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Film credit

Harold Ramis

Stats

Episodes featuring their films: 2
Movies in this archive: 2

Mentioned in discussions

Animal House

Casting What-Ifs

Animal House The Rewatchables May 26, 2026

The original SNL-heavy casting wish list and alternate directors are discussed

In the discussion (3)

Approx. transcript time · 01:03:23Read transcript

The reported initial wish list included Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Brian Doyle-Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and John Belushi
Harold Ramis reportedly wrote Boone for himself but was judged too old
Jack Webb and Kim Novak were reportedly sought as the Wormers

Ghostbusters

Apex Mountain

Ghostbusters The Rewatchables April 28, 2026

The panel assesses many people, properties, places, creatures, and concepts rather than selecting one episode-wide apex.

In the discussion (8)

Approx. transcript time · 01:42:14Read transcript

Ghostbusters is accepted as Bill Murray's apex by some, while Groundhog Day remains a strong rival.
Ghostbusters is treated as Dan Aykroyd's apex because he wrote it and remained the franchise's custodian, though Trading Places is considered.
Aliens is preferred as Sigourney Weaver's apex.
Groundhog Day is preferred for Harold Ramis as a director, while Ghostbusters remains a contender.
The marshmallow mascot, ghost movies, Ernie Hudson, Rick Moranis, New York Public Library scenes, dog transformations, occult architecture, and ghost combat each receive separate apex checks.
Ghostbusters narrowly beats Ghost as the apex ghost movie, with Poltergeist and newer horror franchises also considered.
Ghostbusters is considered Ernie Hudson's best-known role, while Oz is noted as substantial work; Honey, I Shrunk the Kids beats it for Moranis.
The movie is favored as the apex of ghost combat after Ghosts of Mars is raised as an alternative.

Stripes

Picking Nits

Stripes The Rewatchables June 22, 2021

Haircuts, the Pom Pom raid, EM-50 promotion and design, an impossible basketball throw, and a missing double-date scene are questioned.

In the discussion (7)

Approx. transcript time · 00:37:01Read transcript

Bill Murray and Harold Ramis keeping movie-star hair while other recruits receive crew cuts is questioned.
The reason military police raid the Pom Pom mud-wrestling club remains unclear.
The late-arriving recruits being promoted to the military-vehicle project is judged implausible.
The supposedly advanced vehicle looks too much like a minivan or Winnebago.
The indoor-basketball throw through the window follows no plausible shot trajectory.
One more double-date scene is requested to deepen the four central characters.
The bag underneath his head is there and then not there, but that continuity issue is explicitly dismissed.

Stripes

Apex Mountain

Stripes The Rewatchables June 22, 2021

Warren Oates, military comedies, and movie mud wrestling receive positive apex cases; most individual stars are rejected or debated.

In the discussion (11)

Approx. transcript time · 00:59:19Read transcript

Bill Murray is rejected because Ghostbusters provided a stronger later peak.
Harold Ramis is debated as a newly cool movie star here, while Groundhog Day and Ghostbusters brought larger later influence and wealth.
John Candy is rejected.
Military comedies about joining and training are given a strong apex case, with the broader military-movie claim treated as weaker.
The actress identified by the machine transcript as P. J. Souls is rejected in favor of Halloween.
Sean Young is rejected in favor of the Blade Runner, Wall Street, and No Way Out period.
The actor whose name the machine transcript renders as Laracette is rejected because he became a major television star.
Goofy future-tense closing credits are discussed, with Animal House preferred.
Warren Oates receives a clear apex verdict.
Ivan Reitman is rejected.
The mud-wrestling sequence is proposed as the apex of mud wrestling in movies.

Stripes

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

Stripes The Rewatchables June 22, 2021

Conrad Dunn’s Francis and Harold Ramis’s reaction work are the two cases.

In the discussion (3)

Approx. transcript time · 00:52:55Read transcript

Francis is proposed because the performance pushes hard while remaining liked.
Harold Ramis is proposed for the exaggerated faces and reactions behind Murray and Candy.
Ramis’s relative inexperience in front of the camera is offered as a reason he may have pushed the reactions.

Stripes

Casting What-Ifs

Stripes The Rewatchables June 22, 2021

The project began as Cheech and Chong joining the Army; Columbia preferred Dennis Quaid to Harold Ramis, and Kim Basinger was offered the role ultimately played by the actress the transcript calls P. J. Souls.

This discussion recalls a choice from an earlier episode.

In the discussion (5)

Approx. transcript time · 00:50:20Read transcript

The initial concept was Cheech and Chong joining the Army, but their demand for creative control ended that version.
The characters were rewritten for Bill Murray and Harold Ramis.
Columbia preferred Dennis Quaid for Ramis’s role, and participation was made conditional on Ramis remaining in the cast.
Kim Basinger was offered the role ultimately played by the actress identified in the transcript as P. J. Souls; the offer fell through because Basinger’s agent requested what the panel calls a crazy amount of money.
The panel thinks Basinger’s star power and appearance would have overwhelmed the ensemble.

Stripes

What’s Aged the Best?

Stripes The Rewatchables June 22, 2021

The breakup setup, John Candy, Judge Reinhold, throwaway jokes, the women, poker running gag, score, deleted scene, Murray–Ramis friendship, and Warren Oates lead the praise.

In the discussion (11)

Approx. transcript time · 00:36:05Read transcript

The wet-blanket girlfriend telling the likable loser he is going nowhere is treated as a comedy setup copied for decades.
The first training sequence, especially the log obstacle, is explicitly added as another thing that aged best.
John Candy’s first appearance, long hair, cigarette, and Eisenhower greeting still land immediately.
Judge Reinhold’s short role is praised as part of a strong early-career run.
Lines such as the furs answer, the drug answer, and Ramis’s strip-search head movement reward repeated viewing.
Sean Young and the other actress playing a military-police character are praised as charismatic women with agency; the latter’s strong late-1970s run is recalled.
Candy repeatedly exploiting the character Cruiser in poker remains an effective running gag.
Elmer Bernstein’s score is praised for shifting between jaunty and lower-register military themes.
A deleted South American subplot has LSD, an unauthorized paratrooper mission, guerrilla capture, and escape; cutting it is judged correct because it derailed the film.
The Harold Ramis and Bill Murray friendship is itself described as something that aged best.
Warren Oates and Sergeant Hulka also remain durable strengths.