GHOSTBUSTERS (1984)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *comedy*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTIONS: *metaphysical*

The original GHOSTBUSTERS is a fine idea executed just adequately, generating a lot of smiles from me but not nearly as many laughs as I expect from the best comedies. The obvious durability of the concept seems to depend less on execution than on originality. There had been spoofs of supernatural sleuths and monster hunters before-- notably Roman Polanski's 1967 FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS. But the script by GHOSTBUSTERS co-stars Dan Ackroyd and Harold Ramis showed audiences how to bring monster-catchers into a high-tech era, using zap-guns and containment canisters to restrain paranormal bogeys, rather than old-fashioned circles of salt.

The characters played by Ramis and Aykroyd, Egon Spengler and Ray Stanz, are the source of all the tech the Ghostbusters use to bring spirits to heel. However, Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) is largely responsible for forcing the cloistered academics to get out of their comfort zone and become heroes. It's not clear how Venkman, who often projects the aura of a skeptical con-man, became associated with the two paranormal experts during their adumbrated academic career, or why he even thinks there are enough malignant spirits in New York City to make ghost-busting a profitable enterprise. Maybe Venkman only does so because he got an early look at the movie script, which shows a spike in hauntings in the Big Apple for reasons no one initially figures out. Not until very late in the movie does Egon figure out that a particular New York high-rise was constructed to be a gateway for Sumerian demons. But such is the comic chemistry between Murray, Aykroyd and Ramis, with additional reinforcement from belated addition Winston (Ernie Hudson) and wacky secretary Janine (Annie Potts) that most moviegoers didn't care about script consistency.

The script does introduce the haunted building by way of two of its occupants: musician Dana (Sigourney Weaver) and her nebbishy neighbor Louis (Rick Moranis). Dana calls upon the Ghostbusters to solve the mystery of her haunted icebox, but when Venkman fails to deliver anything but his attempts to hit on her, she shuts the door on further ghostbusting. However, the plucky parapsychologists find no shortage of bizarre apparitions to trap. One of the ectoplasmic entities was later dubbed "Slimer" and became a regular cartoon character. In any case the Ghostbusters become heroes of the city for their successful spirit-catching.

Since the demon-gateway isn't revealed for some time, the writers spend a lot of time showing how its heroes get hemmed in by small-minded bureaucrats, one of whom irresponsibly releases all of the Ghostbuster's imprisoned revenants. Since said bureaucrat represents the EPA, his role may speak to the idea that the organization's real-world reps were something less than conscientious in their agenda. But all the ghosts are just window-dressing for the Big Bad, the Sumerian demon Gozer, who will bring about the end times for humanity.

Though Venkman is destined to get in good with hot leading lady Dana, the script also indulges in a nerd's sex-fantasy. Both Dana and Louis get possessed by low-ranking demons and implicitly have sex with each other in order to open the gateway for Gozer. Just try to get away with that sort of thing in a modern "comedy."

The original GHOSTBUSTERS has a number of decent, often quotable jokes (though I may be the only viewer not amused by the appearance of the "Stay Puft Marshmallow Man") and provides Murray with one of his best "sympathetic cynic" roles. The original movie, though not a classic of comedy, is nevertheless one of the more significant franchise-starters of 1980s cinema.