Ghostbusters 2
At one time there was a feeling that the best example of any given sequel would be where it can be described as definitely âsolidâ, something that could even be argued was the highest possible compliment which it could receive. The positive dynamics of a typical franchise chapter were actually not so complicated: The original stars (and preferably, director) would return playing their beloved characters from Part 1, the story (while not a complete ripoff of the previous entry) would be faithful to the basic concept as being a plausible means to continue the lineage of said concept and the overall spirit, mood and chemistry of the principals would be retained without again directly repeating any of the earlier entries. All that and more was achieved with this 1989 release that of course followed up Ivan Reitmanâs immortal 1984 classic Ghostbusters, a film that straddled the line between supernatural horror and gut busting comedy hijinks without ever allowing itself to cross over into the realms of even remotely being a serious sci fi adventure film, portraying its goofball paranormal researchers as not just the only ones who can avert the end of the world, but also acting like theyâre having a grand old time doing it, spouting one liners and classic comedic moments left and right while refusing to show any fear towards the most fearsome of entities. The box office numbers tallied up a huge smash hit, and the demands for a full fledged sequel only grew louder in the next 5 years even as it was obvious that the concept itself had the legs to continue on even further than that. The problem of course was with one Bill Murray, in reality only one prominent cog in a machine loaded with top writing and improvisational talent, who had originally signed on to do Part 1 in a reportedly reluctant concession since he had wanted to do more dramas (and the one which he got to do in exchange for signing on is 1984âs The Razorâs Edge which had bombed horribly even with his name all over the advertising thus giving him more of an axe to grind) and then would take a long sabbatical from acting for much of the 80s which had delayed any go ahead on production for the long awaited Ghostbusters followup. Even worse, the deal that was made with Murray to return as Peter Venkman for Part 2 reportedly saw an unprecedented arrangement made where Murray (along with Reitman, Dan Aykroyd and the other principal players) wound up literally OWNING a piece of the entire franchise in a scenario that not only would see him get a percentage of all merchandise revenue, but also gave him the right (after Part 2 was made) to not only turn down any and all future participation in ongoing installments, but to still also receive his full salary just for the fact that a sequel was being made even if he never spent a minute on set! This resulted in being a pretty unacceptable arrangement for the studio and it also wound up kneecapping Reitman, Aykroyd and Harold Ramis (the trio of creative minds who were at least passionate about the material) from continuing the series using any number of ideas that theyâve reportedly had over the years for any further sequels (a shame that Ramis had to die first before an aging Murray finally relented to appear in Part 3 which only materialized over 30 years later). Long story short, the series was definitely not and should not have been dependent on Murrayâs participation in order to continue and evolve what with the wealth of talent involved and equally memorable characters including Aykroydâs Ray Stantz (best described as a goofy Everyman type who just happened to be a genius in parapsychology and in many circles was just as beloved by the fans of the series as Venkman), Ramisâ Egon Spengler (easily the most underrated of the bunch, a nerdâs nerd complete with social awkwardness who nonetheless is still the coolest person in the room and who does get his share of great moments in Part 2), Sigourney Weaverâs Dana Barrett (admittedly as Venkmanâs love interest required to only be used in the story if he is involved too), Ernie Hudsonâs Winston Zeddemore (another underrated legend, the working man who needed a job and got one being a Ghostbuster, easily the most relatable of the group for the average viewer and here in Part 2 treated more like an equal than a trainee), Rick Moranisâ Louis Tully (perhaps the signature role for Moranisâ whole career which is probably the reason for his own reluctance to sign on for Part 2 but whom nonetheless is hilarious in the courtroom scene here even as the rest of the movie feels like contrived attempts to find something for him to do) and Annie Pottsâ beleaguered secretary Janine Melnitz (still rocking the nasal New Yorker accent while sporting a bizarre bewigged looking hairdo). Joining the fray (and nearly stealing the movie in the process) is Peter MacNicolâs insane, heavily accented museum director Janosz, shamelessly sexually harassing Weaver at her job there all while gloating over a newly arrived portrait of a genocidal madman named Vigo The Carpathian (Wilheim Von Homburg, a dark and controversial figure in his own right) whom we are told, hundreds of years ago engaged in such barbarous behavior and sorcery that he was literally torn apart by his own people (at age 105) and vowed to one day return which as it turns out, is in 1989 Manhattan on the Ghostbustersâ watch. With all of these elements now in place, we have our story and characters intact, with the first 40 minutes of the movie being used to explain how the Ghostbusters (who were mercilessly sued and put out of business after being blamed for the events of the first film) get themselves back up and running from the drudgery and humility of their current lives where Venkman is hosting a wacked out psychic talk show, Egon is conducting experiments on negative energy (using pissed off people as guinea pigs) and Ray is running his own occult bookshop while he and Winston are doing the occasional kidsâ birthday parties (where the kids scream that they want to see He-Man instead). After the natural series of events that transpires to put them back in business, they catch on to Vigo when he (and the possessed MacNicol) seems to be targeting both Weaver and her baby son (the result of a failed relationship after she had broken up with Venkman) with the intent of being reborn into the world through the child. The film suffers ironically enough from the advent of The Real Ghostbusters TV cartoon show that had sprung up in the intervening years and of which the franchiseâs known popularity with kids had caused Reitman, Aykroyd and Ramis to deliberately tone down the borderline R-rated material here (including cutting out almost all scenes of the characters constantly smoking of which there were quite a few of in Part 1). Fortunately, MacNicol as Janosz does manage to successfully straddle the line between funny and (as seen when he shows up at Weaverâs apartment during a blackout) genuinely creepy, and since his possessed character in many ways fills the same role as Moranis (here upgraded to official sidekick) did in the original, there really wouldnât have been much of a reason to NOT include him in future installments if only they had actually been made. And in the final conclusion about Murrayâs involvement, OF COURSE the franchise did not need to be dependent on his presence going forward and certainly the other main players (as well as the overall concept of this franchise) could have carried this whole thing quite easily if they had only legally detached Murray from it for the greater good, since they could have produced a Ghostbusters movie without him every three or four years and not run out of steam as long as the timing of the releases were done right. Venkmanâs true comedic worth as a character anyway was in the way he was almost detached and dissociative from even his own fellow paranormal scientists and yet still had enough bullshit in him to talk his way out of hairy situations for all of their benefit. But it still feels that when it came to Ray, Egon and especially Winston that their stories never got to be properly told and character arcs never fulfilled as a result, certainly things that could have been expanded upon with Murrayâs Venkman out of the picture (NOT killed off necessarily although Murray almost came back for that idea of playing a ghost himself) as there was plenty of leeway there to even further develop characters who in many ways were already belovedâŠ
8/10