies of all time. The sequel is not quite as good but still an excellent film. As much as I love these films I think too much time has passed for them to try for a third film. While it would be fun to see the gang back together I don't hold much hope for it being any good.
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