Critical response
Bill Murray in 2018. Critics were consistent in their praise of his comedic deadpan performance as the main highlight of Ghostbusters.Ghostbusters opened to generally positive reviews.[1][95] Roger Ebert gave it three and a half out of four, citing it as a rare example of successfully combining a special effects-driven blockbuster with "sly" dialogue. Ebert noted the effects existed to serve the actors' performances and not the reverse, saying it is "an exception to the general rule that big special effects can wreck a comedy". He also cited Ghostbusters as a rare mainstream film with many quotable lines.[96] Writing for Newsday, Joseph Gelmis described the Ghostbusters as an adolescent fantasy, comparing their firehouse base to the Batcave with a fireman's pole and an Ectomobile on the ground floor.[97]
Deseret News' Christopher Hicks praised Reitman's improved directing skills, and the crew for avoiding the vulgarity found in their previous films, Caddyshack and Stripes. He felt they reached for more creative humor and genuine thrills instead. He complained about the finale, claiming it lost its sense of fun and was "overblown", but found the film compensated for this since it "has ghosts like you've never seen".[98] Janet Maslin agreed that the apocalyptic finale was out of hand, saying Ghostbusters worked best during the smaller ghost-catching scenes.[99] Dave Kehr wrote that Reitman is adept at improvisational comedy, but lost control of the film as the special effects gradually escalated.[100]
Arthur Knight appreciated the relaxed style of comedy saying while the plot is "primitive", it has "far more style and finesse" than would be expected of the creative team behind Meatballs and Animal House. He singled out editors Sheldon Kahn and David Blewitt for creating a sustained pace of comedy and action.[101] Despite "bathroom humor and tacky sight gags", Peter Travers described Ghostbusters favorably as "irresistible nonsense", comparing it to the supernatural horror film The Exorcist, but with the comedy duo Abbott and Costello starring.[102] Time's Richard Schickel described the special effects as somewhat "tacky" but believed this was a deliberate commentary on other ghost films. Ultimately, he believed praise was due to all involved for "thinking on a grandly comic scale".[103][104] Newsweek's David Ansen enjoyed the film, describing it as a teamwork project where everyone works "toward the same goal of relaxed insanity"; he called it "wonderful summer nonsense".[105] Variety's review described it as a "lavishly produced" film that is only periodically impressive.[106]
Reviewers were consistent in their praise for Murray's performance.[m] Gene Siskel wrote that Murray's comedic sensibilities compensated for the "boring special effects".[107] Variety singled out Murray for his "endearing" physical comedy and ad-libbing.[106] Hicks similarly praised Murray, saying he "has never been better than he is here".[98] Schickel considered Murray's character a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to develop fully his patented comic character".[103][104] Gelmis appreciated Murray's dismissal of the serious situations to keep them comedic.[97]
The interactions between Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis, were also generally well received.[102][107] Schickel praised Aykroyd and Ramis for their "grace" in allowing Murray to outshine them.[103][104] Travers and Gelmis said the three main actors worked well as a collaborative force,[97][102] and Hicks described Murray, Ramis, and Aykroyd as wanting "to be like the Marx Brothers of the 80s".[98] Conversely, Kehr believed the pair were "curiously underutilized", but appreciated Murray's deadpan line readings.[100] The New Yorker's Pauline Kael had problems with the chemistry among the three leads. She praised Murray, but felt other actors did not have much material to contribute to the story; she concluded, "Murray's lines fall on dead air".[108] Maslin believed Murray's talents were in service to a film lacking wit or coherence. She noted that many of the characters had little to do, leaving their stories unresolved as the plot began to give way to servicing the special effects instead. However, she did praise Weaver's performance as an "excellent foil" for Murray.[99] Variety described it as a mistake to cast top comedians but often have them working alone.[106] Siskel enjoyed the characters interacting with each other, but was critical of Hudson's late addition to the plot and his lack of development, believing it made "him appear as only a token box office lure".[107]
Accolades
Ghostbusters was nominated for two Academy Awards in 1985: Best Original Song for "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr. (losing to Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called to Say I Love You" from The Woman in Red), and Best Visual Effects for John Bruno, Richard Edlund, Chuck Gaspar and Mark Vargo (losing to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom).[12][109] That year, it was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards: Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy (losing to Romancing the Stone),[110] Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Murray (losing to Dudley Moore in Micki & Maude),[111] and Best Original Song for Parker Jr., (losing again to "I Just Called to Say I Love You").[112] "Ghostbusters" went on to win the BAFTA Award for Best Original Song, and Edlund was nominated for Special Visual Effects (losing again to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom).[113] It won Best Fantasy Film at the 12th Saturn Awards.[114]
