Ghostbusters

Starring: Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis
Written by: Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis

Director: Ivan Reitman
Year: 1984

Rating: * * * * 1/2    Stars       +       (Fan Bonus *   )  Total: * * * * * 1/2

Having been kicked off campus, three underachieving scientists go into business for themselves investigating and capturing ghosts.

After having the daylights scared out of them at the public library by an spectral librarian, Doctors Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) return to their lab at school, only to find the Dean evicting them and their belongings from the University. So, after a triple mortgage taken out on Ray's parent's home, they lease a dilapidated firehouse, purchase a beat up hearse, fund their equipment,  and set up business as "Ghostbusters", the first for-hire business that polices and captures ghosts in the NYC area.

At first, there isn't much going on. There doesn't seem to be a huge demand for Ghostbusting. In fact, their only client is one Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) who visits them after a terrifying experience she had in her kitchen, where the refrigerator door seemed to open as a portal to another world. Dr. Venkman goes to check out her apartment, but seems more interested in pursuing her than any supernatural events. Dana ends up kicking him out once everything seems to be back too normal. 

Then, they get their first job. A hotel manager at a posh Manhattan Hotel has had enough of the disturbances on the 13th floor and calls the Ghostbusters for help. Only then do the Ghostbusters realize they've never actually tested their equipment and aren't sure what to expect. What follows is a hilarious sequence in which they not only capture their first ghost, but completely trash the 13th floor as well. Yet, they still charge the hotel $5k for their service. This incident immediately thrust them on the front page of every newspaper, and suddenly they're celebrities. 

As they continue to get more and more work, they are then confronted with Walter Peck, an investigator with the NYC EPA, convinced that they are using unsafe devices and seeks to shut down their entire operation. Meanwhile, Dana's troubles aren't over. Turns out, the man that designed her apartment building was an architect who worshiped a demi-god named Gozer, and her apartment is the gateway for Gozer to return to the Earth.

Comedy and science fiction come together to create arguably one of the funniest films of all time. The film boasts a talented and stellar cast, many of whom put in their career performances in this film. Rick Moranis, the nerdy next door neighbor of Dana is lovably funny in every scene. Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd, have the notoriety of not only bringing this film to life as actors, but also its writers. Each play their characters to the tilt, harnessing all their creative and artistic talents. Bill Murray pulls off his slacker-style character seen in such films as Stripes, making Peter Venkman identifiable and relatable as the every-man hero. Sigourney Weaver, known for her tough as nails Ellen Ripley in Alien, really lets her hair down in this film, showing off her sense of humor. 

Of course, all of this talent needs direction, and when it comes to comdedy, you couldn't beat Ivan Reitman. With plenty of great films in his career, Ghostbusters will always be his masterpiece. An upbeat soundtrack by Ray Parks, and special effects from ILM only serve as icing to this masterful cake.

A sequel was made 5 years later, that while less funny, was still a decent film. An animated series, various video games, and even a table top RPG have come out in the years that followed, illustrating a fanbase that continues to carry a torch for this great film. In fact, 2013 promises a Ghostbusters III. 

SEE THE TRAILER: Ghostbusters