The weather is getting a little cooler, the nights are starting to draw in a little quicker, and that can only mean one thing; spooky season is upon us! With Halloween just around the corner, and ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ premiering in cinemas not long after, it seems the perfect time to dive down the rabbit hole and watch ‘Cleanin’ Up The Town: Remembering The Ghostbusters’ a docu-film coming to cinemas October 1st.
Directed by Anthony Bueno, the film is a deep dive into the story, and the making of Ghostbusters that features a laundry list of interviews with the cast and crew from the movie itself. I was quite astounded at how many people they had back to talk about the film, from the students of the opening scene, to the librarian, and many, many more.
Now watching this as a middle-aged man, having grown up with this movie (literally watched it well over a hundred times), the documentary was such a joyous experience. There are so many moments that are revealed that gives the audience a never before seen insight that will allow you to rewatch the film with fresh eyes.
Such as the original concept by Aykroyd set the timeline in the distant future where ‘Ghostbusters’ were as common as pest control is today. Or how about the original cast would include John Belushi, and Eddie Murphy, with John Candy as the neighbor to Dana Barrett.
Now as fun as the movie is, it’s not without its obstacles. The run time is quite long for a doc of this type, coming in at close to an even two hours for active filming. While it’s still massively entertaining, there are moments when you find yourself asking, is all of this really adding value to the viewing experience? With the result answer being a definitive no. Like I mentioned, there’s lots of brilliant content here, but it absolutely could have afforded some editing.
One of my other wrinkles about the format of the documentary were the transitions from topic to topic. The film follows the making of the movie from concept to filming, diving into character designs, and all kinds of special effects. Again, it’s nothing that breaks the mold, but quite often the jumps feel abrupt, and without any natural segue. It results in the quality of the viewing taking a bit of a dip.
Now what makes this documentary really special versus a property like ‘The Movies That Made Us’ and their Ghostbuster special, is that the former really takes the time to delve into the creature shop, and problem solving abilities of the special effects crew. The two most notable moments that spring to mind were the details that went into Slimer (or Onionhead as he was originally referred to), and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. These moments are fantastic and worth every moment.
It was particularly sad watching the late Harold Ramis talk so lovingly about the franchise. A true comedy genius that is very missed.
Overall, ‘Cleanin’ Up The Town’ is a great documentary that serves as a fun walk down memory lane. It adds a new level of depth, and detail that will allow you to watch Ghostbusters through fresh eyes. It’s not without its bumps however, it does run long, and the transition scenes are quite abrupt. For that reason, it scores a 7.5. A fun documentary, but it could have been better.
’Cleanin’ Up The Town: Remembering The Ghostbusters’ the full cut is a documentary film that will be available in cinemas October 1st, and then available on-demand everywhere October 5th.
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