Ghostbusters (1984)

I watched Ghostbusters today and I have to say I felt like it was mediocre. Every time I say that I feel bad but please know this is my opinion and it does not mean the film was bad! In fact it takes a very specific kind of film to be seen as bad for me because I love a good bad movie that's what makes it so great. The reason I say it was mediocre is because I feel like there was no huge moment of greatness and for that reason it all reads as one straight narrative. Which was disappointing for me because I do like a classic ghost haunting. I have mentioned before I like to watch ghost hunting whether you think them real or not. In theory I probably should have put paranormal on the list of films to watch but I also have a fear of ghosts and just want them to be this goofy undead spirit rather than a demonic force. Again, this is why I thought I would enjoy this movie so much. To the the ghosts credit they were the best part about this film the worst part was simply everything else.

The writing in this felt very two dimensional and I never found myself connecting with any of the characters. Of course that is never a need in a film but it is always a bonus as a way to draw in viewership and to keep the films you make popular. But at no point did I find myself liking a character in any particular way and I think a lot of the reason for this is because we never saw a great deal of their personality. The main character in this film was Venkman and he wasn't the best character to watch because of how much of a sleaze he was and it wasn't even as if he had a big character development turn. The start of the movie literally opens to Venkman constructing an 'experiment' about psychic abilities in which regardless of what the cards say the boy is always wrong and the girl is always right. He passes it off as some greater mind games experiment but that's a lie he just wants to get in the girls pants. From the moment we see him he's nothing but a flirt who is willing to do whatever he can to make himself seem more attractive to woman. Even if that is by using his friends to push his agenda. There was never a moment where I felt he truly cared about the ghost hunting business or the science behind capturing them. It simply happened that his friends dragged him along to one of their calls and he was able to see first hand the evidence they exist which partnered with getting kicked out of the university gave him the perfect opportunity to profit off this new business premise.

What's more he never showed he truly cared about the business even when he was in it. It was Raymond who placed his house as collateral should the loan for starting the business go wrong and it was Egon who worked with Raymond to perfect the ghost hunting weapons and devices. Without them the meer idea of the group would never have existed. And then when Venkman saw a chance to profit he joined more 'seriously' but even then he seemed more interested in meeting the people at the jobs that he could flirt with than the actual case. He remained focused on the idea built in his head that he could use the famous reputation as the only ghost hunters to make women sleep with him. And that view never changed when he met Dana. They added Dana as this long standing character in a way that made me think she was going to be the character that made him realise he was being a dick, but no. When the first me he was so forward and doing whatever it takes that he literally told her he loves her but even that didn't work because Dana could see how desperate he was. It was a moment that I thought Venkman would slowly start to realise he can't go around flirting and sleeping with everyone and needs to be more sentimental and monogamous but it never comes. It just so happens that Venkman makes the assumption that Dana will fall for him once he has saved her life and that is exactly what happens! There is no character development he starts an ass and ends an ass and yet still gets the girl.

It was the most frustrating thing to watch I was truly hoping that she would come back after defeating this demi-god and he would make a move again and she would shut him down once and for all but they just kiss and everything is fine. It is framed as this great moment of development but there is no development just pure waiting until the moment to strike which is so stupid. I know there is a second so god I hope this isn't a long standing couple and I hope it was a spur of the moment kiss and the relationship never progressed because she realises oh yeah he hasn't changed! And speaking of demi-gods, that plot line was the best part and it wasn't even a ghost! I don't know how you would define a ghost but I think a ghost has to be some kind of spiritual apparition. Things like people and animals make perfect sense, Slimer is a push because to me he is more of a monster but I will allow it on the basis of him representing the spirit of gluttony. However Gozer is a god! While it is clear the events that happen surrounding her entrance is supernatural I wouldn't class it in the same category of ghosts. Maybe that is just a me problem but I feel like demi-gods and demonic rituals are a different ball game of haunted creature. They overlap with the tradition ghost but are not the same. And they are especially not the same when you physically summon them to the mortal realm.

All that aside I can not complain too much because the Gozer storyline was the best thing I saw. It just had so much built up story and lore around it that it was so much more interesting than anything else that was happening. And then the possession happened and I couldn't help but think of how much of a cliché I really was. Those statues on the building came to life and all I could think about was how badly I wanted to pet them. I'd have been the perfect candidate for possession because I would be willingly walking up to these creatures like it was a dog trying to scratch it's head and teach it tricks. I was also disappointed in how quickly they managed to defeat this final boss. All it took was a zap and this great god was suddenly killed which I'm still not certain about, it happened so fast I'm almost certain Gozer just left and pretended they died to lay low. Then they accidentally summoned this great marshmallow monster (again it is a monster NOT a ghost) but with a single zap again they closed the doors and everything was forgiven. Clearly they were trying to make this moment a huge build up because of how often they mentioned crossing streams being dangerous and yet two seconds later they're doing it with very little convincing and no repercussions. It was implied before that crossing streams could be the end of the world and yet one characters saying 'but we might live' was enough for them to do it and nothing truly happened! You couldn't have made the sky flash or a storm appear or something to show that it affected the world at least a bit! And then the marshmallow character was defeated the same time the realm was closed and the two characters that got possessed came back to life with seemingly no ailments. So all along this great battle was talked about and dropped hints of everything culminating at the apartment building and all it took was a basic five minute fight for it to be over and the dickhead gets the girl.

It just felt like everything could have been heightened or taken one step further to really encourage the film to be the best and yet it didn't. The timeline just appeared to me in more of a straight line than a mountain. The ghosts were minimal and where the ghosts were shown they were questionable, because WHY was that one ghost giving the guy a blowjob. What the fuck was I watching, it was such whiplash, and yet they were the best part movie. Even if I still don't understand the world building around them. Were ghosts always known to exist? Were they only brought to the media recently? If so where is all the public outroar at the fact ghosts have been proven real! The best character if any would have been the assistant. She was so sassy and confident I was loving it. Give me more of her and I could raise the stars but since she was lacking screen time this is all you get.