Ghostbusters: Difference between revisions

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'''''Ghostbusters''''' (1984)

Three parapsychology professors (childlike and curious Raymond Stantz, slick and sleazy Peter Venkman, and detached academic Egon Spengler) are fired from their jobs at Columbia University in New York City. They set up Ghostbusters, a company providing scientific exorcisms. At first business is slow, but then the number of ghosts in New York City starts increasing exponentially.

The Ghostbusters soon become household names, and have to recruit a fourth team member, [[Naive Newcomer]] and [[Token Minority|token black guy]] Winston Zeddemore, but they realize that the surge in ghosts is portentous. Investigations show that phenomena are centered on the apartment of Peter's love interest Dana Barrett, which was designed by a cult from the early 20th century to attract spirits.

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One of the defining elements of the movies (and the rest of the franchise as a whole) is that the characters examine the paranormal with the scientific method and combat it with technology, rather than other similar stories where the characters have to combat the supernatural with magic. [[Dan Aykroyd]] and Harold Ramis (who played Ray and Egon, respectively) were responsible for the premise and original script, Aykroyd himself being an avid believer in the paranormal while Ramis has admitted to being a skeptic. As such, in addition to the excellent comedy and memorable characters ''Ghostbusters'' has been found to appeal to skeptics.

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There were also computer game adaptations of both movies, but only Tropers over a certain age will possibly vaguely remember it. There was also a comic book series by long-defunct NOW Comics which used the animated series' art style but had its own story lines. IDW Publishing, after a couple of miniseries, is now publishing an ongoing comic series picking up a few years after the second movie.

Ray Parker Jr., who performed the film's iconic [[Theme Tune]], was sued by Huey Lewis over the similarity of the melody to that of "I Want a New Drug".

A third movie has been rumored for literally ''decades''. For many of those years, this movie was intended to be a continuation of the first two; a script had even allegedly been written (by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, of ''[[The Office]]'') with oversight by Aykroyd and Ramis, and was supposedly only waiting on Murray's agreement. However, this project -- if it existed at all -- died with Harold Ramis in early 2014.

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== Ghostbusters General ==

* [[~~Always Chaotic~~ Evil]]: Ghosts, except for very specific instances in spinoffs and adaptation. The Busters have to be justified in locking these things up for all eternity, after all.

* [[Exclusively Evil]]: Ghosts, except for very specific instances in spinoffs and adaptation. The Busters have to be justified in locking these things up for all eternity, after all.

** Their are a few exeptions of course. Slimer reformed by movie 2 and former Mayor Fiorello Laguardia gave some advice to the current Mayor of New York at one point.

* [[Ambiguously Jewish]]: Egon and Janine.

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* [[Awesome Backpack]]: The proton packs.

* [[Author Appeal]]: Aykroyd's fascination with ghosts and the supernatural is well known. Thus leading to the dream sequence...

* [[Autobots Rock Out|Autobots, Rock Out!]]: Their theme music alone is good enough for this trope.

* [[Badass Crew]]: A crew of [[Badass Bookworm|Badass Bookworms]].

* [[Big Bad]]: Gozer in 1, Vigo the Carpathian in 2 and {{spoiler|Ivo Shandor}} in the video game.

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* [[Butt Monkey]]: Louis Tully, also Ray Stantz to a lesser extent.

* [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]]: Ray and especially Peter, who both have Ph. Ds, in Physics and Parapsychology/Psychology respectively. Both are extremely childish and, especially in Peter's case, fairly unprofessional.

* [[Casual Danger Dialog]]: Egon is a master of this, usually as a way of flatly commenting that he's scared out of his mind ''despite'' being overly calm and talking plainly.

{{quote|'''Venkman''': Okay, Ray's gone bye-bye. Egon, what've you got left?

'''Egon''': Sorry, Venkman, but I'm terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought. }}

** He manages Casual Danger ''Laughter'' in 2. Ray and Peter laugh nervously while waiting for the Scolari Brothers to strike, and Egon chimes in with a monotone "[[Flat Joy|Ha. Ha ha.]]"

* [[Complete Immortality]]: Almost all ghosts that are not at least a Class 7 are this, which is why they get trapped and sent into the containment unit.

* [[Cool Car]]: The Ecto-1, a 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor ambulance, refurbished and tricked out with Science!

* [[Destructive Saviour]]: The Ghostbusters are very effective at capturing ghosts, but in the process, they tend to cause thousands (or even ''millions'') of dollars of damage. They did blow up the top few floors of a high rise building.

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* [[Funny Background Event]]: After blowing up the poor housemaid's cart, while they stand around talking, you can see her trying to ''spritz'' out the fires they started with a bottle of cleaner.

** During the cutscenes in the video game, The Rookie can be seen reacting to the situations in humorous ways, especially when Stay-puft first appears.

* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]]: An awful lot of swearing and sexual innuendo for a family comedy. Not to mention [[Demonic Possession]], heads on pikes, and all the other horror.

** Not just innuendo. Dana outright says (though she's possessed by Zuul at the time and therefore Venkman refuses her) "I want you inside me." This is usually cut from TV broadcasts of the movie.

* [[Ghostly Goals]]: Usually of the highly destructive variety.

* [[A Half Dozen Guys in A Basement]]

* [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]]: ''Venkman''.

{{quote|'''Venkman''': "Type somethin', will ya? We're payin' ya for this stuff. And don't stare at me, ya got the bug-eyes...." (pauses) "Janine, sorry about the bug-eyes thing, I'll be in my office."}}

* [[Lovable Coward]]: For all his charm and bravado, Peter Venkman is not the bravest of men. With a few exceptions any acts of heroism on his part will usually be very very reluctant ones. That said, he will step up to the plate if necessary; he just won't be very happy about it. Of course, we still like him, because he's Peter Venkman.

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* [[Science Is Bad]]: Inverted; the Ghostbusters' scientific methods always prove to be the only effective way of dealing with the supernatural, and the only use for other schools of thought is to provide info on what they're dealing with.

* [[Science Is Wrong]]: See above.

* [[Sealed Evil in a Can]]: The Ghostbusters' containment grid in the first film and Vigo's portrait in the second.

* [[Shown Their Work]]: The films are actually very, ''very'' thoroughly researched, a side-effect of Aykroyd's own interest in the paranormal. For instance, Peter's treatment of the Zuul-possessed Dana is based on actual advice from exorcists and psychiatrists for dealing with cases of [[Demonic Possession|possession]] and [[Split Personality|DID]], respectively (i.e. you are ''never'' supposed to let the other personality remain in control; this is why he keeps insisting to talk to "Dana", and tries to ignore Zuul).

* [[Signs of the End Times]]:

** Part 1

{{quote|'''Winston Zeddmore:''' Do you remember something in the Bible about the last days, when the dead would rise from the grave?

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* [[Theme Tune]]: When there's something strange in the neighborhood... [[Who You Gonna Call?]]? Ghostbusters!

* [[Throw It In]]: There are varying accounts of how much of the final films were improvised, from a few select lines to a good majority of the films.

* [[Token Minority]]: Winston.

* [[Vanity License Plate]]: The Ectomobile has ECTO 1 on its tags.

* [[Weapons That Suck]]: Technically speaking, the real weapon the Busters use against the ghosts are their traps, which suck the ghosts in and hold them until deposited in the protection grid. All the proton packs intended for is to snare ghosts in the proton stream and position them above the trap. That's also why the Busters didn't need the proton packs to capture the jogging ghost; all they had to do is place the trap in his path and open it when he stepped over it.

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== Ghostbusters ==

* [[Above the Influence]]: Venkman comes to visit Dana and finds she is possessed by Zuul, which makes her want to sleep with the Keymaster. He refuses, since she isn't in her right mind.

{{quote|'''Zuul/Dana:''' ''I want you inside me.''

'''Venkman:''' *laughs* Go ahead - no, I can't. Sounds like you got at least two people in there already. Might be a little crowded." }}

* [[Arbitrary Skepticism]]: Played with. While Peter is certainly a believer in the paranormal, he has a bit more practical sense than Ray and Egon, who are willing to believe ''anything'' is supernatural related. "Right, [[Sarcasm Mode|no human being would ]]''[[Sarcasm Mode|ever ]]''[[Sarcasm Mode|stack books like this]]."

* [[The Alleged Car]]: Ecto-1 is an ancient ambulance/hearse that we're introduced to with Ray listing off the numerous things they'll have to fix. Remarkably, they apparently do.

* [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking]]:

{{quote|'''Dr Ray Stantz''': Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling!

'''Dr. Egon Spengler''': Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes...

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* [[Beautiful Condemned Building]]: Despite its numerous flaws, Ray falls in love with the old firehouse.

* [[Brand X]]: Stay-Puft Marshmallows.

* [[Brick Joke]]: Ray has a rather underwhelming plan to catch the first ghost seen in the movie.

** This is brought back near the end of the movie when the protagonists come face to face with the film's [[Big Bad]].

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* [[Crazy Prepared]]: Venkman proves to have fast access to 300 cc's of Thorazine, which implies that he carries it around with him or can find it offscreen in less than a few minutes. 300 cc's is a ''lot'' (almost ''a third of a quart'', Imperial). The novel clarifies this by implying that he found it in her apartment.

* [[Creator Cameo]]: Director [[Ivan Reitman]] provides the voices for Slimer and Zuul.

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]:

** Bill Murray, who else?

** Sigourney Weaver's character Dana Barrett shows shades of this as well when Peter compliments her on her cello playing:

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** Janine, upon seeing a police officer at the door:

* [[Dean Bitterman]]: Dean Yeager inadvertently starts the Ghostbusters by firing them from their cushy academic jobs.

* [[Demonic Possession]]: Dana Barrett and Louis Tully.

* [[Dope Slap]]: Peter Venkmann to Ray Stanz, and vice versa.

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* [[Evil Makeover]] / [[Evil Is Sexy]]: {{spoiler|When Dana gets possessed by Zuul}}.

* [[Fog Feet]]: The library ghost.

* [[Foreshadowing]]: In the scene where the eggs in Dana's groceries start cooking themselves while still in the box, a bag of Stay-Puft marshmallows can be seen right next to them.

* [[A Form You Are Comfortable With]]: Played with when Gozer offers the Ghostbusters to choose the form of the Destructor.

* [[Glad I Thought of It]]: Peter Venkmann and Dana Barrett.

* [[Godzilla Threshold]]: It is incredibly important not to cross the streams. But by the time Gozer is about to reincarnate & bring about [[The End of the World as We Know It]] they figure "what the heck?"

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{{quote|'''Peter:''' See you on the other side, Ray.

'''Ray:''' Nice working with you, Dr. Venkman. }}

* [[It Is Beyond Saving]]: In the [[Backstory]] Shandor believed this about society in general, which is why he wanted to cause [[The End of the World as We Know It]].

* [[It Was Here, I Swear]]: Dana sees a temple and terror dogs in her fridge. Later, she brings Peter to investigate:

{{quote|'''Peter''': (peeking inside) Oh, my God... Look at all the junk food!

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* [[Jerkass]]: Walter Peck.

* [[Kitschy Local Commercial]]: The commercial the Ghostbusters put out. It has no music, the characters are wooden and it looks like it was shot for about 5 bucks.

* [[If You Know What I Mean]]:

{{quote|'''Dana:''' That's the bedroom...but nothing ever happened in there.

'''Peter:''' What a crime. }}

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* [[Naive Newcomer]]: Subverted by Winston, who adjusts to his new job very quickly.

* [[Never My Fault]]: Walter Peck condemns the Ghostbusters for causing the explosion he himself had caused, in spite of their warnings.

* [[Never Recycle a Building]]: Even though it's a major deathtrap in the middle of New York City, the abandoned firehouse remains conveniently available until Venkman ''et al'' need a place of business.

* [[The Not-So-Harmless Punishment]]: When Gozer demands that the Earth choose the shape of its destroyer, Ray immediately thinks of The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, being the one thing that he believes could not possibly ever hurt us. Unfortunately, that's not quite so.

* [[Oh Crap]]: The look on Mr. Stay Puft's face when the Ghostbusters cross the streams.

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{{quote|'''Winston:''' Oh, no.

'''Peter:''' [[Unusual Euphemism|Mother pus bucket]]... }}

** When Walter Peck turns the containment grid off, the result is an [[Oh Crap]] combined with a [[This Is Gonna Suck]].

* [[Pillar of Light]]: Rises over the city when the ecto containment unit explodes.

* [[Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner]]: Venkman gets two of these in rapid succession

{{quote|'''Venkman:''' ''(after having nearly been flung off a building by Gozer's [[Agony Beam|Electrofingers-of-Death]])'' "Alright... this chick is '''toast'''!"

'''Venkman:''' "...let's show this [[Eldritch Abomination|prehistoric]] [[Precision F-Strike|bitch]] how we do things [[Big Applesauce|downtown]]." }}

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'''Dr. Peter Venkman:''' Yes, I'm Dr. Venkman, Dr. Stantz, Egon... }}

* [[Styrofoam Rocks]]: At the end, when debris falling is from the top of the skyscraper. In one shot you can see a rock, which had supposedly tumbled from several hundred feet in the air, fall straight down and bounce off of a wooden police barrier.

* [[Tailor-Made Prison]]: All of the ghosts who get captured get placed into the nuclear-powered Containment Unit. Instant Catastrophe? [[Sealed Evil in a Can|Turn off the Unit.]]

* [[This Cannot Be!]]: Ray's reaction at seeing the Stay-Puft monster.

* [[Trust Me, I'm an X]]: "Back off, man, I'm a scientist."

* [[The Tunguska Event]]: A throw-away line near the end has Ray telling Louis that he was part of the biggest crossover event since this, implying that it was a ghost thing.

* [[Uncomfortable Elevator Moment]]: The scene wherein the Ghostbusters are heading up to the floor of their first real assignment. "Why worry? Each of us is wearing an unlicensed nuclear accelerator on his back." Cue the other two shuffling comedically away in the tight space.

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* [[History Marches On]]: When the ''Titanic'' is shown arriving in port, it has a huge hole in the prow.

* [[Hoist by His Own Petard]]: The Ghostbusters use a positively-charged version of Vigo's slime to animate the Statue of Liberty, which allows them to bypass the slime barrier surrounding the Manhattan Museum of Modern Art. The slime blowers are then key to incapacitating Janosz and {{spoiler|the possessed Ray}} without hurting them. When Vigo is forced back into the painting, the slime blowers are the only weapon that visibly hurt him.

* [[Jerkass]]: Egon with his hilariously cruel experiments, including fooling a couple into thinking they are there for marriage counseling and watching them from behind a two-way mirror, then making them wait for hours and slowly pushing up the temperature.

{{quote|'''Egon''': [[For Science!|"Lets see what happens when we take away the puppy."]]}}

* [[Medium Awareness]]: The updated Ghostbusters sign with the ghost giving the "two" sign. It doesn't make much sense in the context of the film.

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* [[Theme Tune Cameo]]: Ray and Winston try to sing the GB theme song at a birthday party for "ungrateful yuppie larvae", but sadly, they're shouted down by their cries for [[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe|He-Man]].

* [[Weaponized Landmark]]: The Statue of Liberty.

* [[Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?]]: Apparently Winston has an aversion to rats.

** [[Nineteen Eighty-Four|Shout out, perhaps?]]