Ghostbusters

Do I need to say anything about Ghostbusters?  No, but that’s never stopped me before.  This movie is a classic.  The special effects, which undoubtedly were pretty decent at the time, look so ridiculous, but that’s just part of the fun.  It’s was never supposed to be a serious film; they go from doing “serious” science work to cashing in on an unexplored business field.  Despite rescuing the damsel and preventing the apocalypse, they really don’t have any other goal in mind except to make a lot of money, and they assume most everybody else is as greedy and fiscally minded as themselves.

My favorite moment in the film is when they’re talking themselves out of jail, trying to get the mayor on their side, and Bill Murray says, “You will have saved the lives of millions of registered voters.”  Yeah, it’s not about morality or good versus evil.  They appeal strictly to the modern sensibility.

I think perhaps this is partly why Ghostbusters 2 wasn’t as successful as the first.  It wasn’t any hokier than the first; less so, actually.  It ended up having a different tone and developed the characters differently.  In the first, everybody only cares about themselves.  In the sequel, it’s not just about making it in the world, they’re actually trying the change the world.  The characters actually grow up and deepen just a little bit.  It makes for good storytelling, but it wasn’t as much fun.