Review of Beetlejuice (1988) by Brittany F — 31 Aug 2013

Everyone has those movies you absolutely loved as a child and they don't quite hold up when you watch them as an adult. Well when I watched Beetlejuice I had a fear that to be true about it, but I have to say it's not.

Though maybe some of the fun has been lost from childhood to adult, I still had a blast watching Beetlejuice. One of the reasons I love this movie so much is because of the performances. Let's face it the plot and world of this movie is fairly ridiculous.

If you haven't seen it a married couple is killed and they turn to a shady "bio-exorcist" named Betelguise to rid their house of a horrid family. Despite the ridiculousness of this plot all the actors simultaneously treat it silly and serious, and it completely works.

The most grounded performances are Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis. Through their characters the audience is able to see how crazy this is and yet have us believe it. Going far away from grounded is Michael Keaton's portrayal of Betelguise.

He is absolutely hysterical as the lecherous title character. He's one of those characters you absolutely love to hate. I honestly don't know what else to say about this movie other than it's an insanely fun time.

I do have to touch on the musical numbers which are bar none my favorite parts of the film. I don't want to spoil how they come about, but I'm singing along every time I see them. Beetlejuice is the rare example of a movie from your childhood completely holding up and I love that it's a part of my blu-ray collection.