Beetlejuice
I’m not sure why “Beetlejuice” was not really on my radar as a kid or teenager. When I was growing up- as I’ve mentioned before- my moviewatching was dictated by what my mom was interested in seeing theatrically, so that often meant a wild mix of movies, whether they were for younger audiences or for adults. I know we saw “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” theatrically, but- despite Michael Keaton being a name in our house with “Night Shift,” “Mr. Mom” and “Gung Ho,” and me watching “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure”- “Beetlejuice” was just not something we watched. Even after the two “Batman” movies, it wouldn’t be for a while until I consciously watched this macabre dark comedy. Maybe that was part of the reason.
One of the things I appreciate now about Tim Burton’s work in his early career up until “Sleepy Hollow” is how he works in distinct visual aesthetics, singular musical ideas (whether it’s Danny Elfman or, in the case of “Ed Wood,” Howard Shore), and often hits the sweet spot in tone where even the most goofball moments can be scary, or the most sincere moments can be funny. I don’t think it’s among his best films, but I think “Beetlejuice” illustrates at least the first part better of that equation better than just about any Burton film, and it sets the stage with the opening credits of the infamous model, and Elfman’s score.
Michael Keaton as the titular character dominates our minds when we consider the film, but in rewatching it before the sequel came out, I forget how much of this is about Adam and Barbara (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis), the couple who died, and are trying to get the new owners of their residence, the Deetz’s, out. This is really a film about their working their way through accepting that they are dead, and moving on in the afterlife. The energy of the film comes in when the Deetz clan (father Charles, played by sex offender Jeffrey Jones, stepmother Delia, played by the great Catherine O’Hara, and daughter Lydia, played by Winona Ryder) moved in to the house. Lydia has a propensity towards the supernatural, so she can tell something is up with the house, and she welcomes the madness…at least, until the prospect of becoming Beetlejuice’s bride, comes into the picture.
There’s plenty of exposition in this film to where Beetlejuice comes from, the mechanics of the afterlife, and how everything works to where we can just sit back and enjoy the anarchy. And everyone seems to be having fun with it. The main MVPs of the cast, however, are O’Hara, Ryder and Keaton of course; they lean in most to the vibe of what Burton and screenwriters Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren are doing and get into the wackier aspects of the world. And even more than the Elfman score, would this film be as memorable without the blasts of Harry Belafonte? Those songs just work for this film. This might be Burton’s most joyously fun movie to watch. It also solidified Keaton as an actor who’d go for broke in a role. I marvel at how wonderfully silly he gets here, and I smile. I’m sure Burton and the cast did, as well.
