The Dream Team Living The American Dream
“If there’s somethin’ strange in your neighborhood, who you gonna call (Ghostbusters)?” Anyone who recognizes this catchy tune will know the answer: Ghostbusters! The film Ghostbusters follows Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) and Raymond Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) as they run a paranormal extermination service in New York City. They go around catching ghosts until they learn about an ancient pair of evil spirits known as “The Keymaster” and “The Gatekeeper” that summon another destructive, shape shifting creature with the power to destroy the world, Gozer. The ghost assumes the form of a giant Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man and begins terrorizing the city. By “crossing the beams” of their special ghost-neutralizing weapons, an action Egon stated would be catastrophic, the Ghostbusters save the day. Directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, Ghostbusters endures because it establishes a strong precedent for future film producers with interests in combining elements of comedy and supernaturalism. While it has minor setbacks such as the existence of unnecessary characters, Ghostbusters’ success is driven by the time dedicated by the writer to the character development of the Ghostbusters, Ramis’ deadpan expressions along with Bill Murray’s clever dialogue, and the appeal that Ghostbusters, Inc. had to the audience as a story about running a successful business.
The movie is a clever and well written adventure, comprising characters with exceptional performances such as Bill Murray playing the cynical yet charismatic Peter Venkman and the lovable nerd in Egon Spengler as portrayed by Harold Ramis. Its success would inspire the creators of films such as Back to the Future and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.
An important point to realize is that the occurrence of paranormal activity in the movie starts out fairly low and based in a real world situation the audience can understand before the plot develops into a cinematized phantasmagoria. Beginning the movie like this offers the viewers an opportunity to get to know the main characters first before letting them face off against the pesky ghosts. This also ensures that the roles of the Ghostbusters are not downsized by the astounding special effects. Even Roger Ebert notices that, “No matter what effects are being used, they're placed at the service of the actors; instead of feeling as if the characters have been carefully posed in front of special effects, we feel they're winging this adventure as they go along.” The scene in which Ray accidentally creates a huge marshmallow man by simply thinking about the most benign creature possible (Gozer transforms into the first thing that people who see him think about) would have left the audience clueless unless they knew how Ray’s mind works and how he created such a ridiculous (and absolutely hilarious) monster.
Dan Aykroyd’s character (Ray) is certainly the center of the group. He has the most obvious enthusiasm and is easily the most naïve. When the Ghostbusters try to capture their first ghost, Peter is slimed by the creature. Instead of checking to make sure he wasn’t injured, Ray gets excited about the substance and proceeds to collect a sample.
Bill Murray shows his audience a stellar act as the smarmy Peter Venkman who appears to take a greater interest in the women around him than in being a full-time ghostbuster. His sarcastic humor leaves the audience chuckling, even when the plot takes serious turn. While the giant Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is terrorizing Times Square towards the end, Murray remarks, “We've been going about this all wrong. This Mr. Stay Puft's okay! He's a sailor, he's in New York; we get this guy laid, we won't have any trouble!” (Ghostbusters) Even Sigourney Weaver as Dana Barrett has the opportunity to display her seldom seen comedy skills. In fact, she can probably be credited with saying the entire film’s most viral line: “There is no Dana, only Zuul (Ghostbusters).”
Harold Ramis completes the crew with his character (Egon) acting as the socially awkward nerd and offering the audience hilarious deadpan expressions. When the Ghostbusters’ secretary attempts to flirt with him by asking if he has any hobbies, he bluntly states that he “collects spores, molds and fungus (Ghostbusters).”
Despite the impressive performances offered by the starring actors combined with the special effects, there are a few plot developments and irrelevant characters that exist which detract from the quality of the movie. The most obvious example is the presence of the fourth member of the Ghostbusters team, Winston Zeddemore (played by Ernie Hudson). He appears one day to apply to be a Ghostbuster and is accepted into the team to lighten the load (there was an increasing number of ghosts in New York City), but his character is not developed any further. Another hole in the plot involves the EPA inspector, Walter Peck (played by William Atherton). Peck comes into the movie when the storage units holding all of the Ghostbusters’ captured ghosts begin to pose a nuclear health risk to the city. He arrests the Ghostbusters, and deactivates the storage units, releasing all the ghosts back into the area. As Janet Maslin points out, “There are also far too many loose ends in the screenplay, since few of the supporting characters wind up having much to do with one another.” Ms. Maslin also observes that Peck “seems out of place in what's supposed to be a comic setting…”
What makes Ghostbusters such a unique film is that it’s a timeless classic, but remains representative of the 1980s. Most classics from the decade are labeled so because of the fashion or the social attitudes of the era, but Ghostbusters sends a deeper message. Without considering the supernatural aspects of the film, Ghostbusters is all about running a successful business.
The eighties saw the rise of shows and films about well-to-do citizens experiencing their everyday lives in peace with minor drama. Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Growing Pains are prominent examples of this middle class, affluent lifestyle; however, Ghostbusters tries a different approach. The heroes start off the movie by losing their research positions at Columbia University. Shortly after, Peter convinces Ray to mortgage his house at a high interest rate. The money acquired from this risky act is then used to set up a small ghost hunting business in a vacant firehouse. Their equipment is shabby and homemade. Initially, no one takes them seriously and it’s apparent that passion is driving their ambition. Although they start out as a joke, their hard work culminates in their becoming the world’s foremost authority on paranormal extermination.
Despite the lighthearted humor and impressive special effects, Ghostbusters embodies the original American Dream that hard work results in elevation of social and economic status. Perhaps on a mental level, this is what left most viewers with a sense of satisfaction by the time the credits roll.
Despite its minor plot holes, Murray’s comedic value, the amazing graphics and the subtler portrayal of the ghost hunting squad as hard working Americans make this movie golden. Ghostbusters is certainly one of the greatest cinematic highlights of the eighties. As soon as you see the “No Ghosts” logo, nothing more needs to be said. You know who they are, you know their theme song and that is why Ghostbusters will be remembered and cherished for decades.

Works Cited
Ebert, Roger. “Ghostbusters.” Rev. of Ghostbusters, by Roger Ebert. RogerEbert.SunTimes.com. Chicago Sun-Times, 1 Jan. 1984. Web. 16 Feb. 2013.
Maslin, Janet. “Film: 'Ghostbusters', with Murray and Aykroyd” Rev. of Ghostbusters, by Janet Maslin. Movies.NYTimes.com. New York Times, 8 Jun. 1984. Web. 16 Feb. 2013
Parker, Ray, Jr. Ghostbusters. Arista Records, 1984. Digital.
Ghostbusters. Dir. Ivan Reitman. Perf. Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis. Columbia Pictures, 1984. DVD.