The first Ghostbusters is regarded as one of the most laugh-out-loud movies ever crafted, seamlessly blending comedy, action, and horror with the aid of a superstar cast headed by Bill Murray and, for the time, over-the-top special effects. It’s a cultural phenomenon that is looked back at fondly. Its sequel, however, not so much.
Released in 1989, Ghostbusters II seemed poised to be a big hit, bringing back the cast from the first film and once again written by co-stars Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The franchise was also riding a wave of success at the time, thanks in part to the animated series, The Real Ghostbusters, a highly successful toy line, and countless tie-ins, among them Coca-Cola’s Hi-C Ecto Cooler. Despite all these ingredients, the long-awaited sequel underperformed at the box office and didn’t fair too well with critics, as Siskel & Ebert ranked it as one of the year’s worst films.
This isn’t to say that Ghostbusters II doesn’t have its fans, as while opinions range greatly on the film’s plot, tone, and humor, some find it more entertaining when compared to the 1984 original, myself included. Blasphemy, I know.
In a new interview with BET, Ghostbusters star Ernie Hudson was asked about the Ghostbusters vs. Ghostbusters II debate, providing his thoughts on the fan reception of both films, saying:
With Ghostbusters one, I thought it was really quite original, and I think there was nothing of that sort of humor and it was scary and a little bit of all that, but Ghostbusters II, by the time it came out, it was five years after, and they had the cartoon show that was playing, and it had become part of the cultural psyche. So when new people were introduced to that one, it was a different audience. A lot of kids grew up with the cartoons and the second movie. I think the second movie is more family-friendly. In the first movie, that librarian is scary enough so it’s a little bit more hard-cutting edge and I think the second one is more family-friendly and I think a lot more young people embrace that movie. It’s a lot easier to digest. But older audiences tend to like the first one because it created that whole Ghostbusters phenomenon, and there was the song that was also a huge part of it and 40 years later, there are studios still building on that momentum so I think it depends on how you were introduced to the movie.
Along with Ghostbusters, Hudson was also asked about his starring role in BET’s Carl Weber’s Family Business and the upcoming sequel series to Quantum Leap. To read the full interview, click here.
