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Dana Barrett has a baby,
But out on the street one day,
Oscar in his baby carriage
Very nearly rolls away.
 
Though the former Ghostbusters
Were forced to locate other work,
Dana asks them to inspect
To see if any dangers lurk.
 
Working at an art museum,
Dana feels uneasy toward
Vigo the Carpathian,
Whose portrait is to be restored.
 
Peter Venkman and his cohorts
Dig into First Avenue,
Where Ray finds a ghastly river
Full of pink slime flowing through.
 
Once the ‘Busters prove they’re sane
By vanquishing two apparitions,
They begin to find more business,
Fueling slime-induced suspicions.
 
When the slime tries grabbing Oscar,
Dana flees to Venkman’s flat,
While the others check the sewers,
Where the moody slime is at.
 
Egon, Winston, Ray, and Peter
Are arrested once again,
And poor Oscar soon is kidnapped
To the art house, Vigo’s den.
 
Once he starts his reign of terror,
All the Ghostbusters are freed,
And they use a certain giant
Statue in their time of need.
 
Crashing evil Vigo’s party,
They destroy his floating head.
Having rescued Dana’s baby,
Peter fills her ex’s stead,
And the Ghostbusters are honored
As defeaters of the dead.
___________________
 

Most probably disagree, but yes, I like the second Ghostbusters more than its predecessor. Perhaps it’s because I saw it first for some reason.  (Similarly, my VC saw Superman II first and prefers it to the original).  Ghostbusters is always hailed as being full of hilarious lines and incidents, but to me, Ghostbusters II is even more so. The pathetic birthday scene seems to indicate the franchise’s fall from grace early on, but it just keeps getting better and better. From Venkman’s side-splitting looks on his psychic TV show to the courtroom scene with Louis Tully’s awkward reappearance to the inversely scary and funny effects of the pink slime (long before the whole ground beef controversy), the hilarity just keeps coming.

Some critics complained that the sequel didn’t add anything to the franchise. Though it doesn’t try to exceed its predecessor, it continues its clever script with even more potent quotables.  For example: “Doe, Ray, Egon.”  In addition, Venkman’s baby banter makes him much more likable than in the first film, and while the villain Vigo is just as soberly menacing as Gozer was, he has a welcome addition in Peter MacNicol as Dr. Janosz Poha, whose Eastern European accent inevitably elicits crack-ups. Plus, while the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man was a fictional character, the climax with the Statue of Liberty not only looks more realistic but has the desired uplifting effect on the audience as well as the characters.

I may be in the minority, but I feel that Ghostbusters II was an improvement on the first film, with a similarly absurd plot and lovable characters spouting lines worthy of repetition. There may not ever be a third film with the original cast, but Ghostbusters II is an outstanding swan song for the franchise. Though it may soon return from the dead…with women….

Best lines (so many): (the mayor) “Being miserable and treating other people like dirt is every New Yorker’s God-given right.”
 
(Venkman, upon being asked why they drilled a hole in the middle of the street) “Well, there are so many holes in First Avenue, we really didn’t think anyone would notice.”
 
(Egon, analyzing Oscar’s nursery) “Cozy. My parents didn’t believe in toys.”
(Ray, later on) “You mean you never even had a Slinky?”
(Egon) “We had part of a Slinky. But I straightened it.”

 

Artistry: 7
Characters/Actors: 9
Entertainment: 10
Visual Effects: 8
Originality: 8
Watchability: 10
Other (language): -1
 
TOTAL: 51 out of 60
 

Next: #111 – The Matrix

© 2014 S. G. Liput

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