I have long been held in the throes of a catastrophic delusion: I think I am a mult-tasker. I’m not. I’m diagnosed ADD and have the same attention span/interests as my cat. However, whenever I buckle down to take on a task — folding laundry, reading articles, writing this so-called “thesis” — I always think I’ll just pop in a movie for a little background noise.
This never works.
However, through extensive research, I have come up with the absolute best movie to not be busy to. Are you ready? Ghostbusters.
Yes. Ivan Reitman’s 1984’s classic, Ghostbusters is hands down the best film to have playing whilst wallowing in unproductivity. It meets all my requirements for an accomplishment-free time filler. It’s played on TNT/TBS/FX/Fox Movie Network ad nauseum, so I’m able to convince myself I won’t really watch it. Just like I don’t really watch it every Saturday when it comes on (hint: I’m lying. I will always stop whatever I’m doing to watch Ghostbusters).
Second, it’s the sort of movie that, in theory, will not offer anything substantial enough to tug at my attentions. It’s fluffy; it’s harmless; it’s a loosely bound collection of jokes based on Dan Akroyd and Harold Ramis’ ability to play nerdy, Rick Moranis’ ability to play awkward, Annie Pott’s ability to talk nasally, and Bill Murray’s ability to be Bill Murray. That’s absolutely true. Guess what I love? ALL OF THOSE THINGS. I can’t look away from Bill Murray being Bill Murray ever. Ever. And I don’t want to be the sort of person who could. As an added bonus, Akroyd, Ramis, and Murray play disillusioned academics alienated and rejected by the very institution which they’ve built their life around. It’s the scariest part of the movie.
The final straw on the camel of diligence’s back is this: five years later, they made another one. Ghostbuster’s II is exactly like Ghostbusters. Yes, they relied on the trusty crutch of a baby to highten the drama, but ultimately it’s more of the same. More of the beautiful same. It’s an affinity Ghostbusters shares with my second choice for background/foreground noise, Alien and Aliens. Also, they share Sigourney Weaver. And in their second installments each introduces and subsequently endangers a child. And they both showcase dripping goo. Turns out they may have more in common than I first thought.
Most importantly, I walk away from my hours languishing on my couch, balancing my over-heating laptop on my knee, as please as if I’d been productive. Thanks to Mr. Reitman, I never feel badly about not accomplishing much. Because, I mean, I just finished Ghostbusters. What do I have to be unhappy about?
Filed under: film | Tagged: bill murray, cute child crutch, director, essential, shiny, sigourney weaver
Ghostbusters is by far one of the best movies ever made. I think I like it a little more every time I watch it, and the whole experiencing grad school thing has made the disillusioned academic thing all the more evident and hilariously appropriate. Good thing my dvd of it is in Waco and I am in Houston at the moment because I would probably be watching it right now otherwise.
Also congrats on the whole blog thing. I periodically abandon blogs. The tubes are littered with my attempts to become a consistent interweb content contributor. Its about time for me to start another future abandoned website so we will see what comes of that.
do you think i could overuse the word “thing” anymore? I think I probably could.