Ghostbusters II: A Misunderstood Gem

Being a kid in the late 80s and early 90s was a glorious time; there were so many great movie franchises that spawned cartoons and toy lines (not necessarily in that order of course), but one that always stood out for me was, of course Ghostbusters.  Nearly 30 years later, I still can clearly recall the exact moment I found out about The Real Ghostbusters toy line; it was 1987 and my Dad had taken me to the Laneco store in Clinton, NJ for some reason.  While there, I checked out the toy aisle (as I always did, no matter who I was with at the store) and, to my surprise, there were a bunch of Ghostbusters action figures!  Never mind the "Real" connotations with their title or that they looked cartoonish (given that they were tie-ins to the Saturday morning cartoon), I was stoked that I could finally have a Peter Venkman action figure!  Of course, Dad bought me just that and, as they say sometimes, the rest was history...

Over the next few years, I was all about The Real Ghostbusters; I had almost all of the toys and watched the cartoon endlessly.  Pretty much any tie-in related to the show was something I had to have in fact.  At this point though, I'd say I was more into the cartoon and the toy line than I was the original 1984 movie itself; I don't ever recall owning a VHS copy of the movie (or its sequel for that matter) and only remember ever seeing it at babysitters' or friends' houses, or if it happened to be on TV.  I can safely say that Ghostbusters occupied my world before Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

Sometime in 1988 or very early '89, I remember the first time I knew there would be a Ghostbusters II; it came courtesy of the image below, which my Dad showed me in a magazine.  My first thought was "Where's Winston and who's the old dude with the guys and Louis?!" 

This simple image had the 6yr old version of me stoked!

Once the movie was finally released, it was actually a very significant piece of my hometown's history...our local movie theater, The Barn Theater had the biggest screen I'd ever seen at that point and I even saw my very first theatrical movie there -- Rocky IV!  It was also within walking distance for pretty much everyone in town; granted Frenchtown, NJ is small but it was a thrill and an event to actually walk -- as a family -- the 8 or so blocks to the theater!  So, needless to say, when The Barn Theater got sold and was ultimately closing up shop in 1989, the entire town mourned.

Ghostbusters II was the very last movie my family saw there.  Since then, I've always thought that it was the very last show there completely, but I've heard conflicting reports about that.

As a sequel, I always thought it was great how the story picked up in real time, 5 years later, showing the effects of the first film on our heroes.  The fact that they were sued out the ass for all the destruction they caused may have seemed a trivial and pointless beat, but it's interesting to see similar fallout in today's blockbusters like Captain America:  Civil War and Batman V. Superman.  The story goes that the Ghostbusters have become a joke despite saving the city and all four guys have pretty much moved on with their lives; Egon is back at Columbia University in a lab, Ray owns an occult book store on St. Mark's (when he and Winston aren't paid children's entertainers doing birthday parties) and Peter hosts a fraudulent psychic television talk-show.  That is, until a new threat attacks Dana Barrett and her infant son, forcing her to reconnect with Egon, Ray, and her estranged beau Peter. 

In a sense, the basic plot works as a "let's get the band back together" sort of vibe that is a little too on the nose with revamped logo outside the Firehouse (and on their uniforms) and the "WE'RE BACK!" ad ticker on the updated Ecto 1-A later in the film.  Speaking of that logo, I always thought it was interesting how the film blurred the line between its fictional world and reality by including it within as well as Ray and Winston using Ray Parker's "Ghostbusters" to get everyone into a dancing mood at a kids' birthday party.  

Another cool thing about the film that I was always disappointed there wasn't more of was the inclusion of the 'busters wearing black/gray jumpsuits in a few scenes.  It's weird because they're wearing those suits on the one-sheet and even the soundtrack album cover, too.  The few scenes where they are wearing them -- mostly during the montage -- stand out because, well, those suits just look so much cooler than the regular brown/gray suits. 

Over the years, much of the criticism for Ghostbusters II has been that it's a virtual remake of the original movie and it's clearly designed to sell merchandise (i.e. toys to kids like me at the time).  However, I have to disagree:  it doesn't necessarily remake the previous movie in that it hits the same story beats in almost the exact same spots -- much like the relationship between Star Wars and The Force Awakens.  As far as the merchandising goes, sure there was "some" merch available for the film, but ultimately any toys were still under The Real Ghostbusters banner (of which, there was only a re-release of the Ecto 1-A with the updated stickers featuring the sequel logo, the "WE'RE BACK" ticker, and pink slime splats, among others included and a role-play Slime Cannon -- neither of which I had).  If the purpose of the movie was to sell toys, you'd think they would have released a set of figures in the black suits or with the slime cannons used in the 3rd act.

After re-watching the film a couple nights ago back-to-back with a theatrical showing of the original, I think it's safe to say that it's more or less based on The Real Ghostbusters cartoon/toy line more than the opposite.  The two most obvious clues are that the mood slime is pink this time around (Kenner must have made a small fortune in its pink/red slime produced for the toy line) and Annie Potts' Janine Melnitz character suddenly looking more like her cartoon counterpart.  Also, it goes without saying that bringing back Slimer and making him more comedic relief/a friend of at least Louis, echoes his cartoon version.  In fact, I remember thinking the first time I saw the movie, as Louis suited up to help out the guys, that'd maybe, just maybe he'd use the Ecto 2-A gyrocopter vehicle from the toy line!

Another main source of criticism in the film is Bill Murray's performance, which many feel is phoned in only for a quick paycheck.  Again, I disagree as this movie contains some of Peter's funniest bits and dialogue -- even stuff that I literally finally understand after last night's viewing!  Murray is in fine, sarcastic form here displaying his trademark dry humor throughout.  His insults to Peter MacNicol's Janosz -- calling him "Johnny" for example -- have had me in stitches for 27 years!  There are shades of Meatballs' Tripper Harrison, Caddyshack's Carl Spackler, and even Stripes' John Winger in Murray's delivery and timing here!

Ultimately, I think a lot of the "phoned-in" complaints come from the fact that, initially, Raimis and Aykroyd didn't want to do a sequel.  The first film was self-contained and had a finite ending, but with the success of the cartoon, Columbia Pictures begged and pleaded to continue the story.  Perhaps that's what's evident in Murray's performance; a sense of "can lightning strike twice?  Do I even care if it does?"  Next to the original, the sequel is night and day....the first one could be viewed as a Saturday Night Live sketch stretched to a feature length, with a heavy dose of reality and monster movie madness thrown in...the sequel is a life-action cartoon intentionally aimed at its youthful audience. 

It's funny, after the theatrical screening of the first film, I was talking to my wife about it and she mentioned how it wasn't very big in her circle of teenage friends when it came out...it wasn't quite regarded as a comedy classic like Meatballs, Caddyshack, or Stripes.  For my money, the funniest parts of the first film are Bill Murray...with the rest of it capturing my imagination and playing to my love of monsters and ghosts.

In the end, I think time has been kind to this sequel -- which, it should be noted, came out during an influx of sequels in the late 80s.  Perhaps in the absence of a true Ghostbusters III, fans are revisiting it and finding appreciation.  Or maybe even in spite of the Paul Feig-helmed reboot, nostalgia is kicking in and forcing fans to give it another spin. 

One last thing....it would be criminal to mention the soundtrack!  Truly a product of its time, featuring Run-DMC, New Edition, Doug E. Fresh, and Bobby Brown (with 2 tracks!), the Ghostbusters II soundtrack was an early favorite cassette that I owned.  Today, it still gets regular play (and sing-alongs) on my iPod with "Spirit" by Doug E. Fresh remaining an all-time favorite.