R.I.P. Ramis

5 Harold Ramis movies to watch (or re-watch) right now

In remembrance of Harold Ramis, we suggest you add Ghostbusters to the Netflix queue.

The world lost a respected filmmaker and generally brilliant human being in Harold Ramis, who passed away early Monday morning at his Chicago-area home. Let’s all pause, here, for a moment of silent reflection — and, if it applies, to recall in solemn remembrance that time we got to second base while watching Ghostbusters.

Hereafter, in honor of the deceased, may we all spend an evening revisiting his legendary body of work until our sides hurt. What better way to celebrate the man’s memory than with some of the best comedy movies of the last 30 years?

Without further ado, in chronological order:

SCTV
Ramis status: writer, actor

Okay, sure. SCTV is technically not a movie. You should, however, not let this stop you from watching fresh-faced versions of top-tier comedy actors dropping irreverent riffs on Canadian television viewers. Ramis shares the screen with John Candy, Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas and more in this legend of sketch comedy that’s available in part on the Second City YouTube channel.

Animal House
Ramis status: writer

You might know this one from the short list of feature films in the John Belushi catalogue, but it’s got a lot more going for it than just mashed potato-spitting, guitar-smashing toga parties and that COLLEGE sweatshirt from all the posters. A 19-year-old Kevin Bacon is in it, for one thing, and nowhere else can you watch Kiefer Sutherland's dad smoke from a roach clip while he blows the mind of the kid who played Mozart in Amadeus.

Caddyshack
Ramis status: writer, director

It’s in the hole! It’s in the hole! Besides being the undisputed champion of quoted movies in sports bars (and on sports recap shows), Caddyshack stands as a particular triumph of artistic innovation on the fly. Both Carl Spackler and Al Czervik (Bill Murray and Rodney Dangerfield, in case you don’t know) were originally scripted as just bit players, but they stole the show with improvisation during filming. It also includes maybe the best monologue about the Dalai Lama in comedy history, so it’s got that going for it.

Ghostbusters
Ramis status: writer, actor

There’s one easy test you can run to verify the American cultural status of Ghostbusters. Wait until someone starts to dial a phone, or someone asks if you’ve seen their phone, or there’s any mention of someone wanting to use the phone. At that moment, say, “Who you gonna call?” and see what happens.

Groundhog Day
Ramis status: writer, director

The story of one TV weatherman doomed to repeat a single day over and over until he improves his unfriendly personality could’ve been bad or it could’ve been good. Under Ramis’s direction, it was great — so much so that it continues to ring surprisingly profound notes with believers and spiritual teachers the world over. Ramis was quoted in a 2003 article as having received letters from Jesuit priests, rabbis, Buddhist leaders and more, each one expressing how well it illustrates some fundamental aspect of their faith. It’s also hilarious, naturally, and at one point the groundhog drives a car.

There are others, of course — Meatballs, Stripes, Analyze This, etc. — so be sure to check out his entire filmography. Unfortunately for most of us, Ghostbusters was the only one up on Netflix instant streaming at the time of this writing.

Harold Ramis did so much good for the world of jokes and silly yet intelligent ideas that it’s only fitting for us to spend a few hours appreciating his work, not least of all as a gesture for hope of safe passage into the great beyond.

Movie Review

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 gives video game fans exactly what they want

Sonic the Hedgehog (Ben Schwartz) in Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Sonic the Hedgehog (Ben Schwartz) in Sonic the Hedgehog 3

The first Sonic the Hedgehog movie in 2020 was one of the few video game adaptations that managed to appeal to both fans of the Sega game and those who just want to watch a fun movie. As the series moved into a second and now third film, though, it’s become increasingly reliant on giving the video game fans what they want, with not as much attention paid toward simply telling a good story.

In Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) continues to live with human friends Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie (Tika Sumpter), as well as Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) and Knuckles (Idris Elba), who stuck around after the events of the second film. Dispensing with any kind of narrative coherence, the trio is called away by an undefined military force to help with the escape of Shadow (Keanu Reeves), another alien hedgehog who has been locked away off the coast of Japan for many years.

Suffice it to say that the trio does not initially fare well against the powerful Shadow, forcing Sonic to do the unthinkable: Ask his nemesis, Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Jim Carrey), for help. What Sonic doesn’t anticipate is that Shadow has a history that left him with a grudge against most of human society, and he’s intent on using his powers - with a little help from his former mentor, Gerald Robotnik (also Carrey) - to exact his plans for revenge.

Made by the same team of director Jeff Fowler and writers Pat Casey, Josh Miller, and John Whittington from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the film is a combination of manic action, jokey sequences, and a dash of heart. The addition of Shadow ups the mayhem considerably, and the filmmakers rarely slow things down (although, oddly, the super-speed of Sonic and company feels lessened this time around).

The initial casting of Carrey gave the comic actor permission to indulge in whatever wackiness he could imagine, and giving him two roles in this film means double the nonsense. Ivo and Gerald (who’s Ivo’s grandfather, for the record) face off in a number of silly scenes, none more absurd than a dance sequence aboard a space station threatening to explode Earth (yeah, this movie is a lot).

Does the plot make a lick of sense? Absolutely not, but the filmmakers seem to acknowledge that fact, throwing anything and everything at the screen to try to entertain kids and/or fans of the video game series. It should come as no surprise that the end credits tease yet more characters from the video games joining the franchise, making it abundantly clear who is expected to get the most enjoyment out of the series going forward.

In addition to Carrey, the voice actors continue to make the characters fun. Schwartz and O’Shaughnessey provide the cartoon-style acting, while Elba and now Reeves give a nice counterbalance with their deep and serious voices. Marsden and Sumpter aren’t given much to do this time around, and Krysten Ritter shows up as Director Rockwell, a character who’s mostly there to move what little plot there is further along.

A four-quadrant movie is one that appeals to all ages and genders; Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a one or maybe two-quadrant movie at most. But it’s more fun than the other family-friendly offering this Christmas season, and fans of the video game will likely love the depiction of their favorite characters on screen, so it’s doing something right.

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Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is now playing in theaters.

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