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. But when Dana has ghost problems again, the boys come out of retirement and are 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 reborn. Can the Ghostbusters quell the negative emotions feeding the otherworldly threat and stop the world from being slimed?

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Plot Keywords:

new york city | ghostbuster | baby | ghost | slime | 

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Taglines:

The Superstars of the Supernatural are back. And this time, it's no marshmallow roast.

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Genres:

Action | 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 II: River of Slime

Filming Locations:

Val's Restaurant, 10130 Riverside Drive, Toluca Lake, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$37,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$29,472,894, 16 June 1989

Gross USA:

$112,494,738

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$215,394,738

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Peter arrives at Ray's Occult book-store, pretending to be a strange customer looking for a particular book, the gag was originally intended to be that Peter had previously made a prank phone call to Ray asking for the book, and Ray realizing it was Peter who made the call when he arrives at the store repeating the act. The prank call was not used in the final edit of the film, resulting in it seeming that Peter is just fooling around as he enters the shop.

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Goofs

(at around 35 mins) In the "jogger ghost" scene, when Venkman steps on the pedal to activate the ghost trap, if you look closely, his foot actually misses the button, yet the trap opens anyway.

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Quotes

Vigo: I, Vigo, the Scourge of Carpathia, the Sorrow of Moldavia, command you!
Janosz: [gets down on his hands and knees and starts bowing] O command me, lord!

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Crazy Credits

There is a brief scene in the end credits of the Ghostbusters being honored at an apparently restored Statue of Liberty.

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Alternate Versions

After the ghostbusters visit the museum and inspect the painting, Ray falls under Vigo's hypnotic gaze and goes crazy through the streets, running a red light and nearly killing the four of them. Winston finally manages to gain control and the Ectomobile runs into a tree. Peter remarks to Egon to watch Ray and not let him shave by himself. This scene was cut, but the shot of the Ectomobile running the red light and Peter and Egon trading bewildered looks was saved for the montage sequence. However, this sequence remained in the novelization.

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Connections

Referenced in Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon (2015)

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Soundtracks

Spirit
Written by Doug E. Fresh & Bernard Wright
Produced by Doug E. Fresh & The Get Fresh Crew
Co-Produced by Bernard Wright & Ollie Cotton
Performed by Doug E. Fresh & The Get Fresh Crew
Courtesy of Danya Records, Ltd.

User Reviews

No, It's Not The Original, But It's Still Very Funny

This was another sequel that was fashionable to knock when it came out. It got panned because it couldn't live up to the first Ghostbusters. Well, what could? The first one was so original, so enormously popular than any sequel was bound to fail as far as matching it.

This second Ghostbusters was just fine, very entertaining and it was nice to see all the main characters back. It had a little nicer feel to it and was more family-friendly language-wise, so it even had some things going for it the first one didn't have.

The other major different in this sequel was watching Peter MacNichol, who reprized his "Renfield"-type character from Mel Brooks' "Dead: And Loving It" comedy with Leslie Nielsen. Here, MacNichol plays "Janosz Poha," another wacko with a thick Eastern European accent. He is hilarious, and elevates the enjoyment of this film. Otherwise, the rest of the cast plays and acts just as they did in the first film, which means you'll get a lot of laughs out of them The story just isn't as intense, that's all. No, it can't equal the original, but.....

The bottom line is this: Don't try to compare the two films. If you enjoyed the first, you'll like this.....period.