Ghostbusters II (1989)

Director:

Ivan Reitman

Writers (WGA):

Dan Aykroyd (characters) and
Harold Ramis (characters) ...

Release Date:

16 June 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Be ready to believe us.

Plot:

The discovery of a massive river of ectoplasm and a resurgence of spectral activity allows the staff of Ghostbusters to revive the business.

Plot Keywords:

Ghostbuster | Baby | Ghost | Painting | Slime

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Dec. 4	5:30 PM	AMC
Sat. Dec. 5	12:30 AM	AMC

Cast

Bill Murray	...	Dr. Peter Venkman
Dan Aykroyd	...	Dr. Raymond Stantz
Sigourney Weaver	...	Dana Barrett
Harold Ramis	...	Dr. Egon Spengler
Rick Moranis	...	Louis Tully
Ernie Hudson	...	Winston Zeddemore
Annie Potts	...	Janine Melnitz
Peter MacNicol	...	Dr. Janosz Poha
Harris Yulin	...	Judge Stephen 'The Hammer' Wexler
David Margulies	...	Mayor Lenny
Kurt Fuller	...	Jack Hardemeyer
Janet Margolin	...	The Prosecutor
Wilhelm von Homburg	...	Vigo
William T. Deutschendorf	...	Baby Oscar (as Will Deutschendorf)
Henry J. Deutschendorf II	...	Baby Oscar (as Hank Deutschendorf)

Also Known As:

Ghostbusters 2 (USA) (video box title)
Ghostbusters II: River of Slime (USA) (working title)
The Last of the Ghostbusters (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:10 | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | South Korea:All | Netherlands:6 (re-release) | New Zealand:PG | USA:TV-PG (cable rating) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12/9 | Ireland:PG | Italy:T | Netherlands:AL | Norway:11 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Columbia University - Broadway & 116th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Will and Hank Deutschendorf, the twins who play Oscar, are the nephews of singer John Denver.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the close-up of the Ecto 1A's plate near the end of the film, the Statue of Liberty is in the middle of the plate. In all other shots, it's on the left side of the plate.

Quotes:

Dana: How is he these days?
Egon: Peter? Well, he was borderline for a while... then he crossed the border.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Rage (#6.17)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Ghostbusters

Followed the first one too much.

This sequel to the successful movie Ghostbusters was itself, pretty successful. In the end though it did not do as well and just seemed a little flat. The story of the slime was pretty good and it was funny seeing them do kid's birthday parties (though I doubt a kid at that time would have watched He-man cartoons). In the end this movie suffers from the fact that it follows the basic structure of the first movie so there is nothing really different about it. You have them investigating something, you have them dispatching a ghost, then you have the musical interval, then you have them locked up (in a loony bin this time), then you have a building taken over by the head ghost, and finally you have a giant thing walking through New York. It just seems to me that with ghosts and other things, you could come up with a totally original and funny script without having to follow what worked in the previous chapter. It is a shame too, that another Ghostbusters will probably never be made. It would be interesting to see it, considering all the advancements in special effects.