logan j. fowler never wants He-Man at his birthday party…
There are sequels that are universally hated. There are sequels that are universally loved. And then there’s the ones stuck in the middle. Here we have Ghostbusters 2, the follow up to the comedic hit that is Ghostbusters which came out in 1984. Some find many faults with the next adventure featuring the proton pack touting foursome, but really, it’s a solid comedy. It may not cut as many laughs as its predecessor, but I find it to be a fun ride and it’s definitely memorable in its own right.
Released in 1989, GB 2 finds the paranormal pursuers basically down on their luck as the whole city has turned against them even though they practically saved the world. Ray Stanz (Dan Aykroyd) and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) are just up to supernatural science stuff as Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) is off hosting a talk show. When Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) asks the guys to scope out some weird activity near her apartment that caused her baby’s crib to move on its own, the boys head into the sewer system to check out a possible reason why. They discover a river of slime that causes the activity but end up being arrested due to non permissible roadwork. They are then put on trial and when the slime they discovered begins to bubble hard during an angry judge’s speech, the contained goo erupts and unleashes some old enemies of the judge. Ray, Egon, and Pete fight the ghosts and get all charges dropped. Back out in the streets once more, Winston (Ernie Hudson) rejoins the guys more officially and set out to take down a serious baddie (tainted by the negative slime) from the 16th century trapped in a museum painting looking to take over the body of Dana’s son Oscar.
Ghostbusters 2 has a holiday feel to it, as the context of the movie shows the boys in Santa hats jogging down the streets of New York looking for work, and towards the end of the movie there is a countdown to Vigo reclaiming his former glory as the clock also ticks down to midnight.
The film also has a major geek element (besides the Ghostbusters themselves) when the foursome use a Nintendo controller (the NES advantage) to control the statue of liberty. This grand scale use of something might have been used to mirror Stay Puft in the first movie, but whatever, it’s a blast and you can’t help but grin as the copper toned idol of freedom is marching down NYC streets to Jackie Wilson’s “Your Love is Lifting Me Higher.”
Is it a perfect sequel? No, but rarely ever do follow up match their predecessors. With that said, Ghostbusters 2 will never attain classic status like its movie brother but what it does achieve is a good amount of laughs in its undertaking. It’s got a boss soundtrack and its fun and while it seems that manyf film fans dismiss it, I still think it’s where the saga should end rather than bring about a forever delayed “nobody-wants-it” third movie.
I ain’t afraid of saying it.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWx01S3gTQU&w=560&h=315]
