Can a film about paranormal creatures that crawled from the dark shadows and scared civilians still be hilarious? Ivan Reitman proved that a movie like that can exist. His most prominent film was Ghostbusters (1984). With its iconic song, 'Who you gonna call?" by Ray Parker Jr., Ghostbusters is a staple of pop culture.
Yet this wasn't Reitman's first film, his first directed film was a short, titled Orientation (1968) that showcased the lives of University students. Reitman directed and produced a varying assortment of comedies, including a political comedy, before his passing on February 12, 2022, at the age of 75. To really understand Reitman's creativity and artistic range, it's vital to watch some of his movies.
'Draft Day' (2014)
Draft Day (2014) opened with one of the most stressful days for Sonny Weaver Jr. (Kevin Costner), the General Manager of the Cleveland Browns. The decisions made on NFL Draft Day impacted not only the professional sports teams' upcoming seasons but also the future of several athletes. Any wrong or uncalculated move could jeopardize Sonny's job security.
Draft Day (2014) fell outside of Reitman's usual range of movies, but Draft Day demonstrated Reitman's ability to deliver a drama that previewed the pressures of adhering to expectations or taking chances. Draft Day's focus was not focused on the athletes but on the people working behind the scenes such as the analysts.
'Evolution' (2001)
David Duchovny, known for his remarkable role as Fox Mulder in the TV series The X-Files (1993-2018, starred as Dr. Ira Kane in the movie Evolution (2001). Dr. Ira Kane and Professor Harry Phineas Block (Orlando Jones) investigated a meteor that's hit Earth in Arizona. As they begin to analyze the meteor, they saw that the meteor was oozing an unidentifiable substance.
The more they examined the meteor, the more weirder specimens evolved near the meteor. Evolution (2001) captures the science fiction aesthetic of Ghostbusters (1984), but rather than focusing on ghosts, Evolution proposed the possibility of alien and human contact.
'Six Days Seven Nights' (1998)
In Six Days Seven Nights (1998), Robin Monroe (Anne Heche) was assigned to cover a story on Tahiti and was hopeful that she would return to her vacation with her soon-to-be-fiance in no time. Her flight took a slight detour when the plane crash-landed on an island during a storm. Robin and Quinn Harris (Harrison Ford) were stuck on the island.
Robin and Quinn probably considered each other the last person they would have wanted to be stuck on an island with. Reitman's Six Days Seven Nights had less drama such as in the movie Cast Away (2000), but still packs the same amount of adventure.
'Father's Day' (1997)
What's one way to find a missing person? In Father's Day (1997), Collette Andrews (Nastassja Kinski) convinced two men, Dale Putley (Robin Williams) and Jack Lawrence (Billy Crystal) to help find her son. Collette previously had a relationship with both of them so when she told each of them separately that they could be the father of her missing son, they didn't seem to really question it. However, Dale and Jack realized that they are both looking for the same person.
Reitman's Father's Day (1997) was based on the remake of the movie Les Compères (1983) or The ComDads. One slight difference between the two movies was the professions that the two potential fathers had. In Father's Day, Dale was a writer and Jack was a lawyer, whereas, in Les Compères, one of the men was a journalist while the other man was a teacher.
'Junior' (1994)
In Junior (1994), Dr. Larry Arbogast (Danny DeVito) and Dr. Alex Hesse (Arnold Schwarzenegger) were on the verge of a breakthrough. They developed a drug that would minimize the chances of a mother losing her baby or suffering a miscarriage. To test out their drug, Dr. Arbogast conducted an experiment by injecting Dr. Hesse with the drug.
What were the side effects of this experiment? One of the side effects was that Dr. Hesse was pregnant. As the story progressed, with the narrative steadily paced, there were other side effects revealed. These side effects were similar to the ones that most women go through when they are pregnant. In addition to the side effects, it became more difficult to hide Dr. Hesse's pregnancy.
'Dave' (1993)
It's been said that everyone has at least six to seven doppelgangers in the world. Dave Kovic (Kevin Kline) might have been the luckiest man in the world. One of these doppelgangers happened to be Bill Mitchell, the President of the United States in the movie Dave (1993). When President Mitchell suffered a coma, the Chief of Staff, Bob Alexander (Frank Langella) wanted to make sure that this news didn't reach the public.
Therefore, he decided, with Communication Director Alan Reed (Kevin Dunn) that they would hire Dave to be the President's stand-in. Very few members of the presidential staff knew about the substitute, but those that didn't know about the substitute were suspicious of the President's new behavior and new decisions. Reitman's movie Dave could be compared to the movie The Parent Trap (1998), except the stakes are far higher.
'Kindergarten Cop' (1990)
In Kindergarten Cop (1990), Police Officer John Kimble (Schwarzenegger) knew that he can finally catch Cullen Crisp, a drug dealer. All Officer Kimble needed was Crisp's ex-wife to testify against Crisp. The problem was that he doesn't know the ex-wife's name, but knew the school that her son went to. To catch her, Kimble posed as an undercover substitute kindergarten teacher.
Schwarzenegger usually stars in action-packed movies such as The Terminator franchise, Predator (1987), or Escape Plan (2013). He's almost always portraying tough and fearless characters. In Reitman's movies, Schwarzenegger was able to express his comedic side, and his character realized that controlling a group of energetic 5-year-olds can be just as difficult as fighting crime.
'Legal Eagles' (1986)
Legal Eagles (1986) focused on the legal case, where Chelsea Deardon (Daryl Hannah) was accused of stealing a painting. Assistant District Attorney Tom Logan (Robert Redford) and Chelsea's attorney, Laura Kelly (Debra Winger) planned to prove Chelsea's innocence. However, the case didn't seem as cut and dry as it was first perceived to be because Chelsea soon became accused of murder as well.
Tom and Laura had different approaches to investigating the case. They usually worked on opposite sides of the law, and their client doesn't share all her information with them. Legal Eagles was not only a courtroom drama but intertwined both a romantic and comedic narrative.
'Ghostbusters' (1984)
Ghostbusters (1984) is a timeless classic. When weird paranormal unexplainable activities were in the streets of New York City, there was only one crew that could handle the job: The Ghostbusters. The Ghostbusters were made up of parapsychologists Dr. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Dr. Raymond Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), and Dr. Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis). After being fired from their job at the university, they started their own business under the name "Ghostbusters." Ghostbusters terminated any paranormal spirits that haunted New York.
30 years later the remake Ghostbusters (2016) was released featuring a female crew of ghostbusters. Following the remake, was a sequel to the Ghostbusters (1984), and Ghostbusters II (1989) films titled Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021). Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis reprised their roles in Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
'Stripes' (1981)
In Stripes (1981), it was the last straw for taxi driver John Winger (Murray) when his latest fussy customer called him a "bum" and said that he won't amount to anything. Soon after, he lost his job, car, apartment and his girlfriend left him echoing the similar reminder that the customer said before, that he won't amount to anything.
With nothing to lose, he joined with the army with his friend Russell Zimsky (Ramis). The movie, Stripes, employed slapstick comedic techniques that exaggerated the definition of professional soldiers. However, it became the perfect place for John and Russell to fit in since they don't seem like the type of soldiers that would fight on the front lines. Stripes was not like typical war movies viewers would likely find on Netflix.