Mild dark comedy.

Rating: 6/10 (24 June 2004)

BEETLE JUICE is the tale of Adam and Barbara (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis), a couple who die but don't really know it until they discover a new family moving into their house. This family consists of dad Charles (Jeffrey Jones), stepmom Delia (Catherine O'Hara), and daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder). Since Adam and Barbara are confined to their old house by the powers of the afterlife, they call upon "bio-exorcist" Beetle Juice (Michael Keaton) to try to get the new family to move out. However, the spirits simply appeal to the family and hence, they don't want to leave. Does Beetle Juice succeed in his mission?
This movie is probably considered by many to be Tim Burton's best. It's certainly one of the most popular. But I have to disagree. Though Burton is a master director and is very stylish, BEETLE JUICE just doesn't sit well with me. It's supposed to be a dark comedy, and it is indeed dark, but I definitely don't find it to be very funny. It's not that the idea of making fun of death offends me or anything (actually, quite the contrary); I just don't find the jokes, for the most part, to be humorous.

Also, the special effects are incredibly cheesy by today's standards. The Claymation scenes are almost ridiculous, but add a certain charming campiness to the whole film. Burton does set up many classic imageries, however (i.e., the snake, the faces Adam and Barbara put on to try to scare the family, the entire waiting room and its occupants). And there are a few timelessly classic scenes as well--namely, the wedding, the "Day-oh" dinner party, and the dancing sequence at the end.
The acting is decent. Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis are both good, if miscast. Jeffrey Jones and Catherine O'Hara are also good and occasionally funny as the parents of the family, while Winona Ryder puts in a solid and humorous performance as the depressed Lydia, in one of her first acting roles. But I think it was Michael Keaton, in the title role, that completely ruined the film for me. He was certainly charismatic, but I found him to be rather annoying. I also think he got the brunt of the jokes that were supposed to be funny, but aren't. Or maybe it's because of him that they aren't funny.
I thought BEETLE JUICE would be a pretty enjoyable dark comedy, but I didn't like it much. A lot of the jokes fail, and Michael Keaton puts in an extremely irritating performance. But, Tim Burton is an excellent director and manages to execute many memorable scenes and visuals. 6/10.