Ghostbusters 2

1989

Starring: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, David Marguiles, and Peter MacNicol

Written by: Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis

Directed by: Ivan Reitman

Are we ready to believe…again? I am. Enough that I’m not going to dismiss the film as a failure. The second film does not share the same amount of love and respect as the first but I believe it is underrated.
Though it is a silly, bizarre world again, this film seems to be unfairly picked on as the same qualities of the first are overlooked.

Bill Murray again makes the most of his Peter Venkman role. No it is not quite as funny the second time around, but it’s hard to match the sheer brilliance of his role in the first film. I will say I laughed at most of his lines this time around as well so I was not disappointed there.

Five years later and the Ghostbusters are out of business until a pink slime gathers under the City and sparks events that necessitate the return of the Ghostbusters.

The film continues the same underlying role of sarcasm and it seems to be easy. For example the scene where the boys are digging under the streets of New York City and Venkman tries to blow off the NYC cops and Utilities departments is simply classic Murray.

After the trial and return of the ghosts to haunt the judge, the Ghostbusters are free to practice their art again and it works well. But as the film goes on it does appear to have lost a little bit of steam. Little forced things undermine the film and make it known it’s running out of gas. Like the little ghostbuster logo with the 2 fingers indicating it’s the second film is good for a logo, but to use it on the building and car just seemed stupid.

The forced cameo of Slimer for no real reason also seemed gratuitous. Then there was the endingn which tried to duplicate the first film in a way but came off as a bit of a cheap carbon copy knock off.

But despite this it still works on a whole mainly because of Murray and to a lesser degree Aykroyd, Ramis, and Hudson.

Peter MacNicol is also a great addition as the bumbling turned evil henchman of Viggo, Januz.

Overall the film series probably needed a good break and a part 3 would have been a failure at the time…Enough time has now passed that it might be time to revisit the team. So it was good to stop now before it ruined the franchise. Since Ghostbusters 2 is certainly no ruin, even if there are the signs of fray.

B-