“He slimed me!”

And thus the tone is set for 1984’s hugely popular Ghostbusters.

This movie trumped them all, uniting so many stars and soon to be stars in one wild romp through New York City. Let me give you the list first, just so you can see who I mean. Bill Murray (Saturday Night Live, Caddy Shack, Stripes, and many others) reunites with Dan Aykroyd (Saturday Night Live, Blues Brothers, Spies Like Us). throw in some Sigourney Weaver (the Alien series, Gorillas in the Mist, Avatar), Harold Ramis (SCTV, Stripes, and the writer of Animal House), Rick Moranis (SCTV, Spaceballs, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids), Annie Potts (Designing Women, Pretty in Pink, Toy Story), Ernie Hudson (The Crow, Miss Congeniality, and Oz), William Atherton (Real Genius, Die Hard, The Pelican Brief), and even some notoriety for David Margulies as the mayor of New York (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Law & Order, The Sopranos).  And don’t forget director Ivan Reitman of Stripes and Kindergarten Cop fame.

Beyond the great list of comedy actors, the story and the writing is really what made Ghostbusters fly. Indeed, it has spawned so many one quips which so many people now popularly recognize: “Cats and dogs, living together,” “Don’t cross the streams,” “Why worry? Each one of us is carrying an unlicensed nuclear accelerator on his back,” “Ectoplasmic residue,” Are you the keymaster?” among others!

The story is this… Part-time scientists discover a large psychokinetic energy is building within New York City. This energy force os raising the dead and creating havoc downtown. These scientists soon form the Ghostbusters, a group of four men running around town and becoming famous for catching and detaing the ghosts. Of course, some people don’t like them and end up releasing all the ghosts in one big cataclysmic event. Soon, the Ghostbusters are fighting an eternal demon god known as Gozer and end up fighting the Stay-Puft marshmallow man, an advertising gimmick brought to life several stories tall.

Altogether the cast, writing, story, and great comedic presentation, along with some spectacular effects of the day, presents us with a wonderful and funny ride. It’s certainly one you want to check out, especially now because a new Ghostbusters III is ready to drop next year!

(Sequels: Ghostbusters II, Ghostbusters III)