30. Bess Rous as Gertrude Aldridge (“Ghostbusters: Answer The Call”)
New “Ghostbusters” director Paul Feig’s last foray into genre territory was swiftly-cancelled sci-fi comedy Yahoo TV series “Other Space,” and while it didn’t last long, a number of the show’s cast find their way into his movie. One is Rous, who plays Gertrude Alridge, the murderous daughter of the wealthy family who owned the mansion in which the opening is set. As with a number of the ghosts here, it’s a genuinely eerie character, though it suffers compared to some of the others because it’s so close to the library ghost in the original film.
29. Ed Begley Jr. as Ed Mulgrave (“Ghostbusters: Answer The Call”)
There’s relatively few veteran comedians outside of the “Ghostbusters” cast turning up in the film, but actor and environmental activist Begley pops up briefly as the curator of the Aldridge Mansion. He’s doing the sort of slightly befuddled patrician vibe that he tends to play these days, and while it’s perfectly welcome, he’s mostly there as a device to get a character involved in the plot, rather than anything more comically-inclined.
28. David Marguiles as Mayor Lenny Clotch (“Ghostbusters” & “Ghostbusters II”)
The most minor character to return for the second film, Mayor Clotch (as played by veteran actor Marguiles, who sadly passed away in January this year) gets a bit more to do in “Ghostbusters II” than in the first film, but has more or less the same function in both films —less an antagonist than an obstacle. Marguiles is good, but the writing doesn’t give him much to do beyond that —credit must go to the 2016 edition at least for giving their mayor (see below) a little more to do.
27. Bill Murray as Martin Heiss (“Ghostbusters: Answer The Call”)
Given his long-time reluctance to return to the “Ghostbusters” franchise, we figured that Murray’s cameo would be more substantial than a wink and a nod. So it’s fun to see him pop up *SPOILER* surprisingly early as a noted skeptic and debunker who then dares the new Ghostbusters to prove the existence of the supernatural, and then gets thrown out of a window by the spectre. One can imagine that this idea, almost the opposite of passing the torch, appealed to Murray, and perhaps to Feig & co as well…
26. Sigourney Weaver as Rebecca Gorin (“Ghostbusters: Answer The Call”)
But our favorite cameo in “Ghostbusters” comes right at the end, as Weaver pops up as Rebecca Gorin, described by Holtzmann as her “mentor” and clearly a genius level scientist. It works because it’s not just a nod to the past —the joke seems to be that Dr. Gorin is as alarmed by Holtzmann as everybody else— but it’s doubly satisfying in that it lets Weaver play a scientist after doing so was exclusively a boys’ club the first time around.
25. Karan Soni as Benny (“Ghostbusters: Answer The Call”)
Another “Other Space” alumnus, Soni’s appearance in “Ghostbusters” marks his third middle-sized supporting role in a big effects-driven movie in the last nine months, having also cropped up in “Goosebumps” and “Deadpool” (he’s the cab driver in the latter — that’s him in the picture above). As incompetent takeaway delivery guy, he doesn’t make a huge impression, but he’s a good foil for Melissa McCarthy to play off, and we found his hero-worship of her near the end to be sort of touching.
24. Wilhelm Von Hornburg & Max Von Sydow as Vigo The Carpathian (“Ghostbusters II”)
As, for instance, the Marvel Cinematic Universe have proven, it’s hard to find a good villain. Feig’s reboot has at least learned some lessons, in that it doesn’t make the big bad guy a fucking painting. Embodied by former wrestler Wilhelm Von Hornburg (who’s also one of Hans Gruber’s gang in “Die Hard” — he’s blown up with the elevator bomb), and voiced by Max Von Sydow, Vigo The Carpathian is a Vlad The Impaler-styled madman who tries to return to life with the aid of Dana’s baby, but he’s never even remotely as interesting as Zuul & co.
23. Dave “Gruber” Allen as Subway Ghost (“Ghostbusters: Answer The Call”)
Paul Feig’s masterpiece remains “Freaks & Geeks,” and it’s great to one veteran of the show getting a shout-out in “Ghostbusters,” in the shape of comic Dave ‘Gruber’ Allen, who played guidance counselor Mr. Rosso on the show. If you’ve seen the film and can’t recognize him, that’s because Allen plays one of the film’s creepier ghosts, the electric-chair victim who freaks out Patty in the subway, and ends up riding the train in one of the film’s best jokes. You wouldn’t recognize him unless you read it in the credits, but it’s great to see Feig’s loyalty paying off again, and the creature’s a genuinely memorable one.
22. Cecily Strong as Jennifer Lynch (“Ghostbusters: Answer The Call”)
The fact that “SNL” co-star Strong has a “Ghostbusters” character named after the director of “Boxing Helena” somehow isn’t the strangest thing about her: it’s that the highly talented Strong isn’t given any funny material to play with. Playing the mayor’s aide, she seems to be being set up as a potential ally for the heroes in future sequels, and Strong does what she can to wring interest out of the material, but it’s disappointingly thankless stuff for someone who could have been one of the central quartet.
21. Andy Garcia as Mayor Bradley (“Ghostbusters: Answer The Call”)
We were trying to think about the last time we saw Andy Garcia on screen, and suspected it hasn’t been since the last “Ocean’s” movie. But he quickly reminds you that he’s been missed when he turns up in “Ghostbusters” — even with a brief appearance, he has a politician’s natural charisma, feeling like an utterly believable Mayor. And he’s funny too, getting to deliver one of the film’s best lines (which we won’t spoil here).