Harold Ramis died today (okay yesterday, technically). When I read this news (on facebook or twitter, I forget which), my reactions were as follows:
1. "Who?"
2. *google*
3. Oh shit the Ghostbusters dude!
4. :(
In my defense, I am really bad with names. It took me nearly half a year to learn the names of the 10 people I work with, and even now after over half a decade, I still sometimes can't remember the name of that one dude and have to resort to oblique references or overlong pauses hoping the other person will fill in the blank.
But back to Harold Ramis, or more specifically to Ghostbusters, since that's the only film of his I've seen. I have heard of Groundhog Day and Caddyshack, but never got around to watching either. As a matter of fact, up until a few years ago, I hadn't even seen Ghostbusters. Or Star Wars. Or Back to the Future. Yeah, I know. I have a haphazard way of going about discovering movies, music, books, and even news, for that matter, which tends to leave rather huge and shocking gaps in my knowledge.
Anyway, coming back to Ghostbusters again(!), all I knew about the movie was that it was from the 80s and I think I suspected that it was a comedy and I knew the song, of course. So, when I heard of a free midnight showing of the movie on a night when I had nothing else going on, I figured what the heck. Boy, what an experience that turned out to be! Not because the movie was so good. That I had to find out later, because at that screening, the movie was drowned out by the audience. A packed hall with a very enthusiastic audience (quite a few of whom were more than a little buzzed thanks to this theater being one of the few that serve booze) quoting along all the quotable lines in a film which is pretty much one of the most quotable movies of all time! I was more than a little lost for a whole lot of the movie. At the end of the show, if someone had come up to me asking what the movie was about, I wouldn't have been able to say anything more than "um it was a comedy about ghosts and people who bust them...maybe?"
I did pick up the DVD later and watched it quite a few times in the safety, comfort, and, more importantly, quiet of my own home. My ringtone has been a cover of the Ghostbusters song for some time now. That I love the movie to bits goes without saying. Seriously, who could actually not like it?
After writing that last line, I made the mistake of looking up the movie on IMDB and sorting reviews by "Hated It" (damn my compulsion for accuracy). Wow, there are some miserable people in this world. Fuck them.
Ghostbusters is a joyful and fun ride, and for having (co-)created it, I salute you and mourn you, Harold Ramis. And I will make it my mission to watch those other movies of yours as well. Especially looking forward to Groundhog Day.
Oh, also, Egon was always my favourite and he can collect my spores, molds and fungus anytime >_>
1. "Who?"
2. *google*
3. Oh shit the Ghostbusters dude!
4. :(
In my defense, I am really bad with names. It took me nearly half a year to learn the names of the 10 people I work with, and even now after over half a decade, I still sometimes can't remember the name of that one dude and have to resort to oblique references or overlong pauses hoping the other person will fill in the blank.
But back to Harold Ramis, or more specifically to Ghostbusters, since that's the only film of his I've seen. I have heard of Groundhog Day and Caddyshack, but never got around to watching either. As a matter of fact, up until a few years ago, I hadn't even seen Ghostbusters. Or Star Wars. Or Back to the Future. Yeah, I know. I have a haphazard way of going about discovering movies, music, books, and even news, for that matter, which tends to leave rather huge and shocking gaps in my knowledge.
Anyway, coming back to Ghostbusters again(!), all I knew about the movie was that it was from the 80s and I think I suspected that it was a comedy and I knew the song, of course. So, when I heard of a free midnight showing of the movie on a night when I had nothing else going on, I figured what the heck. Boy, what an experience that turned out to be! Not because the movie was so good. That I had to find out later, because at that screening, the movie was drowned out by the audience. A packed hall with a very enthusiastic audience (quite a few of whom were more than a little buzzed thanks to this theater being one of the few that serve booze) quoting along all the quotable lines in a film which is pretty much one of the most quotable movies of all time! I was more than a little lost for a whole lot of the movie. At the end of the show, if someone had come up to me asking what the movie was about, I wouldn't have been able to say anything more than "um it was a comedy about ghosts and people who bust them...maybe?"
I did pick up the DVD later and watched it quite a few times in the safety, comfort, and, more importantly, quiet of my own home. My ringtone has been a cover of the Ghostbusters song for some time now. That I love the movie to bits goes without saying. Seriously, who could actually not like it?
After writing that last line, I made the mistake of looking up the movie on IMDB and sorting reviews by "Hated It" (damn my compulsion for accuracy). Wow, there are some miserable people in this world. Fuck them.
Ghostbusters is a joyful and fun ride, and for having (co-)created it, I salute you and mourn you, Harold Ramis. And I will make it my mission to watch those other movies of yours as well. Especially looking forward to Groundhog Day.
Oh, also, Egon was always my favourite and he can collect my spores, molds and fungus anytime >_>
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