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| Beetlejuice |
The crowd was packed with people of all different ages and cultural backgrounds and I was happy the audience was free of hipster ironic snark.
People still love this movie. It resonates. It's wildly entertaining and full of laughs. When film buffs think fondly of Tim Burton -- they think of Beetlejuice. And with good reason.
Back in 1988 he seemed to be full of original ideas, dynamic visuals and a voice that was truly unique and new to mainstream cinema.
Of course now Burton's aesthetic has been oft-imitated and even unintentionally parodied by the man himself. We are now accustomed to the self-consciously quirky, effects-driven supernatural comedy. And what was sweet and surprising about the 1988 original will likely be cynically reproduced in the movie's long delayed and yet, highly anticipated sequel.
Despite the downward spiral of Burton's career and the ups and downs of the fresh-faced stars of Beetlejuice over the years, I still enjoy the movie for its simple pleasures. It's a brisk movie, packed with funny and fascinating ideas (The Handbook for the Recently Deceased, for one). And it's a movie that, despite its themes of death, is full of life and joy. Quite simply, it's one of my favorite movies of all time. Here are a few reasons why.
1) The Harry Belafonte songs: I have no idea whose inspiration it was to include the legendary civil rights icon and Calypso singer's hits in this movie (the DVD is criminally devoid of special features) but it was a masterstroke. They are both infectious and random, which kind of sums up the spirit of the movie.
2) There are rules: I love a comedy or really any movie that sets up a fantasy world with rules. Like Inception for instance. You can have your flights of fancy -- but there are still guidelines you have to follow, just like in real life. So I enjoy the concept that Beetlejuice can't say (or apparently even write) his own name. Or that you have to say his name three times. It's all in good fun.
3) The cutest couple ever: It's really hard to portray a happy couple in a movie without making me cringe. It's just more interesting to show a couple in turmoil or trauma. But this movie pulls off the impossible. It presents a thoroughly adorable, happy marriage that is not a bore. Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis are super sweet and sympathetic. You root for these guys.
4) Winona Ryder: Speaking of cute, how amazing was Winona Ryder? With this film, Heathers and to a lesser degree Edward Scissorhands, she cemented her status as the dream girl for a whole generation of outcasts. She really was a terrific actress with a lot range (see Bram Stoker's Dracula and The Age of Innocence) and sadly her career seems to have stalled. The shoplifting incident was an embarrassment, but plenty of male stars have been forgiven for worse.5) The New York art scene jokes: I didn't appreciate this aspect of the movie at all when I first saw it but now that I've been living in NYC for nearly 10 years I really get a kick out of the movie's disdain for pompous, upper-class arty types. Sure, the movie paints city folk with a broad brush, but when your palette includes the incomparable Catherine O'Hara, it's hard to complain.
6) Sylvia Sidney: Tim Burton recruited this legendary actress, born in 1910, to play a chain-smoking badass called Juno who serves as Baldwin and Davis' after life case-worker. Although she only appears in a few scenes, her feisty, no-nonsense wit is one of the highlights of the movie.
7) Incidental humor: I appreciate all the odd "aside" jokes. Like the barber mumbling to himself about a haircut gone wrong or Alec Baldwin first misreading the Handbook as a guide for the "recently diseased." So many comedies nowadays seem to be a series of set pieces, I prefer movies like this one which have a rhythm all their own.
8) The Danny Elfman music: The Belafonte music is the best, but Danny Elfman's score is also a real treat. His early collaborations with Burton are on par with the most iconic work Bernard Herrmann did for Alfred Hitchcock. This is one of the movies where I get goosebumps when the credits start just because the music gets me so amped.
9) Beetlejuice, his entrance and pretty much everything else: I have sang the praises of Michael Keaton endlessly and his performance as the titular hero (who is actually really the villain of the piece) is arguably his most iconic. I love how the movie builds anticipation for his arrival and then reveals him brilliantly in a scene that plays almost like something out of a cartoon (complete with exaggerated sound effects). It's all so wacky, in the best way.
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| "Jump In the Line" |
11) Beetlejuice's powers: The Beetlejuice character seems to be able to shapeshift, make people disappear and possess people -- just to name a few of his skills. The movie makes no effort to explain how he has these abilities, and that is, I think, part of why the character has become so iconic and oddly lovable.
12) Iconic look: In fact, although the Beetlejuice character doesn't have a ton of screen time, so much about him has become iconic. For instance, when Robin Thicke appeared in a black and white striped suit alongside Miley Cyrus' unfortunate 'twerking' -- all of America seemed to collectively make a connection with the Keaton role. Not too shabby for a 26-year-old movie.
13) It's not dated: Even the effects, which have a surreal, Salvador Dali-esque quality about them don't distract me like they do in other '80s movies. And the use of real puppets and make-up (this is of course pre-CGI) give the visuals a tangible, accessible feeling.
14) Cameo roles: Dick Cavett and Robert Goulet are actually both really effective in small roles as Catherine O'Hara's agent and a big shot real estate developer, respectively. They work well because they're playing actual characters instead of knowing riffs on their real life personas, which is almost always my favorite kind of cameo (an exception to the rule being Bill Murray as "himself").
15) It scared me as a kid: I have a special place in my heart for movies that freaked me out when I was little (A Nightmare on Elm Street anyone?) and this movie was one of my last vivid memories of a nightmare-inducing filmgoing experience. It was the scene where Beetlejuice turns into a snake that got me. I definitely remember having to sleep in my parent's bed after seeing this one.
16) 'Sand Worms': Apparently giant killer snakes are just a fact of life in the after-life. How terrifying is that. Again, these visually striking, striped creatures are never really explained. We get the sense, from the Beetlejuice character at least, that they are a big nuisance, but why are they there in the first place? Who knows.
17) The movie's look: For a director so associated with goth, Burton has always had a great eye for color. The vibrant palette of the small town setting is an incredible contrast to the macabre look of Beetlejuice's haunts. The movie has a sweet, positive affinity for the ghost community. It's clear we're supposed to identify with the dead couple and the spirits in the movie seems like fun people to be around.
18) Crude when it wants to be: But while the movie is whimsical at times, it also has a lot of appropriately crude or nasty humor. For instance, I like it when Ryder's character assumes the ghost moans she's hearing are actually her parents having sex. And I enjoy Beetlejuice's constant attempts to grope Geena Davis. It's definitely not politically correct but who cares?
19) It's totally bizarre ending: Speaking of 'who cares' -- the ending has this devil may care quality that I've always loved. Even though Winona Ryder's character now lives in a sort of shared custody situation with a dead couple and her actual parents, she seems totally well-adjusted and happy. And her final lip-synched performance of Belafonte's "Jump in the Line" with a chorus of dead footballers players behind her, is one of my favorite movie moments of all time.
20) It's totally bizarre ending, part II: Beetlejuice in the waiting room. Also one of the funniest scenes I've ever seen. It's so ridiculously silly and yet along with the white and black suit, the titular character's tiny-headed fate is one of the most memorable moments in the film.
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