They were showing Ghostbusters. Not only have I long enjoyed this movie, I'd never actually seen it before in a theater, or with an audience. And I'm pleased to report, this was another positive experience at the movies.There were a couple of dark spots. Strangely, the film print was in mono. (Who even knew those things were still kept around anywhere?!) And though there were very few kids in attendance (and those who were were well-behaved), there was a rather obnoxious guy a row or two back who kept on saying the famous lines from the movie seconds before they happened on screen.
Mostly though, it was just plain fun. The movie still makes me laugh -- a lot -- even though I know it very well. And what I maybe didn't know before is that Ghostbusters actually is a movie worthy of the big screen. Despite being a comedy, there is quite a lot of big screen spectacle to it. Details fill the frame, and the presentation is very "cinematic."
Bill Murray was on quite a hot streak in the 80s, but let's face it: Ghostbusters remains one of his best roles. Some people may prefer Dan Aykroyd's smaller roles in Sneakers or Grosse Pointe Blank, but he's still a riot here. Rick Moranis? Hell, you're laughing the second he appears on screen in this movie.
This movie is hovering near the bottom of my Top 100 list (at 94), but seeing it again made me wonder if maybe it ought to be a little higher.
4 comments:
I've really wanted to see this on the big screen. I only saw the sequel in the cinema, and we all know how ho-hum that one is.
Why, oh why, does some royal jackass have to come for the sole purpose of reciting the dialogue? For that matter, why do people go to public gatherings like these and talk so loudly. (I have bad luck sitting directly in front of these social troglodytes.) I think it's assumed many in the audience know the lines.
Someone once told me I looked like Rick Moranis. I think she meant it as a compliment.
Trivia note: When they pass a girl having a birthday party, that girl is Debbie Gibson.
Hmm.
This is the kind of line I would have taken offense at, had it not come from you:
"A movie buff friend and I were concerned this might mean lots of kids in the audience, which might bring the experience down."
[I have three girls for those not in the know.]
May I venture to say that I'm fairly certain your movie buff friend doesn't have children? If he does, then I'm busted.
But I doubt it.
I know that you probably mean that you go to those flashback movies for the nostalgia of the whole thing, and how can you share such a feeling with a bunch of kids seeing the movie for the first time?
Still, there must be something fun in seeing a movie you've loved for so long with a bunch of kids who ARE seeing it for the first time. Just to see if today's youngsters still laugh at the same jokes, still react in the same way to key scenes, and so on.
Again, this is probably something parents will be most familiar with, because it's one of the joys of parenthood to experience somewhat for the "first time again" a piece of culture through the eyes and ears of your offspring.
I remember the very first time my oldest daughter (now 10) watched the original Star Wars trilogy with me. During the whole "I am your father" scene, I was watching *her* and not the film. And every second was pure gold.
I guess I'd better close this by saying that, yeah, kids can be a pain in the ass. But they can also be a truckload of fun. :)
FKL
You know what, you're absolutely right to bust me on this. Sharing a movie with a child for the first time can be a fantastic experience for both the child and the adult. And on the big screen, even more so.
Furthermore, I have to acknowledge, as I think about it more, that while I have had some very unpleasant experiences with children in movie theaters, I've had just as many (or more) with rude adults.
Then there's the simple fact that virtually all cases of ill-mannered children can probably be traced to the way their parents let them get away with it.
So basically... you're right, and I retract what I said. Take offense, even though it DID come from me. You've made a damn good point.
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