There are also some enjoyably prescient moments, like when Ramis dismissively declares to Annie Potts that “print is dead,” or Murray justifies his financial investment in the Ghostbusters by saying, “The franchise rights alone will make us rich beyond our wildest dreams.” (How true that would prove!)
And despite the subject matter, it’s hard not to be reminded of September 11th during the climax of the movie, when our suited-up heroes march up countless flights of stairs in a crumbling, doomed New York skyscraper. Ghostbusters would have actually made for a good post-9/11 movie, with all the time spent showing us the tough New York crowds that gather to cheer on and root for these heroic men. (And the last line before the closing credits? Ernie Hudson coming out of the rubble and shouting, “I love this town!”) (…)
Character progression isn’t inherently a bad thing, but the original movie gets by just fine without adhering to that Syd Field screenwriting formula, and the closest thing to an arc is that Bill Murray occasionally seems a little more serious by the end of the movie. Were it made today, Ghostbusters would feature Ben Stiller, Seth Rogen, and Danny McBride battling their personal demons by entrapping literal ones, and who needs something tired like that?
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PS: has Syd Field ever, you know, written an actual screenplay?
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