Original artwork, not a still
What are you supposed to be, some kind of cosmonaut?
— Ghostbusters ‧ 1984
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Nobody in the lobby has heard of the Ghostbusters yet, so the jumpsuits and nuclear-looking backpacks read as spacemen, not as a service you can hire. That is the joke and the pitch: the film shows a city that has not yet learned to expect them. Fans quote it as a gentle needle for anyone dressed far too elaborately for the job.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for GhostbustersShow the scene
On the Ghostbusters' first paying job, the Sedgewick Hotel manager sends them up to the twelfth floor, where a ghost has been terrorising guests. In the lobby, the team in their beige jumpsuits and heavy proton packs wait for an elevator beside a man smoking a cigar, who looks them over and asks if they are some kind of cosmonaut. Peter Venkman breezily says they are exterminators, brought in because somebody spotted a cockroach upstairs. The bystander, an extra played by Murray Rubin, decides to wait for the next car. The ghost turns out to be Slimer.
Sources (3)
- Ghostbusters Wiki: Man at ElevatorHistory sectionReference checked
- Ghostbusters Wiki: Murray RubininfoboxReference checked
- Wikipedia: Ghostbusters (film)Plot and productionReference checked
Context reviewed
