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"GHOSTBUSTERS" (1984) (Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd) (PG) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Moderate Mild Heavy Heavy *Moderate Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate Mild Extreme None Moderate Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy Heavy None Moderate Moderate QUICK TAKE: Comedy: Three disgraced, unemployed university scientists open a ghost-trapping business, are joined by a fourth man who just wants a paycheck, and face an enormous supernatural threat to New York City. PLOT: Ray Stantz (DAN AYKROYD), Peter Venkman (BILL MURRAY), and Egon Spengler (HAROLD RAMIS), are three scientists deemed a disgrace by the dean of Columbia University and told that their grant has not been renewed and they're no longer welcome. That's most likely because their fascination with paranormal activity (though Venkman seems to be around just to be around) is seen as too weird for any campus to support. Then, an idea from Venkman: "Professional paranormal investigations and eliminations." Ghostbusters, for short, which starts out in an abandoned firehouse, with no customers, and then Dana Barrett (SIGOURNEY WEAVER) comes to them, wanting to know what paranormal being is living in her fridge, complete with a pointy-headed monster. Word gets around of the Ghostbusters' existence, and the business and publicity flies in fast, even attracting Winston Zeddmore (ERNIE HUDSON), not at all worried about what the business is, as long as it brings in a paycheck. But the big problem for the Ghostbusters comes when Zuul, the being in Dana's fridge, wants more room than the fridge contains and it turns out that there's yet another being. Then a bothersome bureaucrat from the EPA (WILLIAM ATHERTON) causes even more havoc that brings everything to a head and the Ghostbusters to a challenge literally bigger than anything they could ever have envisioned this line of work bringing forth. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? It's got ghosts created by very well-designed special effects, it's got a terrific comedic foursome armed with a script full of repeatable lines, it's got Rick Moranis whom many kids may recognize from "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" and its sequel, and it's got Slimer. There's no doubt that they would. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG No official reason from the MPAA exists, but we'd guess it's for sexually related material, violence, some frightening images and (recently added as a reason) smoking. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: BILL MURRAY plays Peter Venkman, a scientist of sorts, if scientists spend most of their time doing non-scientific things. Despite his doubt over the presence of ghosts in the New York Public Library, he gradually, surprisingly, becomes a kind of leader in the group, even going so far to defend the business of Ghostbusters when an arrogant, angry bureaucrat from the EPA threatens it. He's the one with the one-liners, most of them said with a straight face, and doesn't mind that the ghosts are real. Venkman is always up for sex, no matter who it's with and he tries, though the one time he heads toward success, he bows out because of a personal rule. He smokes, he curses, and he drinks. DAN AYKROYD plays Ray Stantz, completely taken by the potential discovery of ghosts, as he's been looking for signs of the paranormal for years. Within this group of men that make up the Ghostbusters, he's more the innocent than any other type. To consider the possible origins of these men becoming acquainted with each other, it's likely that Ray is the one who brought them together, simply because not only was his enthusiasm infectious, but also because he represented something that each man wanted to have in their own life, either the pursuit of a different kind of science or simply something to do. Ray smokes the most out of everyone, drinks, and has a sexually-driven dream involving a female ghost. HAROLD RAMIS plays Egon Spengler, the brains of Ghostbusters, the one who likely thought it all out, finding nuclear accelerators and a structurally sound storage system for ghosts. He's excited by the discoveries as well, and is the voice of caution when it comes to what not to do with the nuclear accelerators. He's one of the few in the film who doesn't curse, drink, or smoke. ERNIE HUDSON plays Winston Zeddmore, who joins the Ghostbusters simply because he wants a steady paycheck. He's a fast learner and doesn't mind dealing with ghosts or carrying around nuclear equipment, and gradually gets into the work, even going so far to defend the Ghostbusters to the Mayor when it comes to fighting what threatens New York City. Winston smokes once, curses at least twice (once, unknowingly, in front of a Cardinal), and drinks. SIGOURNEY WEAVER plays Dana Barrett, a musician who finds paranormal beings in her fridge and hires the Ghostbusters to find out exactly what it is, and tries to stave off the wiles of Venkman, who continually tries to pick up on her. Barrett becomes possessed by the monster living in her fridge and tries to mount Venkman for sex, who refuses because of a personal rule. Besides her being seen post-coitus, she shows a lot of leg in one shot. RICK MORANIS plays Louis, an accountant who lives in the same apartment building and on the same floor as Dana, a man to be uncomfortable about, who none-too-subtly hints at Dana that he'd like to go out with her, and is also a nut about fitness. He also becomes possessed by another monster and is seen post-coitus with Dana. WILLIAM ATHERTON plays Walter Peck, a bureaucrat with the Environmental Protection Agency who's after the Ghostbusters for countless rule violations. It's his court order and his actions which put into motion the bigger problems the Ghostbusters face towards the end of the film. He has quite a bad attitude, and he curses at least once. SLIMER plays himself. A green ghost with a gluttonous love for anything he can eat, he devours food off of a hotel room service cart, numerous hot dogs from a hot dog cart, and quickly polishes off a bottle of booze while in a hotel ballroom. He also isn't averse to sliming those who get in his way. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this PG-rated comedy. Profanity consists of at least 4 "s" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are uttered. Sexually related dialogue and innuendo are present, while a supernatural related dream heavily suggests female to male oral sex and a possessed woman wants a man to have sex with her. Violence consists of use of a special kind of weaponry designed to stop ghosts, and there is much property damage as a result, while other related material stems from various paranormal forces. While played for comedy, so of that and other material might be unsettling, suspenseful or maybe even scary to younger viewers. Several characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, while all sorts of potentially imitative behavior is present. Various characters also smoke and drink, and several scenes feature supernatural-based slime (including that getting on people). Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Venkman asks the shaken librarian if she's "habitually using drugs, stimulants, alcohol." At the university campus, Venkman puts down a bottle of alcohol to talk to Ray more closely, and after, Ray takes a swig from the bottle and so does Venkman. At dinner, the men toast to their first customer and Ray and Venkman drink from their Budweiser cans. A room service cart crashes into a wall in a hotel hallway, and a champagne bucket with a bottle falls to the floor along with broken dishes. The ghost Slimer goes straight for the booze in a ballroom, chugging the contents of a bottle. BLOOD/GORE Clear goo drips from card catalog drawers in the basement of the New York Public Library, "ectoplasmic residue" according to Ray. Countering Egon's request for a sample of that goo, Venkman asks, "Somebody blows their nose and you want to keep it?" After collecting some but getting it on his hand, Venkman wipes it on shelves of books behind him. He then re-joins the others and hands over a plastic shell-type case, saying, "Egon, your mucus." Slimer rushes through a wall, leaving small streams of goo sliding down the wall. Slimer rushes towards Venkman and when Ray gets to him, we see that Venkman's been heavily slimed, goo all over him. White goo goes everywhere after a very large monster is destroyed, and a deluge of it showers down on someone on the street. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE In a study not quite conducted for educational purposes, Venkman has hooked a guy and a girl to a small machine in a test of ESP ability. If they're wrong on what shape a hidden card shows, then they're given an electric shock, which Venkman takes great, understated pleasure in doing, especially toward the guy who gets each answer wrong except one, though Venkman shocks him anyway and the guy gets angry at the continual shocks. However, despite wrong answers coming from the girl, Venkman doesn't shock her for obvious reasons. While walking toward the New York Public Library to investigate paranormal activity, Venkman says to Ray and Egon, "As a friend, I have to tell you you've finally gone around the bend on this ghost business. You guys have been running your ass off meeting and greeting every schizo in the five boroughs." There are two other references to mental instability, first with Venkman explaining who comes to Ghostbusters to report ghosts, people who are serious about what they've seen and "nutballs who come in off the street." Later, in commenting on the layout of Dana's apartment building, Ray says, "The architect was either a certified genius or an authentic wacko." Egon listens to a wooden table for clues, and Venkman knocks on the table a few times and then bangs a book down hard. Unconvinced about the librarian's claims that she saw a ghost, Venkman puts three questions to her, the last of which he asks her if she's menstruating at that moment. Trying to get his hand free of ectoplasmic residue, Venkman wipes it on shelves of books behind him. At the Ghostbusters office, Venkman says to Janine, "Don't stare at me. You've got the bug eyes," but apologizes a couple of seconds after. Unimpressed by Dana's fellow musician, Venkman asks her, "Who's the stiff?" Walter, an angry bureaucrat, cites the Ghostbusters for violations of rules set by the Environmental Protection Agency because of the equipment they use, gets into arguments with Venkman over it, comes back with a court order to search the premises, orders the ghost trap equipment shut down and it's that act which releases apparitions all over the city to cause havoc. Later, in the Mayor's office, Walter continually tries to put the blame on the Ghostbusters for what happened. Walter is then called "d*ckless" by one of the Ghostbusters and when the Mayor asks if it's true that Walter's actions caused havoc, Venkman responds, "Yes, it's true. This man has no d*ck." Unaware of the Cardinal that's sitting in the room, Winston tells the Mayor, "I've only been on the job for a few weeks, but since I joined these men, I have seen some sh*t that'll turn you white." FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material (but most is played for comedy). As a librarian walks past drawers of library catalog cards, the drawers push out and begin spraying the cards all around. The librarian screams and runs, and then off-screen, an apparition appears, emitting blinding white light which shows on the librarian and she screams again. A bookcase falls behind the men, nearly hitting Venkman and Egon. A ghost reading a book implores the men to be quiet, but as Ray counts, with all of them getting closer and closer to try to catch the ghost, it broadens and roars at the men, emitting purple light, sporting a massive jaw, and the men scream and run away. Dana hears a growling, gurgling sound coming from her fridge and she opens it, yellow light emerges, and we see brown clouds and some sort of temple. Then, a pointy-headed monster emerges and exclaims, "Zuuuuuuuuul," and white light emits from its mouth. In a hotel hallway, Venkman, Ray, and Egon fire multi-colored streams from their nuclear accelerators at what they think is a ghost, and sparks fly everywhere. It turns out that it's just a maid. Slimer spots Venkman and rushes toward him. In a hotel ballroom, the men fire at Slimer, but their streams miss him and cause a chandelier to spark and fall. Venkman yells at Ray to fire and Slimer barely flies out of the way and the stream hits a buffet table. Egon fires next and the stream explodes a wedding cake and collapses a banquet table. Dark clouds gather around the top of Dana's apartment building, with lightning flashing. One paw of a dog statue breaks suddenly, revealing a different set of claws and a red eye glows. An alien arm bursts up from a couch arm next to Dana and muffles her. Two more rise up and hold her down. Her recliner spins around and moves towards the kitchen door where the monster awaits. The monster roars in Louis's bedroom, and then bursts out from there, flying onto a table and scaring the guests. In front of a restaurant, the monster approaches Louis who's scared enough not to move, though that's all we see of that. When Venkman goes to Dana's apartment, she opens the door, and she's not the same Dana, this time one that's been possessed by Zuul and some of her actions may be frightening to some. Zuul-as-Dana looks out the window at the flying apparitions and windows explode after they pass by. Gozer fires bolts of light from her hands at the Ghostbusters, knocking them backwards. A giant Stay-Puft Man walks through the city, terrorizing people, and it then climbs up a building. The Ghostbusters cross the streams, something never to do, to try to defeat Gozer. GUNS/WEAPONS Portable nuclear accelerators are the major weapons that the Ghostbusters carry on their backs and fire at ghosts either to capture them or destroy them. See "Violence" for more details. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Oh, sh*t," "D*ckless," "G*ddamn it!" "Burn in Hell" (spray painted on a door), "It's pissing me off!" "Listen! Do you smell something?" "Don't stare at me. You've got the bug eyes," "Nutballs," "Jesus!" "What the hell are you doing?" "Disgusting blob," "He's an ugly little spud, isn't he?" "I feel so funky," "Throw it!" "Nice shooting, Tex!" "We came, we saw, we kicked its ass!" "Who's the stiff?" "So who the hell is that?" "What an asshole," "Now it's my turn, wiseass," "Your mother!" "Come on, let's run some red lights!" "Let's show this prehistoric bitch how we do things downtown," "It's Miller time," "Mother pus bucket," "I feel like the floor of a taxicab" and "Venky!" All of the action, stunts, and the use of weapons might be enticing for some kids to imitate. The siren on the hearse that's transformed into the Ghostbusters transport sounds like the cries of a cynical baby. Venkman jumps up and slaps Ray on the top of his head. To get his hand free of ectoplasmic residue, Venkman wipes it on shelves of books behind him. As Dana moves off-camera, Venkman gives a look where he opens his mouth and puts a fist to his forehead. A cigarette hangs from Ray's lip when he's in shock, and then falls down. Venkman tries to yank the tablecloth out from under glasses and dishes and succeeds in only the flowers remaining intact. JUMP SCENES One paw of a dog statue suddenly breaks, revealing a different set of claws. An alien arm bursts up through a couch arm next to Dana and muffles her. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) An extreme amount of ominous and unsettling music occurs in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None PROFANITY At least 4 "s" words, 2 slang terms for male genitals ("d*ck," "p*cker"), 3 asses (1 used with "wise"), 2 hells (1 spray painted on a door), 1 use of "G*ddamn (as "G*ddamn it"), and 1 use of "Jesus." SEX/NUDITY After ending his experiment and being interrupted by Ray when trying to pick up on Jennifer, Venkman tells her that he'd like to work with her some more and asks her if she could come back in the evening and before he can give a time, Jennifer asks, "8 o'clock?" Venkman tells Ray and Egon that they can stay and work on their investigations and, "I'll take Miss Barrett back to her apartment and check her out." Venkman comments on the space in Dana's apartment and when he asks her if it's just her and she replies, "Yes," he says "Good." Venkman then goes into Dana's bedroom and she tells him that "nothing ever happened in there," referencing the incident, and Venkman responds, "What a crime," referencing the obvious. Venkman imagines out loud to Dana how she would react if he caught this monster that she believes is in her fridge: "I wonder if he'd be interested in knowing what makes me tick." Ray dreams about a female ghost who floats above him and then disappears, his pants being invisibly unbuckled and unzipped, his underwear showing, and then there's a shot of him becoming cross-eyed, and he falls back to the bed. Dana asks Venkman if he has any information for her and he replies, "Well sure, but I'd prefer to give it to you in private," and then just after, says, "If we could get together Thursday night, I'm thinking 9-ish, you know, we could exchange information." Walter is called "d*ckless" by one of the Ghostbusters and when the Mayor asks if it's true that Walter's actions caused havoc, Venkman responds, "Yes, it's true. This man has no d*ck." Zuul-as-Dana asks Venkman, "Do you want this body?" He responds, "Is this a trick question?" Zuul-as-Dana commands Venkman to "take me now….sub-creature," throws him down on the bed, and straddles him, to which Venkman's reaction is, "Easy. I make it a rule never to get involved with possessed people." Then Zuul-as-Dana tells Venkman, "I want you inside me," prompting him to reply that it sounds like she has at least two or three people in there already (referring to being possessed). Zuul-as-Dana kisses Louis, who's been taken over by a monster and in another shot, they are shown mussed up from having presumably made love. Lying on a bench, Zuul-as-Dana shows a lot of leg. Gozer, as a woman, is in a body suit and shows some cleavage. Venkman engages in slang describing the penis, though it's commands for the men to fire up their weapons for an attack against Gozer, such as when he yells at the men, "Got your stick?!" and they respond, "Holding it!" Then he shouts, "Make them hard!" the cue for the men to get them ready, after which time they respond with, "Ready!" SMOKING Ray smokes at least seven times, Venkman smokes once, and Winston smokes once. TENSE FAMILY SCENES None TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Bill Murray specializes in deadpan comedy, in which the humor is from the words he says and how he says them. This is true of other movies he's been in as well. A lot of unsettling music is used to point out the dangers ahead for the Ghostbusters, and the ghosts certainly make their presences known. Other films that are more horror than comedy use music also, as well as other methods to affect viewers. In almost as few minutes as it takes for Bill Murray to establish Venkman, Rick Moranis makes his character, Louis, an amusing, but uncomfortable man to watch, with his love for exercising, and constantly hinting at Dana that he'd like to go out with her. Gozer has a rich, complicated history that's explained in the film. VIOLENCE Venkman presides over a study that he labels "the effect of negative reinforcement on ESP ability," but seems only an excuse to shock people when they guess wrong on what shape is on a card. This is especially true of the male participant who is shocked three times, the second time jolting the gum out of his mouth. Peeved at Ray interrupting his attempt to pick up on Jennifer, the female participant, Venkman jumps up and slaps Ray on the head, exclaiming, "I'm right in the middle of something, Ray!" Egon is already at the library by the time Venkman and Ray arrive, listening to a wooden table for any clues. Venkman tricks him by knocking lightly a few times on the table and then raising a book and banging it down hard, making him jump. While walking through the underside of the New York Public Library, Venkman remarks to Egon that "this reminds me of the time you tried to drill a hole through your head." A bookcase mysteriously falls over, nearly hitting Egon and Venkman. In a hotel hallway, with nuclear accelerators on their backs, the men fire multi-colored streams at what they think is a ghost, and sparks fly everywhere, but it turns out to just be a maid with a cart, who emerges unharmed. Burnt toilet paper rolls and other destroyed material are strewn about. The nuclear accelerator causes walls to catch on fire as well. After Slimer rushes through a wall, a room service cart with champagne bucket and champagne bottle, and many dishes, crashes into the wall and the bucket and broken dishes fall to the floor. In a ballroom at the same hotel, the men fire at Slimer who flies away quickly, and their streams hit the chandelier, causing it to spark and crash down onto a table. Venkman then yells at Ray to fire and he does, and once again, Slimer barely flies out of the way, and Ray's stream hits the buffet table. Egon fires next and his stream explodes a wedding cake and collapses a banquet table. Before a table is upturned to make room for the trap, Venkman tries to yank the tablecloth out from under glasses and dishes and succeeds in only the flowers remaining intact. Egon and Venkman fire streams at Slimer to hold him in and bring him down into the trap. An alien arm bursts up through a couch arm next to Dana and muffles her. Another bursts up through the front of the couch, holding her down and a third does the same. Her recliner then spins around and goes toward the kitchen door, sending her to the waiting monster. A roar is heard from Louis's bedroom, with a monster bursting through the door after and flying onto a table, scaring his guests. Louis runs across from his apartment building to nearby, trying to escape the monster, but no luck. Walter's insistence that the ghost-containing equipment be shut down leads to the top of the Ghostbusters building come off and apparitions escaping, terrorizing citizens, such as one apparition having a time with subway passengers coming from underground, a taxicab driven by a decrepit skeleton, and Slimer having a gastronomical time at a hot dog cart. Walter then states that this is the fault of the Ghostbusters and Egon exclaims, "Your mother!" and tries to attack him. Zuul-as-Dana looks out the window at the flying apparitions and after they pass by, the windows explode and so does a lot else. Gozer fires bolts from her hands at the Ghostbusters, knocking them backwards. A huge monster stalks through the city, causing people to scramble, and it soon scales the troublesome apartment building. Despite it being more dangerous than it could possibly be worth, the Ghostbusters cross the streams of their nuclear accelerators to attack a temple-like structure and the apparition it belongs to. An explosion sends white goo everywhere, splashing down mostly on one man on the street. Reviewed off DVD / Posted March 24, 2008