Beetlejuice (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
'Beetlejuice' (directed by Tim Burton) is one cooky movie. Good thing it's also imaginative, funny, & even sweet. In short, I LOVED it. Barbara & Adam Maitland (Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin) open the film; decorating their new idyllic New England abode. While the couple is driving home from town, Barbara swerves to avoid a pup & crashes through a covered bridge. They walk home and, based on a few clues, suspect that they might be dead. Adam attempts to leave the house to retrace their steps but finds himself in a strange realm that is covered in sand with enormous worms (Dune, much?). After getting back into their home, the Maitlands are soon interrupted when their house is sold & obnoxious new inhabitants, the Deetzes, arrive from NYC. They comprise of Charles (Jeffrey Jones), a former real estate developer, his 2nd wife, Delia (Catherine O'Hara), an aspiring sculptor, & his gloomy, Goth daughter, Lydia (Winona Ryder).
Because Delia is a sculptress, she transforms the house into a gaudy mess of modern art. Hopeless, the Maitlands seek help from their afterlife case worker, Juno (Sylvia Sidney), who informs them that they must remain in the house for decades & that, if they want the Deetzes out, it's up to them to haunt them away! The Maitlands' try to scare the interlopers away, but are unsuccessful (white sheets, really?). Although the Maitlands remain invisible to Mr. & Mrs., their daughter Lydia can see the ghost couple & befriends them. Against Juno's counsel, the Maitlands contact Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton), a profane, cantankerous bio-exorcist ghost, to scare away the Deetzes. But Betelgeuse becomes obsessed with marrying Lydia so that he can re-enter the 'land of the living'. Can the Maitlands rid their home of the living? What are Betelgeuses' ulterior motives? And what of the morose Lydia? Is Betelgeuse a viable option for her? Giddy chaos ensues.
'Beetlejuice' is a blast. How many movies can you name that are truly hysterical, as well as being cookily macabre? Not very many. Weird, bizarre, unorthodox, imaginative, delightful ... all of these words apply to 'Beetlejuice'. And I loved the cat & mouse game that goes on btwn. the ghosts & the intruders (Deetzes). From a technical standpoint, 'Beetlejuice is a marvel. Bo Welch's moving set designs are nearly impossible to explain (the New England home, the sand world named Saturn, depictions of the underworld, model sets, sculptures, etc.). The costumes are wild. And the make-up work is Oscar-worthy (Betelgeuse' yellow skin, snaggle-teeth; the Maitlands' haunt-a-house creature facades). I also commend Danny Elfman's pulsating, dissonant musical score. I loved it all!
And the performances go a long way in adding to the ghoulish delight. Winona Ryder is wonderfully deadpan as the near-suicidal, but strangely charming Lydia. She wants to be dead, but the Maitlands keep urging her not to go there. Jeffrey Jones is wonderful as the clueless yuppie father. Catherine O'Hara is a riot as the scheming Delia. But Michael Keaton takes the cake as the mischievous, devilish prankster, Betelgeuse. Once resurrected (by uttering his name 3 times), we find that he's needy, sly, desperate for attention, troublesome, prickly, icky, sarcastic ... he's everything. I loved his up-to-no-good antics, most of all (like hanging out in a whore house). Overall, 'Beetlejuice' is just a very clever black comedy; chock full of fun characters & situations (like when the Deetzes are possessed by dark magic & unwillingly dance/mouth-sing to Harry Belafonte's 'Day-o'! haha). I enjoyed Tim Burton's Pee Wee's Big Adventure, but this film rules.
Because Delia is a sculptress, she transforms the house into a gaudy mess of modern art. Hopeless, the Maitlands seek help from their afterlife case worker, Juno (Sylvia Sidney), who informs them that they must remain in the house for decades & that, if they want the Deetzes out, it's up to them to haunt them away! The Maitlands' try to scare the interlopers away, but are unsuccessful (white sheets, really?). Although the Maitlands remain invisible to Mr. & Mrs., their daughter Lydia can see the ghost couple & befriends them. Against Juno's counsel, the Maitlands contact Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton), a profane, cantankerous bio-exorcist ghost, to scare away the Deetzes. But Betelgeuse becomes obsessed with marrying Lydia so that he can re-enter the 'land of the living'. Can the Maitlands rid their home of the living? What are Betelgeuses' ulterior motives? And what of the morose Lydia? Is Betelgeuse a viable option for her? Giddy chaos ensues.
'Beetlejuice' is a blast. How many movies can you name that are truly hysterical, as well as being cookily macabre? Not very many. Weird, bizarre, unorthodox, imaginative, delightful ... all of these words apply to 'Beetlejuice'. And I loved the cat & mouse game that goes on btwn. the ghosts & the intruders (Deetzes). From a technical standpoint, 'Beetlejuice is a marvel. Bo Welch's moving set designs are nearly impossible to explain (the New England home, the sand world named Saturn, depictions of the underworld, model sets, sculptures, etc.). The costumes are wild. And the make-up work is Oscar-worthy (Betelgeuse' yellow skin, snaggle-teeth; the Maitlands' haunt-a-house creature facades). I also commend Danny Elfman's pulsating, dissonant musical score. I loved it all!
And the performances go a long way in adding to the ghoulish delight. Winona Ryder is wonderfully deadpan as the near-suicidal, but strangely charming Lydia. She wants to be dead, but the Maitlands keep urging her not to go there. Jeffrey Jones is wonderful as the clueless yuppie father. Catherine O'Hara is a riot as the scheming Delia. But Michael Keaton takes the cake as the mischievous, devilish prankster, Betelgeuse. Once resurrected (by uttering his name 3 times), we find that he's needy, sly, desperate for attention, troublesome, prickly, icky, sarcastic ... he's everything. I loved his up-to-no-good antics, most of all (like hanging out in a whore house). Overall, 'Beetlejuice' is just a very clever black comedy; chock full of fun characters & situations (like when the Deetzes are possessed by dark magic & unwillingly dance/mouth-sing to Harry Belafonte's 'Day-o'! haha). I enjoyed Tim Burton's Pee Wee's Big Adventure, but this film rules.