Anna Daniels
While Gozer is the main antagonist of the film, Ghostbusters also has another major bad guy in the form of Walter Peck, from the “third district” of the Environmental Protection Agency. The idea that a government agency wants to have a look at what these guys have cooking at their brand-new, possibly dangerous business isn’t anything strange. After all, Venkman himself admits that they all have an “unlicensed nuclear accelerator” on their backs in the form of proton packs. But when Peck actually tries to do his job, it becomes clear that he’s very, very bad at it. Like, on the most basic level.
First, Peck asks to see the Ghostbusters ghost storage facility. Venkman won’t let him, so he goes and gets a court order, which for a guy in his job actually makes a lot of sense. Then he uses that court order to… turn the Ghostbusters’ grid off without any scientific investigation? Think of the things he could learn, the regulations he could write, and instead he’s just keen on shutting them down with barely a look. Then he goes to the mayor and calls it all a hoax despite the grid blowing up.
Many critics have viewed Peck as the film’s response to government regulation as an impediment to small business owners, which would certainly explain Peck’s cartoonish incompetence. That said, he could be at least a little more thorough.
Written by: Looper
