Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice.... Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant!!!

Rating: 10/10 (4 May 2006)

I remember seeing this movie when I was a kid. I hid behind the sofa and vowed never to watch it again, as it was too scary, too dark, too kooky, perhaps.
A couple of years went by and I got increasingly intrigued by this weirdo film I had seen. so, when the opportunity to see it again came up, I watched it... AND ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!! As I've got older, it has found itself a special place in my heart, and every time I dig my old copy out, it's like seeing an old, dear friend, and I stop whatever it is I'm doing, and stick it on.
I think Beetlejuice is amazing. The whole movie has a sense of fun, with great lines and a great way of looking at life (and death, of course).
The principal cast are all great; Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin are fabulous as the straight-laced Maitlands, Catherine O'Hara and Jeffrey Jones are very funny as Delia, the neurotic, spoilt brat of a woman, and Charles, her hen-pecked husband. Winona Ryder puts in a great performance as the morbid little girl lost, Lydia and Glenn Shadix is a barrel of laughs as Otho.
But the show belongs to one man, Michael Keaton. He is a revelation! He is the funniest, coolest and the best thing about this movie.
Everything else about this movie is great; Tim Burton's Gothic style, the score by Danny Elfman, the other actors, they are all brilliant, but Michael Keaton is breath-taking. He is like 20,000 volts of electricity, saying "sit up and take notice of ME!" We're glad to, Michael, because, as the film's poster says "Michael Keaton is BEETLEJUICE"! Just Excellent!