Beetlejuice

BETELGEUSE! BETELGEUSE! ... BETELGEUSE!!!! This is the first time I’ve watched Beetlejuice in years. Honestly, the only part I remembered about it was the opening scene, the crazy house, and then Betelgeuse’s head at the end. After watching, yeah, the ending was literally genius. In addition, I remembered it being pretty good, but nothing fantastic. After my rewatch, I have concluded that Beetlejuice is in fact, more than fantastic. Obviously, Beetlejuice has Tim Burton’s signature written all over it. I mean, how much Burton can you possibly get? Even from the opening music, you get this odd feeling about the whole situation. In addition, you get extremely weird VFX that totally suits the craziness of the story. In short, Tim Burton was perfect for this film, and it showed. I believe now is a perfect time to mention the acting. First of all, the cast is filled with superstars: Michael Keaton, Alex Baldwin, Catherine O’Hara, a young Winona Ryder, Jeffrey Jones, and Sylvia Sydney (I haven’t seen any of her films besides this though). You can’t get a better all round cast than that. In addition, you have a dazzling performance by Glenn Shadix as Otho. When it comes to performances, of course I just mean Glenn, but Winona Ryder also had a brilliant performance. Adam and Barbara were portrayed beautifully in the film. The acting perfectly showed how unaware they were about the whole situation. They were shocked, desperate, surprised, disappointed, and most importantly protective. They felt like normal people, which sparked a sharp contrast to Delia and Charles, who were also the result of great performances. However, the greatest performance of all is easily awarded to Michael Keaton’s Betelgeuse (or Beetlejuice). This performance only solidifies my Betelgeuse is one of the greatest characters of any movie of all time! His costume design is absolutely perfect. It’s dirty; its wack. However it’s incredibly colorful and playful. Now, in terms of actual acting, Betelgeuse’s body movement was legendary. He was twitchy and he was quick, which highlights the character of Betelgeuse. When he moves his head and his body, he is never perfectly straight; he is always oriented in a wonky fashion. His facial expressions and his dialogue also make Betelgeuse one of the best acted characters ever. He never has a blank expression. He’s always has this look, the Betelgeuse look, which gives you an unsettling yet playful mood. And when you combine that with the way he speaks his dialogue, that higher pitched, unorthodox accent he forced out the character definitely does its magic. Then, you have the special effects and sound effects which are aligned with his body movement. When you combine all these aspects together, you get a character which rivals the brilliance as the Joker from the Dark Knight. I’m being serious. For a film this unique, it knows exactly what it is. It’s a comedy with all of Tim Burton’s and Michael Keaton’s magic, but it’s also a story about two lovers who wants to protect and savor their past life. It’s a story about those two lovers finally starting a family. It’s a story about respecting your predecessors. It’s a film about setting aside your differences and living in peace. But it’s also a supernatural story with ghosts, demons, beings of all shapes and sizes, snakes, clowns, sand worms, magic, rituals, summoning life forms (or dead forms in this case), and so much more!!!