There is no shortage of comedies in this world but when it comes to the top tier, that’s a shortlist that always includes Ghostbusters. Taking Saturday Night Live alumni and ’trading extra-terrestrial for supernatural,’ star Sigourney Weaver produced a legendary comedy.
You’ll hear endless stories about how much or how most of the film is improvised by its stars, particularly Bill Murray. You’ll notice great subtle jokes amid the flowing, natural chemistry of the cast, but there are always more things to notice. Here are the sneakiest under-the-radar elements from Ghostbusters.
Ghosts Die Hard?
Considering what’s going to happen to New York in Ghostbusters 2, perhaps they should also prepare for Simon Peter Grubber in the mid-’90s while they’re at it. This is because the cop that appears at the bars when the Ghostbusters are in jail is the same cop who showed up to Nakatomi Plaza in Die Hard, making the films potentially exist within the same universe.
Played by future Family Matters star Reginald VelJohnson (also a cop in that show), he got promoted by the time of Die Hard to Sergeant, presumably changing his name to Al Powell in the process. I’m calling it now, Egon gets replaced by John McClane in Ghostbusters 3.
Stay Shocked Marshmallow Man
One of the great joys of the film is the redundantly delicious evil look on Stay-Puft’s face when he begins trashing New York City. The fluffy fiend stomps and terrorizes New York en route to trying to squash our heroes, but by the time he gets to the top of the building the team have ‘crossed the streams’ and caused ‘Total Protonic Reversal’.
Just as Gozer’s doorway explodes we get a split-second of astonished ghastly surprise on the big guy’s face and it’s hilarious if you catch it.
Forgotten Pharmacy
One of the few issues people have with the movie in recent times is the fact it appears Venkman brought a powerful sedative on his date with Dana. However, the film explains this, albeit in such a subtle, throwaway fashion that often escapes notice.
Right at the beginning of the film Louis Tulley ambushes Dana in the hallway and proclaims he “thought it was the drug store”. Thus, he reveals that a pharmacist delivers into the building and someone like Venkman, with a Ph.D. in Psychology (and Para-psychology) could order drugs and get them delivered. Maybe he just forgot he had it, let’s hope so.
Opening The Gate
Speaking of Louis Tulley and his clear affection for his statuesque neighbor, people seem to miss that he ultimately got his shot. Albeit when possessed as ‘Keymaster’ Vinz Clortho and while Dana was Zuuling it up as The Gatekeeper.
Zuul clearly needs to hook up with someone to open the way for The Destructor and although we don’t see the event we do see Dana and Louis awake on the roof looking disheveled. Next time take a look at Louis’ face, we’re pretty sure he finally got lucky.
53rd Precinct?
One of the more gruesome things we don’t get to see in the film is the purported ‘bleeding walls’ of the 53rd precinct. There is no precinct 53 in New York, but there is in an old sitcom, Car 54, Where Are You? which includes one.
No doubt the people who caught this reference are a niche audience at best, but between this and the Ecto 1 screeching through the streets scenes that were reminiscent of the show it gets a notorious place in Ghostbusters trivia. Credit to TV Tropes for this one.
Egon’s Always Eating
Egon must subscribe to the theory of persistent sugar enhancement because he is a fervent snacker with a pronounced sweet tooth. His analogies involve twinkies, he’s stuffing Cheez-It’s into his face when they first interview Dana, and Venkman rewards him with candy when ‘he’s earned it’.
A brain that big probably needs all the energy it can get, so it’s understandable at least.
Four Big Ones
When The Ghostbusters complete their first job they come up against the matter of payment. Without concrete pricing policies they’re forced to come up with the numbers on the fly, and that’s where Venkman’s improvisation and Egon’s knowledge come in handy.
Venkman puts on his best confident face and glances at Egon when he needs the actual figures. Egon surreptitiously raises his hand to ‘wipe’ his face, holding up 4 fingers to indicate the $4,000 price tag. An additional finger nets them an additional grand for ‘storage of the beast’. In a film filled with improvised lines, this visual version of improvisation from the characters fits right in.
Sneaky Stay-Puft
The Stay-Puft Marshmallow brand was made specifically for this film. Needing something ‘fluffy and sweet that can nevertheless be turned evil’ Dan Aykroyd designed him with a likeness to the Pillsbury Doughboy and the Michelin Man. What you might not know was that before Gozer inhabited him as a vessel of destruction we see the Stay-Puft brand in the movie more than once.
He ‘appears’ twice before the finale, in Dana’s groceries next to the exploding eggs, and later on the side of a building in a billboard. No wonder Ray had him on the brain.
Wedding Caked
After the Ghostbusters manage to save New York they are nevertheless covered in the viscera of their vanquished foe. Fortunately for them, that comes in the form of delicious melted marshmallow goo. Interestingly, however, Dana and Venkman have extremely specific coatings that can be read into.
Dana has something of a marshmallow wedding veil on her hair, and Venkman is practically clean except for a suspiciously Kippah-shaped blob on the top of his head, a Jewish head covering. Director Ivan Reitman perhaps indicating the pair end up walking the aisle together?
Ron Jeremy
A lot of people wouldn’t even admit to this little factoid even if they did see it. Famed adult actor Ron Jeremy makes a cameo after the Ghostbusters headquarters are torn apart.
Walter Peck’s overstepping of his authority leads to a geyser of ghostly ectoplasm and spirits bursting out of the roof of the converted firehouse. I guess when someone decides not to use protection, thus causing an explosion of this specific type, the first guy on the scene would be Ron Jeremy.
