One of my favorite Harold Ramis moments is from Ghostbusters (because of course it is) and it's not really a moment that stands out or gets a lot of attention. It's in a brief scene (with no ghosts) from the first half of the movie. In it, Janine (Annie Potts) is flirting with Egon (Ramis) while he hooks up her computer or whatever.
She asks him if he likes to read. He replies flatly, "print is dead." It's not really a joke, but I find it hilarious. It's so simple it's almost a throwaway line, but for my money it is one of Ramis' funniest line deliveries in the whole movie.
It is Ramis at his most dry and deadpan. I love it.
The way the scene starts is really funny too, with Egon emerging from underneath Janine's desk, having to practically crawl over her to get out from under there. When I saw this movie back when I was five years old the sexual implications of this moment were not as readily apparent as they are now. Back then it had a more absurdist value to it. It was silly, and I guess in a way, it still is.
The silly seriousness that Harold Ramis brought to the roles he played and to the movies he wrote and directed, that's what I love. The blending of the highbrow and the lowbrow. Ramis' talents and contributions to the world of comedy are almost immeasurable and, on a personal level, the movies he's been in and his style of comedy have been a part of my life for almost my entire life.
To say the least, it brought me much sadness to learn that Harold Ramis passed away today. He was 69 years old.
-They do a pretty good career write-up over at the AV Club.
-Devin Faraci over at Badass Digest has some nice words.
-Ramis' hometown newspaper The Chicago Tribune has a nice piece too.
Thanks for the laughs. RIP, Harold Ramis.
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| Harold, Gilda, and John. This is a great photo, but realizing that all three of these people are now dead is a colossal bummer. |
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