How do you sum up Beetlejuice? I really don’t know. It’s one of the strangest movies ever made to get mainstream attention. When it came out in 1988, it was a big deal. There was even a cartoon show. But I can’t say I understood what this movie was all about. It frightened me, it perplexed me, but all these years later, I still don’t get it, but I love it.
A married couple played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis die in a car accident, but continue living in their house as ghosts. At first, they don’t realize they’re dead, but then, new residents move into their home who they don’t want there, so they try to scare them away. Even though they’re able to do some freaky things, being ghosts and all, it doesn’t work because nobody can see them, except for the dark depressing daughter played by Winona Ryder.
Then they find out about Beetle Juice, a bio-exorcist who may be able to scare away the living, but he might not be worth the trouble. Beetle Juice is played by Michael Keaton, who does a wonderful job. The performance is sort of a mixture of a clown, a zombie, a scary monster, and other assortments of things I can’t quite put my finger on.
He’s completely unpredictable. It’s a very unique role, played largely for laughs, which could have been disastrous, but given the quirky and zany tone of this movie, it fits in perfectly well. I can’t even recognize that its Michael Keaton. The makeup is so good, it won an Academy Award. It was directed by Tim Burton, so it’s very possible that if he made this movie much later, the role of Beetlejuice would have been played by Johnny Depp. This was when Michael Keaton was Tim Burton’s man, because right after this, when he made Batman, Michael Keaton landed the role of the Dark Knight himself, twice. Speaking of Batman, notice the bat wings on Beetlejuice’s head. That’s some strange foreshadowing.
Nice fuck in model! Well...that’s proof that you can say fuck in a PG movie, and then have a cartoon. Visually, all around, it’s an A+ job. The whole movie is a mind trip. The best words I can use to describe it are surreal and crazy. It looks like a child’s nightmare has come to life. The music by Danny Elfman is another ingredient to the mix that adds to the atmosphere of darkness and playfulness. It’s all the things you expect in a Tim Burton movie.
Maybe that’s how I should sum it up. It’s a Tim Burton movie. Enough said. It’s an artistic vision that could only come from him.Its an auteur movie. If such a thing ever existed, this is it. It seems like the imagination came straight from the mind to the screen without any question. There’s no reason it should work, but it does, as long as you let your mind go. It defies every mainstream convention, but somehow became a mainstream success. Its proof that originality pays off, and that movies today don’t take big enough risks.
A married couple played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis die in a car accident, but continue living in their house as ghosts. At first, they don’t realize they’re dead, but then, new residents move into their home who they don’t want there, so they try to scare them away. Even though they’re able to do some freaky things, being ghosts and all, it doesn’t work because nobody can see them, except for the dark depressing daughter played by Winona Ryder.
Then they find out about Beetle Juice, a bio-exorcist who may be able to scare away the living, but he might not be worth the trouble. Beetle Juice is played by Michael Keaton, who does a wonderful job. The performance is sort of a mixture of a clown, a zombie, a scary monster, and other assortments of things I can’t quite put my finger on.
He’s completely unpredictable. It’s a very unique role, played largely for laughs, which could have been disastrous, but given the quirky and zany tone of this movie, it fits in perfectly well. I can’t even recognize that its Michael Keaton. The makeup is so good, it won an Academy Award. It was directed by Tim Burton, so it’s very possible that if he made this movie much later, the role of Beetlejuice would have been played by Johnny Depp. This was when Michael Keaton was Tim Burton’s man, because right after this, when he made Batman, Michael Keaton landed the role of the Dark Knight himself, twice. Speaking of Batman, notice the bat wings on Beetlejuice’s head. That’s some strange foreshadowing.
Nice fuck in model! Well...that’s proof that you can say fuck in a PG movie, and then have a cartoon. Visually, all around, it’s an A+ job. The whole movie is a mind trip. The best words I can use to describe it are surreal and crazy. It looks like a child’s nightmare has come to life. The music by Danny Elfman is another ingredient to the mix that adds to the atmosphere of darkness and playfulness. It’s all the things you expect in a Tim Burton movie.
Maybe that’s how I should sum it up. It’s a Tim Burton movie. Enough said. It’s an artistic vision that could only come from him.Its an auteur movie. If such a thing ever existed, this is it. It seems like the imagination came straight from the mind to the screen without any question. There’s no reason it should work, but it does, as long as you let your mind go. It defies every mainstream convention, but somehow became a mainstream success. Its proof that originality pays off, and that movies today don’t take big enough risks.
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