In 1988 Tim Burton directed a horror comedy film called Beetlejuice after proving himself to be a competent director and this only proved it even further.
The plot of the movie revolves around a dead couple played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis, who hire what is known as a bio-exorcist named Beetlejuice to scare away the obnoxious new residents of their former home.
In regards to the plot it is all very amusing to watch, full of interesting ideas and possibilities and for a relatively original idea helmed by a director who had just about broken successfully into the filmmaking industry I would say that it is executed very well.
On the subject of the film's cast I believe I found at least a few people who stood out. Firstly two are of course the leads Baldwin and Davis, whose performances start off as moderately average, but slightly improve as the film progresses. Next is Catharine O'Hara who plays the wife of the family who have moved in to the deceased's home. She played her part as a non-believer in ghosts quite well, along with some other comedic moments. In particular, there is a scene she shares with family and friends at a dinner party. If you have seen the film you will know which one I'm talking about. But in the end it does all come down to the titular character, known as Beetlejuice and played with clear enjoyment by Michael Keaton. I found Keaton to be the most enjoyable character in the movie, with the way he acts and the seemingly endless array of jokes he comes out with. There is also Jeffery Jones as the husband of the new family, but he unfortunately did not amuse me in any way.
On to the film's screenplay which was written by Michael MacDowell and Warren Skarren. MacDowell's vison of the movie was originally supposed to be much darker and graphic, before being reworked with the help of Skarren into what we now have today. It's full of the surreal and bizarre possibilities that audiences have come to expect from the type of films that Tim Burton specializes in and I was really impressed with the accomplished result.
Thinking about the cinematography and production design, two things stood out for me since most of the movie takes place inside or just outside the house. Firstly you have what can only be described as the movie's idea of what the afterlife looks like. It makes the afterlife look like some kind of business, amusing and slightly odd and the same time. And then there is the look of what you could call a landscape filled with only sand, clouds and very odd looking monsters that appear to be the landscape's only forms of life. I thought they both looked rather interesting, especially that landscape as an idea of what could be waiting for people after they die.
The score was composed by Danny Elfman, who would go on to become a longtime collaborator on Burtons' films. I admire it when a film has the kind of score that goes well with its tone and nature, and this is no exception, especially during the opening credits that I think is a good example of what I look for in the introduction of a film when it comes to music.
You may have noticed that so far I have left out one main cast member, Wynona Ryder. I left her out for a few important reasons. One, in the beginning of the film I found her to be almost unlikeable.
Two, she was just about the only character in the film who got any amount of character development, but when she did get some development and lighten up a bit, did it help matters for me? The answer, no, it did not.
And being the namesake of the film, you would expect to be seeing a lot of Michael Keaton, and since there is a great deal of build-up to him you might have expected him to be in most of the film and be the main focus. But instead I felt his on-screen time was rather short and a man with Keaton's acting talents and statues should have been given more screen time.
I'm going to raise an issue that is very similar to one I had with the last Burton film I reviewed a few months ago, and that is my belief that some things in the film, in this case the monsters, had less work and effort put into them than others. For example, take a look at the snake that appears near the end, And then take a look at the end result after Baldwin and Davis have messed around with their faces, in order to look like something that could terrify the people living in their home.
In conclusion, Beetlejuice was very enjoyable, had good performances from the lead cast and for a original idea that had to be worked on as much as it did, the end result was rather a pleasing one. And it's clear that the film impressed people, getting its own tv show later, and the possibility of a sequel is still being talked about.
Having taken all my pros and cons into account I'm going to give Beetlejuice:
B+
Thank you for reading.
