The ghost with the most

Rating: 7/10 (16 October 2009)

There are so many comedies of the 1980s which provided some laughs upon their release but which all these years later are not remembered all that fondly if they are remembered at all. Beetlejuice is an exception. It may not be an all-time comedy classic but it has stood the test of time. The film has so many moments which are, if not exactly classic, certainly memorable. The movie is certainly a bit out there but it is that quirkiness which provides so much of the movie's charm. You haven't seen many movies quite like this one.
As our story begins we meet young New England couple Adam and Barbara Maitland, played charmingly by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis respectively. Yes, there once was a time when Alec Baldwin was capable of being charming. Anyhow our very charming couple are rather unfortunately about to find themselves quite dead. After a car accident they find themselves back in their home, rather unsure of how they got there. They will soon come to realize that they did not survive the accident. And thus begins their bizarre journey through the afterlife. Turns out they have to remain in their home for 125 years. Which wouldn't seem all that bad...until the Deetzes move in. The Maitlands find the Deetzes, with their big plans for remodeling the house, to be rather obnoxious and our ghosts are determined to scare them away. They will get sympathy from an unlikely source, the Deetzes' goth teen daughter Lydia, played beautifully by Winona Ryder, who can see the ghostly pair and relates to them a heck of a lot better than she does to her parents.
Now am I forgetting anything? Oh yes, Beetlejuice himself, the "bio-exorcist" as played so memorably by Michael Keaton. It's easy to go this far not having mentioned Beetlejuice because in the grand scheme of things the character really isn't on the screen all that much. But when he is he certainly makes an impression. The movie gets an unmistakable jolt of energy every time the "ghost with the most" shows up. Keaton turns in a crude, bombastic, manic and often hilarious performance. And to be fair Beetlejuice, the movie, is often crying out for the energy Beetlejuice, the character, provides. The movie is a little flat at times but Keaton is there to prop it up when needed. Director Tim Burton created a fascinating world here and inhabited it with some great characters. Not everything in the movie works. Some of the effects look cheap (Burton will tell you intentionally so) and the story definitely has some lulls. But when the movie hits it hits big. There are some scenes here which will always be remembered very fondly. Most notably two scenes which make great use of the music of Harry Belafonte come to mind. All in all it's a movie which should leave you with a smile on your face and sometimes that's all you really need a movie to do.