When we somehow hoped that at least a week would pass without sad news from the world of the seventh art, this morning it arrived about the departure of one of the most beloved directors, producers and screenwriters of the 80s and 90s, Ivan Reitman. Although he may not have been one of the great directors, his specific sense of humor easily brought smiles to the faces of many generations, so we believe that he deserved a mention on our pages because of his talent.
Ivan Reitman was born on October 27, 1946 in the small town of Komarno in what was then Czechoslovakia. Like most of the inhabitants of Komarno, Ivan's parents were Jews of Hungarian descent. Post-war misery forced the Reitmans to immigrate in 1950 to Toronto, Canada. Despite his singing and musical talent, Ivan Reitman, after graduating from 'McMaster University' in the late 60's and early 70's, began producing and directing short and feature films, respectively.
It is worth mentioning that the first feature film produced by Reitman and his colleague, friend and frequent collaborator Daniel Goldberg was the porn comedy "The Columbus of Sex" (1970), which ended up in court for publishing obscene material. He is making his directorial debut next year through the independent romantic comedy "Foxy Lady", in which one of the smaller roles is played by the later successful comedian Eugene Levy.
In the second half of the 70's, Reitman achieved his first notable success with the production of Cronenberg's early, now cult horror films, "Shivers" (1975) and "Rabid" (1977), but the year in which he experienced real affirmation was without suspicions in 1978, thanks to the production of one of the most popular comedies of all time, "National Lampoon's Animal House", that is, directed by the cult comedy "Meatballs" with which he also began a successful and long-term collaboration with comedian Bill Murray.
The aforementioned duo achieved even greater success two years later with the legendary comedy "Stripes" (1981), in which they were joined by Harold Ramis. A hilarious story about two friends who, after losing their jobs and general life dissatisfaction from fun and boredom, decide to enlist in the army, becomes a big movie hit, and promotes them in the latest Hollywood 'hot goods'.
In 1981, Reitman produced the cult animated film "Heavy Metal", and then began work on one of the most successful and best comedies of all time, "Ghostbusters" (1984). The cast, led by Murray and Ramis, is rounded off by Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson, respectively, Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis. The story of a group of friends of scientists and professors who decide to cash in on their ability to solve sudden supernatural phenomena in New York, absolutely delighted the audience and invested about 30 million dollars. general hysteria over toys and other themed products.
Although Hollywood studio leaders and fans expected a quick sequel, Reitman stepped on the ball and in 1986 released a solid but entertaining romantic crime comedy "Legal Eagles" starring Robert Redford, Debra Winger and Darryl Hannah. In parallel with the production of medium-budget comedies, in 1988 he finished another extremely successful, timeless popular buddy comedy, "Twins". The insane story of twins played by the seemingly incompatible couple Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito, with its hilarious premise, reveals Schwarzenegger's unseen comedic talent and further cements Reitman's status as comedy king.
In 1989, to the delight of many fans, the sequel "Ghostbusters" finally arrived in cinemas, but despite a very solid passage in cinemas, the quality still remains in the shadow of its predecessor. The following year, Reitman repeated his collaboration with Schwarzenegger and created one of the most popular family comedies of all time, "Kindergarten Cop". By the end of the 90's, he was successful with the well-received comedies "Dave" (1993) and "Junior" (1994), in which the duo Schwarzenegger / DeVito reunited. With the questionable quality, in the new millennium, the interest in his films among the audience is somewhat waning.
His last successful directorial engagement was in 2014 with the sports drama "Draft Day" and stories are starting to get louder about how he will finally record a long-running sequel to the hit "Twins", this time titled "Triplets". Schwarzenegger and DeVito were supposed to be joined by Eddie Murphy as the third brother (yes, you read that right) but unfortunately we never got that. In the meantime, he managed to produce the last sequel to "Ghostbusters". He left the director's baton to his son Jason, a successful comedian, and began work on the pre-production of "Triplets" (Murphy was replaced by Tracy Morgan). Death was unfortunately quicker and the question is whether the project will eventually be realized, perhaps by his son, since he proved his inherited directing talent with the latest "Ghostbusters".
Although he left us at the age of 75 with no intention of almost retiring, Ivan Reitman left us in memory of some of the best and most beloved comedies of all time, with which even the youngest generations do not stop having fun and laughing.
