I am Egon. Well, right now I’m not, as I’ve just gotten a much-needed haircut. But, when my hair is full (it doesn’t just get long, it gets full and big), I look so much like Egon (Harold Ramis) that it became my high school nickname when Ghostbusters hit the big screen forty years ago. Even to this day, people say I look like Ramis (may he rest in peace). But even beyond this personal connection, I possess a deep admiration for the philosophical and political themes of the movie. The way it mocks the false authority of power, while never undermining the true authority of the transcendent makes the film a perfect libertarian fable. 

At the time it came out, in the summer of 1984, I was sixteen, and Ghostbusters became the highest-grossing comedy up to that point. Few had intentionally mixed the genres of comedy and horror (Young Frankenstein being a critical exception), and critics did not quite know what to make of it. “But, however good an idea it may have been to unleash Mr. Murray in an ‘Exorcist’-like setting,” The New York Timesclaimed, “this film hasn’t gotten very far past the idea stage. Its jokes, characters and story line are as wispy as the ghosts themselves, and a good deal less substantial.” The Wall Street Journal, though, was much more taken with the film. “‘Ghostbusters’ is the most sophisticated and sweetest of this group’s particular brand of schtick-em-up movies,” the paper noted, comparing it to Animal House and Caddyshack. 

Time, however, has been quite kind to Ghostbusters—certainly more than the film’s original critics were—and it became a beloved classic immediately after its release. One might be tempted to call it a “cult classic,” but its popularity has gone well beyond “cult.” Indeed, it dominated the screen throughout the summer of its release. Additionally, it spawned (no pun intended) two animated TV series (The Real Ghostbusters and Extreme Ghostbusters) as well as three movie sequels (Ghostbusters II, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire) of varying quality. Then, of course, there were also comic books and video games based on the film. While the special effects and sets of the original movie looked great in 1984, they come across a bit cheesier forty years later, but this only adds to the overall charm of the movie. . . .