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.
