Ghostbusters is the 71st episode of Screen Junkies comedy series Honest Trailers. It was written by Spencer Gilbert, Gilli Nissim, Ian Weinreich, Dan Murrell, and Andy Signore. It was narrated by Jon Bailey as Epic Voice Guy. It parodies the 1984 supernatural comedy film Ghostbusters. It was published on August 26, 2014, to coincide with the film's 30th anniversary. It is 4 minutes 32 seconds long. It has been viewed over 5.9 million times.
Watch Honest Trailers - Ghostbusters on YouTube
"When there's something strange in your neighborhood, there's only one group of unlicensed, heavily-armed, disgraced college professors you can call." ~ Honest Trailers - Ghostbusters
Script[]
With a franchise-ruining sequel slash reboot on the horizon, it's time to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the film you loved as a child of the 80's, or the cartoon you loved as a child of the 90's, or the theme song you sort of recognize as a child of today:
Ray Parker Jr. : Who ya gonna call?
Ghostbusters
Before Harold Ramis passed away, Bill Murray became a professional party crasher, and Dan Aykroyd went batsh*t crazy…
Dan Aykroyd: I don't think we will ever have a formal relationship, a formal contact, with any alien species out there. Especially after 9/11.
…they were the Ghostbusters: old looking, out of touch, out of shape nerds.
Peter Venkman: Well, when we get to 20, tell me. I'm gonna throw up.
Yep, this is what movie stars looked like in '84, kids.
When there's something strange in your neighborhood, there's only one group of unlicensed heavily armed, disgraced college professors you can call: The Ghostbusters.
Janine: Ghostbusters, what do ya want?
There's Spengler, a nerd.:.
Egon Spengler: I collect spores, molds and fungus.
…Ray, a nerd…
Ray Stantz: And if the ionization rate is constant for all ectoplasmic entities, we could really bust some heads - in the spiritual sense, of course.
…Venkman, a borderline sexual predator…
Peter Venkman: "Will you stay here in bed til I get back?
…and Winston, who was supposed to be played by Eddie Murphy, but got more or less written out of the movie when he passed on the role... and eventually cropped out on home video, too.
When ghosts rise from the dead to haunt New York, the Ghostbusters are the only thing between the city and total chaos, causing the media to run glowing profiles of their successful business instead of the fact that GHOSTS EXIST AND ARE HAUNTING NEW YORK! But it's nothing the Ghostbusters can't handle: they've got the car, the gadgets, and the vaguely scientific know-how to put evil in its place.
Ray: 10 people witnessed a free-floating, full-torso, vaporous apparition./Ectoplasmic residue!/Complete particle reversal!/Total protonic reversal./Focused, non-terminal repeating phantasm./Four fold cross-rip."/You have been a participant in the biggest interdimensional cross-rip since the Tunguska Blast of 1909!
Man: It felt great!
I'm pretty sure he made half of that stuff up.
Slide down the fire-pole and into a PG-rated movie that children loved, even though it's full of: cursing…
Winston: Oh sh*t.
Dana: Sh*t.
Spengler: Sh*t.
Winston: I have seen sh*t that'll turn you white!
Man: What an a**hole.
Venkman: This man has no dick.
…casual smoking, boob grabbing, and ghost head. Whoa. Kid's movies were way better back in the day.
So grab your stick…
Venkman: Grab your stick!
..heat em up…
Venkman: Heat em up!
…make em hard…
Venkman: Make em hard!
…and don't cross the streams…
Ray: Don't cross the streams.
…as the Ghostbusters take down the best snobs the 80's had to offer…
Snob 1: You are a poor scientist, doctor.
Snob 2: Exactly what are you a doctor of?
Snob 3: $5000? I had no idea it'd be so much. I won't pay it.
…and imprison hundreds of innocent creatures who don't do much besides: read, eat, drive, and uhh... Uh...
Ray: "That feels so funky!
Umm...
Spengler: I feel like the floor of a taxicab.
…let's say... Ooze?
Starring: Bill You Murray Me? (Bill Murray as Dr. Peter Venkman); Funny Dan Aykroyd (Dan Aykroyd as Dr. Raymond Stantz); Egon But Not Forgotten (Harold Ramis as Dr. Egon Spengler); Sick Horny Weaver (Sigourney Weaver as Dana Barrett); 80's Dick (William Atherton as Walter Peck); Young Old Larry King (Larry King as Himself); Flubber (Slimer); Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis as Louis Tully); David Bowie (Slavitza Jovan and Paddi Edwards as Gozer); Not Eddie Murphy (Ernie Hudson as Winston Zeddemore); Fat Casper (Stay Puft Marshmallow Man); The Dad from Family Matters? (Reginald VelJohnson as Jail Guard); and Ron Jeremy?! Whoa, no way!
Ghostbusters
Kids, this was called a library. It's like a printout of Wikipedia where you have to be quiet.
Ghost: "Shhhhh!"
Trivia[]
- Screen Junkies have also produced Honest Trailers for several other science-fiction comedy films including Ghostbusters 2, the 2016 remake of Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Men In Black, Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor: Ragnarok, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and many more. See list of Honest Trailers for more.
- An Honest Trailer Commentary for this episode was recorded and was available on the Screen Junkies Plus until the website/app was discontinued. Screen Junkies don't currently have any way of releasing the video.
Reception[]
Honest Trailers - Ghostbusters has a 98.5% approval rating from YouTube viewers. Neatorama asserted the Honest Trailer's exceptionally positive slant on a film that "is almost beyond criticism" was "a bit of departure for the series." Gizmodo wrote the Honest Trailer was "hilarious" and brought back "many happy childhood memories." Giant Freakin Robot noted that Ghostbusters is "is too good of a movie for these guys to just rip apart willy nilly" and "as such, the jokes are more general and are more in tune with society’s relationship with Ghostbusters."
Production credits[]
Video thumbnail for Honest Trailers - Ghostbusters
Voiceover Narration by Jon Bailey
Title design by Robert Holtby
Series Created by Andy Signore & Brett Weiner
Written by Spencer Gilbert, Gilli Nissim, Ian Weinreich, Dan Murrell, and Andy Signore
Edited by Dan Murrell
External links[]
- Ghostbusters Honest Trailer Shows How Ridiculously Awesome This Movie Is - Gizmodo article
- Even In This Ghostbusters Honest Trailer, Bill Murray Still Wins - Giant Freakin Robot article
- An Honest Trailer for Ghostbusters - Neatorama article