Review of Beetlejuice (1988) by Ben L — 18 Sep 2016

Yes, this is the first time I ever watched Beetlejuice, because I skipped it as a kid. I would have hated it as a child anyways, so it's probably best that I watched it for the first time now. The acting in this movie is second to none. I adore Baldwin and Davis as the sweet but somewhat dim-witted ghosts. O'Hara, Jones, and Ryder are superb as a wacky family moving from the big city into the country. Finally, I love what Michael Keaton does with the character of Betelgeuse, because he creates a really bold personality that not many other actors would be able to do so well. Add to the awesome cast the fact that I quite like the plot of this sweet couple trying to figure out how to be scary, and struggling with a family that seems impervious to traditional fear. Let's be honest, that "Day-O" scene has got to be one of the most entertaining in cinema history. Finally, there is the look of the sets and costuming in the film. It has become a hallmark of Burton's films to use this Gothic style, but the story of Beetlejuice is well-suited for that look. So, now is when you might be wondering why I didn't rate this a perfect score, in fact it's only a little above average for me. The fact is, despite all the great acting, the brilliant plot setup, the unique set decoration/costuming, and a couple of remarkable scenes....

I don't like Betelgeuse. While it's true that Keaton successfully lends him a crazy one-of-a-kind personality, his entire presence in the movie was an annoyance and didn't do anything to move the primary plot forward. The story already had a point of conflict created by the family wanting to stay and create an amusement park out of the haunted home. But then the entire film veers off the rails because we have this insane bio-exorcist who really just wants to marry an underage girl?? I could not comprehend why this even existed in the story. Then, when they manage to say his name three times (Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice) suddenly everything is fixed and now we all can live in harmony in one home. Wait, what happened to the original point of conflict? To say I was baffled is putting it mildly. I will say I also struggled with some of the weird decisions about how the world of the dead looks, and the stop-motion did not blend well with the live action, but these are minor quibbles I could have overlooked. If the film had just stuck to its original premise, and not decided that it was more important to create the titular character, I think it would have been a great success for me. Instead, it is a movie that I greatly enjoyed for about an hour, and then decided it was only OK in the last 30 minutes.