Benjamin's Stash: Video Pick of the Week

      Hello, readers. We have another busy week of reviews, but first we have today's video pick. My pick this week was one of the highest grossing blockbuster flicks of the 80s. It also became a cultural phenomenon amongst both kids and adults featuring one of the catchiest songs of the decade.

      Ghostbusters first focuses on three parapsychologists - Dr. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Dr. Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Dr. Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis). After losing their jobs at Columbia University, the three decide to go into business for themselves on a "ghost containment" invention Ray's been working on. Business at first is a little rocky - secretary Janine Melnitz (Annie Potts) assures one client, "Yes, of course, they're serious." - but once people see what these three are capable of doing, the Ghostbusters become like rock stars within the city of New York. Booming business and an extremely busy schedule leads to the three hiring additional help from a fourth member, Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson). The Ghostbusters are soon hired by Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) who has found a Sumerian demigod in her fridge ("Normally, you don't see that type of behavior in a major appliance.", states Dr. Venkman). This case, in particular, strikes the interest of Dr. Spengler who believes the ghost they're after may be Gozer the Gozerian - a shape shifting god of destruction bent on bringing about the end of the world. Meanwhile, the Ghostbusters face another troubling pest in the form of an EPA agent named Walter Peck (William Atherton), who believes the Ghostbusters are nothing more than light show scam artists and threatens to shut them down.

      Normally, big special effects tend to adversely affect a comedy (The Back to the Future series is another rare exception along with this film), but let me just say that I love, love, love, love this movie. The main reason why I think this film is so effective in combining gut busting laughs with big special effects is the writing by Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd. Aykroyd brought the high concept story, and Ramis brought his talent for comic dialogue and his ability to ground Aykroyd's rather lofty concept into some form of reality. Ramis mentioned in the audio commentary of the film that the ultimate goal was comedy. Let the special effects work within the comedy, but never let them run the show. The result is nothing short of priceless. Bill Murray couldn't be more perfectly cast as Dr. Peter Venkman, the leader of the group. The comic timing - often times self-improvised - he displays is so pitch perfect, it's sick, and the chemistry he has with Sigourney Weaver's more straight faced love interest is spot on. Aykroyd is great as Dr. Stantz, the ambitious ghost expert. Ramis has the scientific nerd role down pat, and Ernie Hudson has a smaller, but solid role as the "everyman" of the group (There's a great moment when Winston's asked by Janine during his interview if he believes in UFOs, ESP, full trance mediums, Loch Ness Monster, etc. and Winston responds, "If there's a steady paycheck in it, I'll believe anything you say."). Rick Moranis also has a great supporting role as Dana Barrett's apartment neighbor who inadvertently gets caught up in Barrett's ghost dilemma (He has one ad-libbed scene in particular at a house party of his where he knocks it clear out of the park.). The greatest joy of this film, though, is that it doesn't matter if you're a three year old kid, like I was when I first saw this film, or an adult - there's a laugh for each of you in Ghostbusters. Kids will obviously eat up the moments where the Ghostbusters deal with "Slimer", and the adults will love moments such as the back and forth between Murray and Weaver and the more adult style one liners ("You can believe Mr. Pecker." ... "My name is Peck."). No matter how many times I watch this film, it never gets old, and from the moment Ray Parker, Jr.'s hit song "Ghostbusters" blasts through the TV speakers during the intro scene, I immediately feel like a kid again. There's something for everyone to laugh at here. Definitely check this great film out!