"It keeps getting funnier every single time I see it!"

Rating: 8/10 (15 August 2006)

How can a film not intrigue an audience's curiosity with a title like that? Beetlejuice is a necessary element to anyone who wants to learn the trademarked style of a Tim Burton film, as it is definitely one of his strangest and funniest. A young and happily married couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) bite the dust in a car wreck and gradually discover they are ghosts. Before they can get a grasp of their new surroundings and abilities, a far more annoying family (with the exception of dark but well-grounded daughter Lydia, played by Winona Ryder), complete with an equally annoying interior decorator, barge into the deceased couple's house up for grabs and put their own finishing touches to the place. Clearly, the spirits want the house to themselves, but how? To make the situation more difficult, they are egged on by a sleazy, sinister poltergeist named Beetlegeuse (Michael Keaton) to scare the pests away, always at the most desperate times. My favorite scene should go without saying... Well okay, one word: DAAAY-O! Despite the mostly dated visual effects and glaring continuity errors (especially the climax with the sandworm), there's a big pile of reasons to see this classic comedy, including the best score of Danny Elfman's career, Robert Goulet, and most of all, Keaton's performance. If you've ever wondered how anything can be hammed up to perfection, look no further than the man who would be Batman.