“Beetlejuice” (1988)
The Best of Tim Burton — Vol 5.
The Best of Tim Burton — Vol 5.
Reproduced below is my near decade old love-in appraisal of Beetlejuice and as it’s contained within a career spanning opus blog article on the directing genius that is Tim Burton, I penned this original article a decade ago focussing entirely on the titular anti-hero, the actor who marvellously inhabits out favourite ghost and the touches and flourishes of the master behind the camera. Despite my reverence for this comedic piece of heaven, Beetlejuice ranks 5th in my all time and lifetime appreciation of the films of Tim Burton, behind the likes of Corpse Bride (4th), Batman (3rd) and Ed Wood second in my affections behind his beautifully different Edward Scissorhands.
All of which can be found scattered amongst 13 more love-in reviews of the films of Tim Burton in the blog article immediately below or I hope you enjoy my take on Beetlejuice and the two masters of their craft who brought this chaotic ghost to life so magnificently.
The Magic of Tim Burton
1985–2016. 18 films. Couple of clunkers! But a whole lot of magic. All lovingly appreciated and spoiler free.medium.com
“I’ve seen the Exorcist ABOUT A HUNDRED AND SIXTY SEVEN TIMES, AND IT KEEPS GETTING FUNNIER EVERY TIME I SEE IT!”.
“Beetlejuice” (Michael Keaton) Not seen until well into the second act of the film and then for a minimal amount of screen time, but what a performance from Keaton. Balancing the persona of the deranged and obnoxious ghost exorcist perfectly, the only criticism is he doesn’t figure more prominently in his own film! What screen time there is is pure gold.
His brief introduction is thus:
Approaching a “Betelgeuse” sign, “Barbara” (Geena Davis) and “Adam” (Alec Baldwin) begin digging at the foot of the grave, accompanied by Danny Elfman’s hurried and hectic cinematic musical score which is a joy throughout. After much digging, rising from his grave, arms outstretched in wonder, delight and triumph is Beetlejuice. Kissing Barbara, then grabbing Adam, before finally settling in between them and enquiring as to the romantic availability of Barbara, it is a wonderfully bizarre and surreal introduction. Always seemingly in the middle of the three, arm in arm, Beetlejuice enquires “who do I have to kill?” as he hands Barbara a live rat and throwing his voice to her!
Demonstrating both his qualifications “I graduated Harvard Business School!” and his ability to be scary, this is the eponymous Beetlejuice scene where, back to camera, he scares Barbara and Adam with snakes protruding from his head. Unsure, and with Beetlejuice pleading for the opportunity to help them “Come on. We’re like peas in a pod the three of us, let’s face it”, Barbara and Adam return home. Unaware, and still offering to cook a meal for his new found friends, the four minute scene ends in brilliant cameo fashion from Michael Keaton, topped with a little flourish from the Director. With the only two swear words of the entire film and the Director’s final flourish, an angry Beetlejuice exclaims “Where are you? Oh you fucking losers. You’re working with a professional here!” before kicking down a fake tree behind him and ending with “Nice fucking model!” before grabbing his crotch and the scene ends with two cartoon/clown like “honks!”.
Without wishing to give away huge chunks of spoiler I won’t go into much further detail of the film itself, suffice to say that at times it is brilliantly funny, sometimes darkly so and even with a second or third viewing you will still see little nuances or pieces you missed on first viewing. It is very definitely a triumph for Director Tim Burton, as the surreal flashes and inserts throughout are a marvel and very definitely early Tim Burton at his very best. Yes the film has dated a little since it’s release in 1988, but Keaton’s albeit brief performance, allied to the marvellous musical score from Danny Elfman and the Director’s genius, make this a must watch in his cannon of work. The supporting cast are excellent too, with Jeffrey Jones as “Charles Deetz”, Annie McEnroe as “Jane Butterfield”, a young Winona Ryder as “Lydia Deetz” and Catherine O’Hara as “Delia Deetz” particular stand outs. Just one tiny spoiler for you, because it makes me laugh every time and I’m sure it will you too. Just await the family gathering and their table dance to “Day-O”. It’s utterly brilliant, funny and encapsulates this film perfectly!
With a running time of just 92 minutes and writing credits for Michael McDowell, Larry Wilson and Warren Skaaren many others deserve credit in producing a wonderful film. Director of Photography Thomas Ackerman especially so for bringing an intensely surreal film to life with Director Burton and Danny Elfman’s iconic score as previously noted. The soundtrack is a fun mix with “Day-O” an amusing stand out, alongside “Jump in the Line (Shake Senora)” and classical pieces from Chopin and Wagner. Nominated for one Oscar, Ve Neill, Steve LaPorte and Robert Short unsurprisingly won for Best Make Up.
Thanks for reading. Just for larks as always, and always a human reaction rather than spoilers galore. My three most recently published film articles are linked below or there’s well over 100 blog articles (with 300+ individual film reviews) within my archives from which to choose:
“The Proposition” (2005)
“Australia — What fresh hell is this?”medium.com
“Moonrise Kingdom” (2012)
Wes Anderson at his most beautiful.medium.com
“Death Proof” (2007)
“I’m not a cowboy Pam. I’m a stuntman!”medium.com