Ghostbusters II

Ghostbusters II ~ We've talked about how much I love Ghostbusters, and even the recent remake, but back in the day, we all wanted to like the sequel, we really wanted to, and most of us were disappointed. Although, in hindsight, that just might be questionable. In light of friend Derrick Ferguson's positive review of the film and recent TV viewings, I might have changed my mind. Go read it now, and all his other reviews, he rocks. 

I remember distinctly however the moment when I started to doubt the sequel. Run DMC covered the title theme song, and I was a huge fan of theirs and always loved the tune (seriously who didn't, and doesn't?), but the cover was a disappointment, no one's favorite Run DMC song, delivering none of what could have been so cool, just a meh version. This was the first omen.

Then came the movie. I remember even before I saw it, much like recent DC Comics movie releases like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad, the word was bad even before it was released. Despite warnings I was there first night to see it, and first impressions, it was not good. As I recall, it did not last in theaters for very long, nowhere near the blockbuster the first movie was.

There was much reference given to the successful cartoon based on the original movie, so all the characters had to appear, and Slimer was given special preference for screen time against folks who more deserved it. More than lip service was given to the slime that was too integral to this plot, but only funny in the original in one line. Worse than that, it led to the bad special effects of the Statue of Liberty ending that made audiences groan when it was supposed to make them cheer and sing along.

More screen time was given to the 'nerd love' subplot with Rick Moranis and Annie Potts, and of course the biggest drain was Bill Murray (not as enthusiastic, or as funny, this time) and Sigourney Weaver romance/non-romance and baby. Notably the original film was almost flawless, but the only slow parts were with these two I thought. To build on that was a mistake.

All that said, the rest of the film is not bad, and actually a good follow-up to the original. We get a viable and evil-looking villain (Vigo's visage alone, especially in a picture that may or not move is the stuff of nightmares), and a patsy comparable to Weaver and Moranis played by the underappreciated Peter MacNicol who still makes me laugh with that accent (definitely in agreement with Derrick on this). I especially loved the connection to the first film and homage to Son of Kong as the Ghostbusters are put out of business by property damage lawsuits.

As I said, upon re-watching and reading the above-mentioned review, I may have changed my mind. Derrick might be right.  I think it's bad, but not that bad. Unfortunately the experience may have soured much of the cast on doing a third one, but happily on not cameo-ing in the new film. This is not necessarily a recommendation, but maybe give this one another look with an open mind.

Ghostbusters 1984

Back in the early 1980s I had the perfect job, I worked in a record store at the mall. I watched trends happen on a daily basis. I witnessed the Michael Jackson phenomenon firsthand, Madonna, Prince, Boy George, Duran Duran, the birth of Motley Crue, and the popification of Bruce Springsteen - I saw it all, including the summer of Ghostbusters.

From out of a sea of "Lucky Star" outfits and "Thriller" jackets they appeared, the Ghostbusters t-shirts, just as the trailers began. Not just the logo, there were some that said "who you gonna call" and "I ain't afraid of no ghost" to the rarer "I've been slimed" and "back off, man, I'm a scientist." We knew this was going to be a big movie even before Ray Parker Jr. saturated Hot Hits radio with its theme song.

I remember the Friday night that the movie opened, for all the wrong reasons. I broke up with a girlfriend and asked a friend to see the flick with me instead, who became my new girlfriend. Soap opera aside, that June night launched the blockbuster horror/scifi/comedy that definitely lived up to the hype, and a summer of quoting lines and re-seeing the film began.

Toy lines, a hit animated series, and the emblem were everywhere, and the thing was - it's a great film and deserved it all, watchable even today. Like I said in my review of the new movie, it's not the 1984 Ghostbusters, but very few movies are. I wouldn't say I'm a Ghosthead, but yeah, I love this film.

Three scientists, two serious and one not so serious, enter the paranormal investigation game and discover a way to capture ghosts. They learn that the increased paranormal activity is the result of an extra-dimensional entity trying to break through, and stop it, thereby saving New York. That's about it, and that last bit is very important, as the movie is very New York, almost a love letter to the city. A line from the climactic battle, "Let's show this prehistoric bitch how we do things downtown" says it all.

Despite it being written with John Belushi in mind, I think it's Bill Murray's funniest movie. Dan Aykroyd (who co-wrote with Ivan Reitman), Sigourney Weaver, Ernie Hudson, and even Annie Potts and Rick Moranis are perfect supporting. Harold Ramis is wonderful with his deadpan dialogue and facial expressions, giving Kate McKinnon the perfect template for the new movie. Everyone is on mark and at their best.

When it comes right down to it, what can be said about the original Ghostbusters? It stands up after over three decades, it's one of the funniest films ever made and it's not even technically a comedy, and I watch it whenever I find it on television, and still laugh. And it's been on television a lot with the new version currently on DVD and Blu-Ray. This is probably one of the most iconic films of its generation, and thus the aggravation over the remake, but it stands as one of the best. If you haven't seen it, do so, and if you have, do it again.

Ghostbusters 2016

Ghostbusters ~ My pre-viewing problems with the 2016 remake/reboot/reimagining of Ghostbusters had nothing to do with the gender or talent of the actors involved. Maybe.

I didn't care about the gender switch, and I actually thought the idea that only the women were competent and the men are idiots was pretty clever. My problem was with the Bridesmaids connection, a film I did not like, and Ghostbusters has its director and two of its stars. That was my problem.

And I'm also not one of those folks who worship the original and don't want it remade, because it's 'sacred.' Hey, yeah, the original was awesome, still holds up, is freaking hilarious, and is an almost perfect movie, but nothing changes that. The 2016 Ghostbusters is not the 1984 Ghostbusters, but let's be honest - what is? It's hard for such lightning to strike twice. Don't believe me? Just ask Ghostbusters II. Bam. Yeah, that was me dropping the mic.

The theme is roughly the same as the original, three scientists and a fourth team member chase ghosts in New York, until a larger threat rears its ugly head for the final battle. In this case, it's not an extra-dimensional entity trying to break through on its own, but someone in this world trying to bring the netherworld here, and become the king of ghosts. The story works, despite some plotholes that may be the result of worrisome editing - I won't hold it against the movie.

Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig are adequate but funny and believable, and it was a blast seeing Chris (Thor) Hemsworth playing mimbo, but the prize performances in this flick are undoubtedly the wonderfully hilarious Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon who steals the movie whenever she is on screen. She easily out-weirds Harold Ramis from the original.

There are also appearances from the original cast as well, most notably Bill Murray as a disbeliever who is so mean and humorless one had to wonder if this was acting or how he really felt about Ghostbusters. Either way, he's good. Too bad Rick Moranis couldn't be convinced to show up out of retirement.

The 2016 Ghostbusters is a great summer popcorn movie, and a hell of a lot of fun. It is thankfully no Bridesmaids, and certainly not worth the harassment many fans of the original have put it through. It's just great entertainment, check it out, you'll love it too.

Nothing Lasts Forever

Nothing Lasts Forever ~ You may or may not have heard of this obscure 1984 film with Bill Murray. Shot in black and white and shelved by MGM, it was never officially released in theaters or to video retail. Directed by fellow "Saturday Night Live" alum Tom Schiller (remember the brilliant Schiller's Reel?), it has remained unseen for decades but is now, possibly only temporarily available on YouTube.

Ostensibly a Bill Murray vehicle, it stars the immediately post-Gremlins Zach Galligan as a young man, Adam, who returns to New York from Europe with dreams of becoming an artist. The trouble is that America has been through hard times and some things have changed. A transit strike has put the Port Authority in control of New York City in an almost fascist state. Artists are frowned upon and Adam is put to work at the Holland Tunnel for a wacky boss played by Dan Aykroyd.

With me so far? 'Cause it's about to get weird, and yes, weirder than it already is. After Adam is kind to a beggar, the kindness is returned when the man reveals that there is a secret underground of bums that really control the world. After a truly disturbing purification process, during which we go from black and white temporarily to pseudo sepia colorization color, the masters of the world give Adam a mission - to bring art to the moon where he will meet his soulmate.

Adam goes back up to black and white NYC where no one believes him. And then he gets on a bus to the moon, where a young, pre-arrogant, and not-as-grumpy Bill Murray is his possibly sinister sky host. Look quick or you'll miss Larry 'Bud' Melman. Once on the moon, we're in pseudo-color again. But even on the moon things are not as they seem.

This New York City is like a cross between Fellini Paris and Hell here, and in that way, the black and white is used to good effect, very German Expressionist, with just a touch of Val Lewton and David Lynch. The tour of the NY art scene is both surreal and far too real, imagine Andy Warhol in 1920s Germany, bizarre. There are many bits lifted from old movies that may have had something to do with its non-release, rights problems, perhaps?

Zach Galligan, as in Gremlins, does a great It's a Wonderful Life Jimmy Stewart, perhaps much more naive. Lauren Tom, who this writer knows from voice acting in the DC Comics Animated Universe, is his lovely lunar soulmate. The amazingly named Apollonia Van Ravenstein is also quite good. Also look for Eddie Fisher, Imogene Coco, Sam Jaffe, and Mort Sahl.

Perhaps the reason Nothing Lasts Forever was not released was its pre-Tim Burton oddity or its painfully non-mainstreamness. Maybe the studio didn't know what it was - scifi, drama, comedy, period piece, musical? Even I'm not sure. It certainly is intriguing and worth a look while you can. Check it out.

RIP Harold Ramis

Actor, writer, and director, Harold Ramis passed away today, much too young, at the age of 69. The name might not ring a bell at first for some folks, but for others, the man defined comedy for a generation.

I first became aware of Harold Ramis from "SCTV." In my youth, the show aired a 1 AM, right after the original "Saturday Night Live," and was known by me and my friends as 'the secret SNL.' We called it that because most folks turned off the TV when SNL was over, they didn't know about this treasure. "SCTV" was a skit show set under the premise of a fictional Canadian TV network, and featured performers from Chicago's improv troupe, Second City, from which coincidentally half of the original SNL cast was from as well.

Harold Ramis was the head writer of the show, as well as working for Playboy and National Lampoon. From this starting point, he began form his comedy technique, and began writing film. Animal House, Stripes, Meatballs, and Caddyshack (which he also directed) all came before Ghostbusters.  

Ghostbusters was huge when it came out, I don't know if anyone remembers how big it was. At the time it had a pop cultural impact similar to Star Wars, everyone knew the lines, and everybody had the t-shirts, and everybody was humming the song that would eventually make Huey Lewis richer.

Later he would come into his own as a director and producer as well, with such films as Vacation, Analyze This, a favorite of mine, Someone to Eat Cheese With, and The Ice Harvest. He would also do his final film with Bill Murray, probably their best film, Groundhog Day, a piece of brilliance that the two men disagreed on how it should be done. To this day, it's probably what has kept Ghostbusters 3 from happening.

We've lost one of the greats, both behind and in front of the camera, who made us laugh and made us think. Harold Ramis will be missed.