With the recent and tragic news of Ivan Reitman's ing at the age of 75, what better time to honor the incredibly iconic and legendary screenwriter, producer, and director's career by taking a look at some of his best films.
For many fans, Reitman created a lot of great, comfort movies. Whether it was through hunting ghosts, the sweetest romantic comedies, or the engaging characters, he knew how to bring a smile to the audiences' faces. But out of all his movies, which one has appeared to be the most popular on IMDb?
Evolution (2001) | 6.1 | Available To Stream On DIRECTV
Evolution is a sci-fi comedy about a government scientist, firefighter cadet, and two college professors working together to stop a rapidly evolving alien organism from destroying the earth. Working with Ivan Reitman tends to attract a lot of top-tier actors, and as the audience will notice with this movie, the cast is incredible.
Evolution stars David Duchovny, Julianne Moore, Orlando Jones, and Sean William Scott. It's surprising how underrated this film is especially considering it was Reitman's highly anticipated return to alien-centered comedies after the massive success of the Ghostbusters franchise.
Twins (1988) | 6.1 | Available To Buy On Amazon
Arnold Schwarzenegger in one of his best comedic performances to date.
Twins has gone on to become a cult classic with rumors of a sequel circulating for the longest time. Fans would love to see Devito and Schwarzenegger reprise their roles, especially since they loved their on-screen chemistry.
Kindergarten Cop (1990) | 6.2 | Available To Stream On Starz
Kindergarten Cop is an action/crime comedy about a tough cop who must go undercover as a kindergarten teacher to get close to a dangerous criminal's ex-wife and potentially put him in jail.
This is another cult classic comedy collaboration from Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ivan Reitman. However, the film did struggle to find an audience initially due to its stark combination of extremely funny comedic scenes and darker action sequences. The film also co-stars Penelope Ann Miller, Pamela Reed, and Linda Hunt.
No Strings Attached (2011) | 6.2 | Available To Buy On Amazon
No Strings Attached is a romantic comedy about a guy and a girl attempting to keep their relationship strictly physical, but they both quickly realize they want something more. The film stars Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher in the lead roles, and co-stars Kevin Kline, Cary Elwes, and Greta Gerwig.
No Strings Attached is a unique movie that had a lot of hilarious storylines and fun characters. However, the film went relatively under the radar upon release as it came out alongside a bunch of other romantic comedies in the early 2010s, and didn't really distinguish itself enough from the pack.
Meatballs (1979) | 6.2 | Available To Buy On Amazon
Meatballs is another comedy classic directed by Ivan Reitman, that follows several camp counselors and the wacky hijinks they get up to in their below-average summer camp. It's surprising that Meatballs wasn't as popular on IMDb, considering how highly it's regarded by fans.
Bill Murray's performance as Tripper is one of his absolute best comedic performances, and the ing cast is incredible as well featuring Kate Lynch and Harvey Atkins. The success of Meatballs was early in Reitman's career, which allowed him to go on and direct other comedy classics and continue working.
Ghostbusters 2 (1989) | 6.6 | Available To Stream On DIRECTV
Ghostbusters 2 is the highly anticipated sequel to the mega-hit sci-fi comedy, Ghostbusters. The sequel is about the Ghostbusters finding a huge river of ectoplasm under New York as well as the massive resurgence in spectral activity that allows the gang to revive their ghost-hunting business.
While most fans of the franchise agree that the sequel didn't quite live up to the hype of the original, it's still a solid sci-fi comedy with legendary performances by Bill Murray and Rick Moranis.
Dave (1993) | 6.8 | Available To Buy On Amazon
Dave is a political romantic comedy about a man named Dave that is recruited by the secret service to be a stand-in for the President of the United States because he bears an uncanny resemblance to the political leader. Dave stars Frank Langella and Kevin Kline as well as frequent Ivan Reitman collaborator Sigourney Weaver.
Reitman earned some of the highest praise of his career with the release of this rom-com due to its light-hearted humor and great performances. Many consider this to be one of Kevin Klines best performances of his career as he truly nailed the charming titular double role of the film.
Draft Day (2014) | 6.8 | Available To Buy On Amazon
Draft Day was Reitman's most recent directorial effort. The film is a sports drama that follows a general manager for an NFL team on draft day, who has the number one pick and has the chance to rebuild his team and franchise.
Draft Day, as per most Reitman films, has an incredible cast featuring Kevin Costner, Jennifer Gardner, and Chadwick Boseman. The film is considered overly dramatic by most fans, but Reitman's directing elevated what would have been a below-average script into an above-average film.
Stripes (1981) | 6.9 | Available To Stream On Netflix
Stripes is another comedy classic coming from the genius minds of Reitman and Ramis. Almost every time these two iconic filmmakers collaborated, they created a classic - and Stripes is no different. The film is a war comedy about two friends who are dissatisfied with their jobs and at home lives so they decide to the army.
The film stars Murray, Ramis, and fellow comedy icon John Candy. Reitman does a great job directing the hilariously chaotic funny moments that are sprinkled in throughout the film, and many fans consider this to be one of Ivan Reitman's best films.
Ghostbusters (1984) | 7.8 | Available To Stream On DIRECTV
Despite being involved with a large number of comedy classics, Ghostbusters is, without a doubt, Reitman's most memorable film. The sci-fi action comedy is about a group of parapsychologists forced out of their university funding who end up setting up a unique ghost removal service in the heart of New York.
The classic stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Sigourney Weaver. The film has turned into a pop culture phenomenon sparking sequels, cartoons, tv shows, and reboots. The success of the film is truly a testament to Reitman's ability to take a script and turn it into something heartfelt and funny.
