Ghostbusters II (1989)

The discovery of a massive river of ectoplasm and a resurgence of spectral activity allows the staff of Ghostbusters to revive the business.

Director:

Ivan Reitman

Writers:

Dan Aykroyd (characters), Harold Ramis (characters),

Stars:

Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bill Murray	...	Dr. Peter Venkman
Dan Aykroyd	...	Dr. Raymond Stantz
Sigourney Weaver	...	Dana Barrett
Harold Ramis	...	Dr. Egon Spengler
Rick Moranis	...	Louis Tully
Ernie Hudson	...	Winston Zeddemore
Annie Potts	...	Janine Melnitz
Peter MacNicol	...	Dr. Janosz Poha
Harris Yulin	...	The Judge
David Margulies	...	The Mayor of NY
Kurt Fuller	...	Hardemeyer
Janet Margolin	...	The Prosecutor
Wilhelm von Homburg	...	Vigo
William T. Deutschendorf	...	Baby Oscar (as Will Deutschendorf)
Henry J. Deutschendorf II	...	Baby Oscar (as Hank Deutschendorf)

Storyline

Five years after the events of the first film, the Ghostbusters have been plagued by lawsuits and court orders, and their once-lucrative business is bankrupt. However, when Dana begins to have ghost problems again, the boys come out of retirement only to be promptly arrested. The Ghostbusters discover that New York is once again headed for supernatural doom, with a river of ectoplasmic slime bubbling beneath the city and an ancient sorcerer attempting to possess Dana's baby and be born anew. Can the Ghostbusters quell the negative emotions feeding the otherworldly threat and stop the world from being slimed?

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Plot Keywords:

ghostbuster | ghost | baby | painting | slime | 

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Taglines:

We're back!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 June 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ghostbusters 2

Filming Locations:

Columbia University - Broadway & 116th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$37,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$112,494,738 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Janine's appearance was significantly different than in the first movie to coincide with the appearance of how she looked in the animated show, The Real Ghost Busters.

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Goofs

Ernie Hudson and Bill Murray switch places twice while in the statue. The original order was Murray, Hudson, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis. It then changes to Hudson, Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis. It then goes back. However, given that there is enough room up top for them to move around and look at things, and given the apparent time difference, it's entirely probable that they could switch places.

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Quotes

Egon: [after a ghost train runs through Winston] I think that was the old New York Central "City of Albany"! Derailed in 1920! Killed hundreds of people! Did you catch the number on the locomotive?
Winston: Sorry. I missed it.

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Crazy Credits

River Rats ... Ralph Miller, III & Jack Haye

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Connections

Featured in The Nostalgia Critic: Baby Geniuses (2011)

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Soundtracks

"We're Back"
Written by Bobby Brown, Dennis Austin, Larry White and Kirk Crumpler
Produced by Bobby Brown for B. Brown Productions, Inc.
Performed by Bobby Brown
Courtesy of MCA Records, Inc.

User Reviews

They're back!

I could lie and say I think "Ghostbusters II" is an inferior sequel to the original 1984 "Ghostbusters," but "Ghostbusters II" is an entertaining film in its own right. Nothing can come close to the gleaming perfection of the first film but damn it, the sequel works in most places. It's chiefly because the movie is just so damn entertaining! It's still mostly watchable despite its flaws and misjudgments about what the filmmakers may have seen as an apparent mean-spiritedness in a lot of people during the late '80s.

True, comedian and star Bill Murray still steals the show whenever he gets the chance and he also gets some of the best lines, and he's just so gosh-darn funny as a leading man. Screenwriter team/co-stars Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis are also in top form, and it shows in their wily and hilarious script. Unlike the first picture, though, it seems like they took the family-friendly route and didn't feel like building up to the oh-so-apocalyptic tone of the first film (even though "Ghostbusters" was still pretty funny aside from the occasional dark tone).

And also, director Ivan Reitman knows their material and it looks like the filmmakers made the wise decision of bringing back everybody from the original film, including Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis. It's been five years since the first film (a title card confirms it), and it seems that most of New York City doesn't even remember who the Ghostbusters are and what they did for the city. Everyone in the city is miserable and the opening moments confirm that as well. After being almost bankrupted by countless lawsuits and being unable to practice their trade because of a judicial restraining order, the boys are reduced to moonlighting in other fields, such as catering to the needs of spoiled yuppie children at their birthday parties, a task that neither Ray Stanz (Aykroyd) or Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) take pride in.

Egon Spengler (Ramis) is the only one of the original Ghostbusters who seems to have actually moved on with his life. Peter Venkman (Murray) hosts a television show called "The World of the Psychic," a show that apparently draws in modest ratings but no respected psychic will appear on his show because they think he's a fraud. Anyway, things get underway when the boys discover that nasty pink slime of supernatural origin is discovered building up underneath the city, something that old friend and Venkman's old flame Dana Barrett (Weaver) realizes first hand when the slime attacks her infant son, and it's an investigation they have to do on the down-low because of their current legal situation.

This slime, they learn, feeds off the misery and stress of a downtrodden New York City, and it's only getting stronger as the holidays are approaching. But because no one believes in ghosts anymore, their task is even more difficult. Well, after ghost-busting the two ghouls that crash in on their trial hearing, we have no choice but to be ready to believe them. They're back in business, all right - with cynical Janine Melnitz (Annie Potts) answering the phones and Louis Tully (Moranis) on the books - tracing the source of their ghost-busting investigations to a 17th-century Moldavian tyrant named Vigo the Carpathian who wants in on the 20th century, and has possessed museum curator Janosz Poha (a hilarious Peter MacNicol) to go out and kidnap Dana's son so he can have a body so he can live again.

One thing "Ghostbusters II" provides for the viewer is solid entertainment, which is what any good sequel should do. It would be impossible for this movie to any way live up to the original, so you can't blame the filmmakers for at least trying (trying is italicized). It would be pointless to say that the acting is good from our players, but my God, they're good and again in top form. The special effects are still pretty impressive, even from their early ghost-busting capers, to a finale where the boys are actually able to walk down the streets of the city in an animated - yes, animated! - Statue of Liberty (yes, Lady Liberty has sprung to life, and good thing she's on our side!). And even the R.M.S. Titanic (don't ask, just watch) pops up too.

"Ghostbusters II" hasn't been particularly well-received, even despite its more family-friendly tone and message about the folly of mean-spiritedness. But it's just a good sequel, nonetheless, not bad, not superior to the original, maybe on par with the original, but it's just really good fun.

8/10