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Ghostbusters (1984) ✦ Full-Length Watchalong Reaction (Patreon)

Published:
2024-09-28 15:15:01
Edited:
2025-05-21 23:05:04
Imported:
2026-08
Tags:

Content

Hello everyone! My October theme has arrived! This movie was far different than I expected, but that's not a bad thing in this case. I'm looking forward to your comments. Please enjoy! [Direct link here.]

✦ KL

Files

Ghostbusters (1984) ✦ Full-Length Watchalong Reaction

Comments

Thadman

I used to have this movie completely memorized. 😁 I also had a copy of the original script. "I've worked in the private sector. THEY expect RESULTS."

Christopher simeon

I have never watched Ghostbusters. I will save these reactions for the end of October to binge them. I am currently catching up on your Dark reactions.

William

“He slimed me. I feel so funky.” Bill Murray’s delivery is just so perfect. No notes. My cousin Cheryl and I would giggle for hours at that scene, every damn time. 👻🤣

Steve Mercier

So, I love this movie. Always have. But, the movie is actually a great big metaphor for conservative American values...the small business people making it on their own in a capitalist regime despite the interference of a government institution (the E.P.A....the fucking Environmental Protection Agency, which seeks to protect the environment...from assholes...for fuck's sake...*sigh*). And yet, the comedic timing, the pacing, the lines, the acting...it's all goddamn first rate. And I still love it. So. I'm going to watch this with you. And I'm going to enjoy it. But there's a small part of me that's going to hate it. Or, at least there's a part of me that's going to hate me for enjoying it. That's confusing. Whatever. Let's do this!

Movies with KL

Honestly realizing a lot of movies from the 80s focused on big corporations and capitalism being evil. Robocop was a lot more forward about it than this one. Feel like Reaganomics definitely made a lot of people write these stories!

Tyler Foster

In this week leading up to you watching the movie, whether or not the comedy would play for you was my big question, in part because as you say, there are definitely jokes that don't play as well in the present as they did in 1980, and because you are generally a bit tougher on comedies. Glad you enjoyed it. Obviously, this is going to be long but I'll try to keep it sort of reasonable! Dan Aykroyd (Ray) came up on "Saturday Night Live" with the famous comedian John Belushi. Ghostbusters was originally written for them to star in, stemming from Dan's real-life family fascination with ghost hunting and the paranormal. The first draft was set in the distant future, where the heroes were just one Ghostbusters location out of hundreds, and the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man appeared 15 minutes in. John died of a cocaine overdose in 1982, and after about a year, Dan took the script to director Ivan Reitman and asked him what he thought. Reitman thought the idea was good but the execution was not only muddled but prohibitively expensive, so he suggested they move it to the present day and turn it into a "going-into-business" story. Reitman had made the hit comedy Stripes, which Harold Ramis (Egon) had helped write, and so he got him involved, and the three of them went out to Martha's Vineyard and wrote it over a long weekend. By that time, Bill Murray had also joined "SNL" and subsequently become one of the biggest comedy stars in the country. They enlisted Bill to play the lead, and courted Eddie Murphy for the Winston role. Murphy turned it down to make Beverly Hills Cop, and Ernie Hudson was cast instead. Hudson made peace with it over time, but one of the small tragedies is that the role as written for Murphy was much larger, and Hudson signed on based on that script, only to discover that his role was reduced significantly when they actually shot the film. Sigourney Weaver, who had already been in Alien, was looking to do a comedy, and she landed the role when she jumped up on a couch like a dog during her audition, scaring Reitman. Also, it's funny that you say you can't imagine someone else playing Louis: the role was initially offered to John Candy, who apparently didn't really "get it" and wanted to play the role with a German accent and have two huge dogs. When Moranis was given the script, he couldn't believe Candy had turned it down. The entire scene in Louis' apartment during the party was ad-libbed by Moranis. Last but not least, William Atherton would go onto be in Die Hard as the reporter who Holly punches out, and he's inadvertently joined by his co-star in that movie in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it early appearance by Reginald VelJohnson (who played Al Powell) as the cop who tells them the Mayor wants to see them. The movie was given an incredibly short window of one year from greenlight to release, and it ended up becoming Columbia Pictures' big summer movie for 1984. It became the second-highest grossing movie of the year and the second-highest grossing comedy movie of all time, behind Beverly Hills Cop in both instances, and it later claimed the latter title after it was rereleased in 1985. There are two subtle things that I think are a secret weapon for Ghostbusters. The first one was pointed out by Roger Ebert in his review, which is that the alchemy of comedy and special effects are opposites. Comedy requires spontaneity and a looseness, it should feel improvised; effects require careful planning and technical precision, which is why many special effects comedies are not successful. Funnily enough, while there have been many pretty good effects comedies since then, I think the most effective one and the closest to matching Ghostbusters' brand of sci-fi spectacle and character-driven comedy also has Sigourney Weaver, which is Galaxy Quest (and, as it turns out, Harold Ramis was originally offered the chance to direct the movie; apparently he loved the final version of the film and was glad he stepped aside). The other thing is that Ghostbusters attracted aging talent that may not have traditionally worked on a comedy like this, such as cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs (who worked on 1970s classics like Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces), composer Elmer Bernstein (who scored movies like The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape), and production designer John DeCuir (who worked on Rodgers and Hammerstein movie musicals like South Pacific and The King and I, as well as the 1963 epic Cleopatra). Part of the reason the movie still looks so great on this, its 40th anniversary, is the weight of all that craft that went into it, as well as the various effects teams involved. Some other notable trivia: the theme song was one of the last-minute pieces. There are some other drafts of the theme out there that are fascinating to listen to (and totally wrong). I think Ray Parker Jr. was the fourth or fifth person to work on it. There was some controversy over it; Huey Lewis (of Back to the Future's "Power of Love" and "Back in Time") was asked to create a song but couldn't do it, and the song does bear some similarity to Lewis' own "I Wanna New Drug." Lewis sued and some sort of arrangement was reached. In 2007, a marketing company did a study and discovered that the Ghostbusters' "no ghost" logo, which was designed by producer Michael Gross, was the second-most recognizable logo worldwide behind the Coca-Cola logo. That street sequence was a seamless combination of two entirely different locations: the actual street outside the apartment building that served as Dana's place, and a set inside a studio with a hydraulic street designed to collapse. The real street was not only used for the before, obviously, but also the after, with pieces that simply sat on top of the street to give the appearance of the destruction after the hydraulics set was used in the middle of the sequence. Dan Aykroyd was walking to the set one day when he encountered Isaac Asimov, one of the most famous science fiction writers in history and someone Aykroyd was a huge fan of. Aykroyd was excited to meet him, but then Asimov started complaining about "the film production causing horrible traffic in the area" and Aykroyd sort of sheepishly left without admitting it was technically his own fault. The "dream sequence" with the ghost that added that "sexual content" warning to the rating was originally part of an entire lengthy scene, probably the most famous one deleted from the movie, where Ray and Winston go to a Fort Detmerring on a call. A photograph of them getting out of the car was used in some of the books and promo material, so people knew it existed. Last but not least, and to bring it full circle, the green ghost that would eventually be known as Slimer but who was referred to on set as Onionhead was actually a tribute to the late John Belushi, with his rambunctiousness and eating a nod to Belushi's comic and real-life persona.

Tyler Foster

Reitman was famously Libertarian, and there was definitely an element of "independent business owners up against government overreach" in using the EPA. I don't know if I would go so far as to call the whole movie a metaphor for conservative American values -- IMO, part of the reason many viewers don't think about the movie having a conservative element is that the EPA in the film is essentially interchangeable with the authority figures in other slobs vs. snobs comedies made by Reitman, Ramis, and others involved with the film, which don't really have a political message. That said, I don't say that to just let the movie off the hook. There are many of these sorts of subtle conservative themes in a handful of '80s movies. Another great example that my friend pointed out is Die Hard, which has John grousing about Holly's departure to another coast for a hip Japanese company where she's going by her maiden name. In the end, his old-school methods save the day, the Japanese businessman is dead, and the movie ends with John dispatching the villain by taking off Holly's gold watch, which in many ways is the movie's symbolic representation of the values she adopted but is theoretically going to leave behind.

Bryan Dempsey

This movie is in my favorite movies of all time list. I was 9 years old when this came out and I saw it in theaters with my mom. I really appreciated this reaction because as a child the only humor I really tracked was Bill Murray’s sardonic line delivery. Everything else was very serious to me. Your reaction as an adult is a real eye opener to all the humor in this movie. I’ve only ever known other people who saw this as children, including my own. I saw moments as humorous that I never took that way before through your eyes. That made it so great. I honestly think part of the reason this movie stands out to both Gen X and millennials is because in 1986 the cartoon series debuted, The “Real” Ghostbusters. The cartoon ran for 10 seasons and then after a short break a sequel cartoon series, Extreme Ghostbusters came out, I think for just 1 season. But it was well made, the audience had just matured out of it. With the cartoon came the toy line. As I was on the cusp of aging out of playing with action figures my brother, 8 years younger, was just starting to play with action figures and this is where our childhood fandom overlapped. We both had various characters and playsets and I have such vivid memories of playing together. It looks like they have random episodes people dropped on YouTube. I do suggest you watch a couple. While the cartoon exists independent of the movie series, it really kept Ghostbusters in the zeitgeist and brought in such an audience and its influence is felt in the rest of the movies. It’s crazy how big this cartoon was for it to be so obscure now. Another favorite is the theme song. It is the song of my childhood and every time I went roller skating it played from 1984 to today. Although to be fair, when I have gone roller skating with my girls, if they are ready to leave, they had had to on occasion request Ghostbusters be played because they know I won’t leave until I hear it. And 1989. I remember walking into the theater that spring only to see a poster with the new Ghostbusters 2 logo and the tagline, “Guess who’s coming to save the world again.” What an attention grabber. Every kid I knew was so excited for that movie. Right after Batman that’s all we talked about and anticipated. And I look forward to your thoughts on it in the near future…

RichieRich

Happy you had fun. To answer your question, yes I dressed up as a ghostbuster for Halloween in the 80s. This is one of my comfort movies and often revisit it. Lewis was also my favorite cuz I was/am the awkward person wherever I went. As far as Sigourney Weaver goes, her in that red dress made me feel things I didn’t quite understand yet lol

Tyler Foster

Small correction: The series ran for 7 seasons, and even then, that may be a little misleading. Animation production "seasons" are very weird. For instance, "Season 2" has 65 episodes, whereas "Season 7" has...4. In total, the cartoon ran for 140 episodes. Obviously, if you don't choose to do this, I can't blame you; five movies is already an incredible amount of Ghostbusters content. However, if you were going to watch a select few episodes as a bonus reaction, I would recommend "Citizen Ghost," which ties into the original movie, "When Halloween Was Forever," which introduces a famous villain in the series and is seasonally relevant, and "Knock Knock," probably the best episode of the whole series, which is actually a bit scary. All three are on YouTube, and the first and third are even actually uploaded via the official Ghostbusters YouTube channel. (The Halloween episode is on a different channel called 'Throwback Toons.'"

WastedPo

I was 7 when this came out, and yes, it was pretty intense and scary at times. That said, it had just enough humor (which I didn't understand entirely of course) and cues that that things were going to turn out fine, that it successfully skated that line between terrifying and exhilarating. I think I saw it 3 times in theaters, and it has remained one of my favorite movies of all time ever since. Now that I'm much older, I can objectively say that the original is still the best of the franchise. There is a seedy, grungy element to it that the others don't have. I think part of that is due to the fact that at its heart it wasn't so much a franchise movie, but a super-ambitious version of the type of improv/SNL/Groundlings comedies that already existed. (Reitman's previous movies included Meatballs and Stripes, both with Bill Murray.) There is also a sense of danger, embellished by the grainy, dark cinematography. (The sequel, 5 years later, while helmed by the same director, feels entirely different.) I'm actually of the mind that the Saturday morning cartoon "The Real Ghostbusters" captured the spirit of the original movie better than most of the sequels. (There is a boxed DVD set of that, in case anyone was wondering.)

Phalanx

I was only 3 when this came out, so way too young, and didn't see it until a bit later in life when it was padding out weekend schedules on TV (honestly how I ended up seeing a lot of 80s and 90s classics because I lived in a super rural area and the nearest multiplex was, like, 4 hours away). My first exposure to the franchise was actually the cartoon spinoff, The 'Real' Ghostbusters. Still, definitely love the it. In a movie filled with so many great, iconic moments, it's kinda silly but my favourite small sight gag will probably always be the elevator scene when they first switch on the Ray's proton pack and Peter and Egon nervously scooch to the other side of the elevator like it's going to make a difference.

Jason Chirevas

I was 9 when GHOSTBUSTERS came out, so right in the wheelhouse for the phenomenon KL described of seeing the movie as a kid…and then really seeing it as an adult. It’s also one of the few movies I can say has gained with each viewing. Lines get funnier, lines get noticed, reactions and details get noticed and connected to each other. I would say GHOSTBUSTERS is one of the best scripts of the 80s in how complete and tight it is. I’ll leave everyone with this, my Letterboxd review from the last time I sat down and watched this movie. It goes into some of the above in more detail. https://boxd.it/4pNXAx

BubblyRainbows

So excited that you're doing the "Ghostbusters" series! We have the newest two in our digital library, but I've been waiting to watch them until someone reacts to them. So, I guess I'll be watching them with you soon! The Halloween season is my favorite time of the year, and I'm hoping to do a bunch of fun and scary watchalongs. My favorite bit in this movie, personally, is the fact that the KEYMASTER keeps locking himself out of his apartment. That kills me. I love this movie. I'm glad you enoyed it. Hopefully, you enjoy the rest!

Death Lego

I don't really have anything to say, other than I watched and had a good time. Looking forward to more. Even watching any that aren't regarded as favourably, to give it / them a second chance.

Movies with KL

Thanks for all the info, Tyler! I suppose John Candy could have worked, but Rick Moranis did well. Also in hindsight, probably a good thing Eddie didn't end up being Winston, because BHC is too good!

Movies with KL

Yeah I'm sure they didn't totally plan on having Ghostbusters turn into such a franchise.

Movies with KL

Wow, 4 hours from a theatre! I'd have relied heavily on the TV movie schedules too hahaha.

Movies with KL

I feel like this is a movie that I will think is funnier and funnier over time as well. Also, thanks for linking your review! I just gave ya a follow.

Movies with KL

I'm glad you had a good time, thank you for watching!

Jason Chirevas

Appreciate the follow. Followed back. I like to think my reviews are a fun rabbit hole if ever there should be an opportunity. But I’m sure we all feel that way…

Sam

The fact you laughed at the "I looked at the trap, Ray" line—which I personally find hillarious—made rewatching this, for the millionth time, entirely worth it.

Tyler Foster

Honestly, everyone involved seems relieved that Candy didn't want to do it because his idea was so bizarre. He does pop up in the very bizarre music video though, which is mostly straightforward and then partly cameos by the most random celebrities you can think of.

Tyler Foster

One of my favorite lines in the movie. When I went to Fan Fest in 2019 they played some never-before-seen footage deleted from the film and it had another great Egon line that Ivan said he should've kept in the final cut. Peck accuses them of using nerve gas to create hallucinations, which stayed in the film. Afterwards, the mayor asks where they got it and Peck says, "they probably stole it from the army." Egon replies, "Nonsense. We don't steal, your Honor. If we needed nerve gas, we'd make it ourselves."

Sharpy

My first ever comment on your posts, but i watched this when i was around 8 at the cinema. Probably one of my all time favourite films and probably the film i have watched the most times (150 plus at least lol) :) Like some one else said in the comments, you pick up on so many more things in this film each time you watch it and it never seems to get old. Thanks for the watchalong was great too see your reaction!!

Movies with KL

Hey there! Thanks so much for watching with me. 150+ times is so much. 😁 Cheers!

nouvelle_vague

I am enjoying everyone getting nostalgic about the cartoon which I haven’t thought about in forever and I never hear anyone talk about, but was certainly a big part of my Saturday morning rotation. Clearly I wasn’t alone. I forget where I read this, but someone made a really good point that this movie started out as a big-budget, sci-fi, outer space kind of action thing and became a really grounded, down-to-earth movie which I think is a big reason why it works so well. They get into Ghostbusting because they lost their university funding, there’s still part of the gritty New York vibe of the late-70s/early-80s going on, they have a cheap local TV ad, their lack of money is a plot point, they become overnight celebrities and are on the cover of Time… the set-up is kind of mundane and a lot of things that would probably happen in real life are depicted. So it feels like it exists firmly in our world. So when the dead rise and dog statues come to life and chase people through Central Park it doesn’t seem as ridiculous as it kind of is. It’s got us fully accepting all of this. The first time I went to LA I ended up staying at the Biltmore Hotel. The Biltmore Bowl is a large ballroom in the basement that hosted the meeting that led to the creation of the Oscars and some of the first Oscar ceremonies (back when it was basically a dinner banquet) were held there. JFK ran his 1960 presidential campaign out of the hotel and in 1984 the Ghostbuster shot the heck out of the Biltmore Bowl ballroom (and the 12th floor I guess). The door that they come out of (“We came. We saw. We kicked its ass!”) I believe is actually a broom closet. The ballroom is totally in a different part of the hotel and on a different floor. The Biltmore has been in a million movies, but the prom scene in Pretty in Pink was shot there too. It is also allegedly haunted.

Nathan Jasper

Since it's October, I think you're legally required to say "There is no [fill in item here], only Zuul" any chance you get. What's even better, is you can use it for any situation! Don't like someone's comment? There is no comment, only Zuul. Don't feel like doing much one day? There is no workday, only Zuul. Bonus points for adding a growl. Ghostbusters is one of my favorite series ever. It literally has everything! Comedy, thrills, action, spooks... and Slimer!