Ghostbusters Turns Forty!

June 8th, 1984, started it all...

The summer of 1984 was a very traumatic time for me and the family. My father had died in December of 1983, and my mother was determined to enjoy her life and try to create as normal a world for me as she could. There would be trips to family and friends in New York and California, an attempt to get me interested in judo (no comment) and a move to a new home not too far from my old neighbourhood, but clearly a bigger and fresher space for all of us. And, then there were the movies...

I find it very hard to explain certain things about the eighties. Many consider me lucky to be a part of Generation X, the last generation that grew up before computers became the ultimate fashion accessory, went outside to play and had few worries about stranger danger, safe spaces and using the right words with the right people. There was a freedom that I did not know existed, and it was in our music, clothes, attitudes...and films.

1984 was the year of “Dune”(box office failure, believe it or not), “Moscow on the Hudson” (the first film to prove to me that Robin Williams was not just a comic actor), “The Bounty” (my first Anthony Hopkins film, and the one that made me pay attention to his talent), “This Is Spinal Tap” (still the best satire of rock music and the culture therein), “Purple Rain” (almost as massive as the album), and a movie about a group of academic nerds who would go on to save the world on top of a penthouse in New York City...that became the top box-office success of the year.

“Ghostbusters” will turn forty this year and I feel both old and young thinking about it. It is no longer just a film that amused us and was one of the most successful comedies of all time; it is no longer just a logo and a hit song that is probably playing in your head as I type this (it certainly is in mine); it is not just something we have put aside like our favourite toys, best played with another day. It is as much a part of our culture as any other cultural touchstone. It has stirred up a lot of my own personal memories of that summer. And I think I have a lot to say about it…

Let’s go back to the summer of 1984, boys and girls… I was ten years old, already exposed to the song by Ray Parker, Jr. that was beginning to tear up the charts. My family made going to the movies a real event, as did many other families that brought their brood to the theatre. And, once again, I was at a familiar spot: the Tivoli Theatre in Hamilton, Ontario. I keep thinking about the importance of where you experience an event and how it influences all of your memories of that event. I saw “The Empire Strikes Back”, “The Return of the Jedi”, two “Indiana Jones”, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”, “Back to the Future”, and various other movies that were framed by red curtains, Roman statuary and a balcony seat that was never occupied (and yes, I thought of those old guys from The Muppet Show eventually peeping above the divider and spewing some amusing criticisms at the screen). I was ready for the party that was that theatre and that crowd. I was ready to be afraid of no ghosts…but there were other things I was not yet prepared for…

First, Sigourney…

Ah, Ms. Weaver, the wonderful corrupter of my adolescence… If only I were older, lived in New York (never met you when this was being shot; wondered if there was some overlap), and had the nerve to find out more about you. I had already seen “Alien” at far too young an age, and I was ready to see if you could handle a comedy with some of my favourites (will get to them later). And you handled them all very well, including those hands that broke through that chair, the demonic entity in your fridge, and the wiles of Bill Murray. I learned that the latter would tickle you between takes to get you to relax (oh, to have been hired on set for such a role). And you kept those boys in line when things got rough. Okay, that is all I have to say…for now.

Bill Murray…

Who is this guy? I knew that there were other films where your reputation had already been set, and I had seen “Saturday Night Live” in rerun to understand the love that the theatre felt when you appeared on the screen, wisecracks intact. And you improvised many of your best lines, didn’t you: “Normally, you don’t see that kind of behavior in a major appliance”; “He slimed me”; and everyone’s favourite: “Yes, it’s true. This man has no dick.” And if you could get Sigourney at the end of all those travails and obstacles – “Okay, so, she’s a dog” – there is hope for all of us.

That song...

Well, you could not get away from Ray Parker, Jr., and his biggest hit. Later, when I learned that he had been sued by Huey Lewis for appropriating “I Want A New Drug”, I forgave him (after George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” case over his appropriating “He’s So Fine”, how could I not do so?). I understand now that we are all swiping and borrowing from someone, even if it is just a pop melody. And what a melody it is! It is very hard to explain just how popular it was that summer. The only merchandise I had connected to the film was a tape of the soundtrack for my first Walkman. There were other tracks that were better written and more creative, but none that lingered in the minds of the public as it ran up the charts accompanied by a video featuring cameos by some of the most famous comic talents of the time (Chevy Chase, George Wendt, the cast, etc…; for some reason, it is no longer on YT) You even got the chance to see Bill attempting to breakdance. Good times…

And now, the problems…

Winston…

Played by Ernie Hudson, Winston Zeddemore feels like an afterthought in the film, and he is certainly treated like one. Please go back and watch the scene where the Ghostbusters return to Dana’s building and the ground opens up. Once the crowd discovers that the Ghostbusters have not been killed, three of the paranormal fighters place their hands together and psyche each other for the fight ahead.

Only three of them.

Zeddemore is seen running into the building with them, but he is excluded from this particular group huddle and earlier when Ray Stantz (co-writer and comedian extraordinaire Dan Ackroyd) claims, “We might have to do some overtime on this one”.

This is just one of many moments that made me uncomfortable with his role. My favourite moment is when Zeddemore and Stantz are driving over the bridge (name escapes me) and discuss why they have been so busy:

“Ray, has it ever occurred to you that the reason we’ve been so busy recently is because the dead have been rising from the grave?”

More moments like that where he is adding his insights and providing real teamwork would have improved things.

One other thing…

Sequels!

I did see “Ghostbusters II” and the 2016 sequel with female leads…and I did not like anything about them. As I write this, I am thinking of a Saturday Night Live sketch about the original movie. A program devoted to the fandom receives random calls about the show, and one called asked if the host and guests thought that there should be a sequel.

All said “No”.

And that was back in 1984.

Why didn’t anyone heed this wise advice?

The first sequel suffered from a very poor script, and the desire of the cast to top themselves after making what was at the time the most successful film comedy of all time. Nothing to be ashamed of, perhaps, but we all have our memories and do not want them trashed (even the song written by Bobby Brown is pretty much forgotten).

And then there was the reboot…

Some people say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions…and the 2016 reboot is proof of that phrase. And let me say this as someone who loved the cast (even Chris Hemsworth as a female Jeanine, with intellectual issues, was acceptable): I wanted this film to succeed. I ignored the online trolls and the general word of mouth that dismissed this effort. I went in during a matinee to see it…and the theatre was almost completely empty. There was a dad and his son who eventually came in and sat a few rows ahead of me. At the end of the film, after credits and an final key scene, the father asked the boy what he thought of it.

The boy, wise beyond all our years, shrugged and just stood up to leave.

That seemed to say it all.

Okay, I did not want to end this on such a negative note. I have not see the recent films with the junior Ghostbuster team collaborating with their older peers, and I may have to give them a chance (I know that Zeddemore’s character receives his due, and Venkman finally faces karma on behalf of Barrett and an old machine). But the summer is long, the days are open, and I am still that ten-year-old kid sitting and staring at that screen, wondering about the possibilities in the paranormal. Maybe there is still an Afterlife in that Frozen Empire... (see what I did there?)

Who are you going to call?

And I realize now that we were in New York while the film was being shot. My, my...

Oh, and rest in peace, Harold...

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You can find more poems, stories, and articles by Kendall Defoe on my Vocal profile. I complain, argue, provoke and create...just like everybody else.

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