Add Tail Slate
to Your Site/RSS
| Blog: |
| Tail Slate |
Topics: |
| films, movies, television |
Michael Keaton plays his most elaborate role as the title character in Beetlejuice.
First, let me say that if you have never seen the Tim Burton classic, Beetlejuice, you should be shot on the spot. Now, on to the review…
The premise is simple: two newly-dead newlyweds attempt to rid their country home of the kitschy yuppie transplants who’ve taken up residence. When traditional white sheets and calypso-possessions fail to achieve their goal, they turn to “the afterlife’s leading bio-exorcist” for some help. Unfortunately, this help comes with a price.
Then-relatively unknown actors Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis star as Adam and Barbara Maitland – a couple perfectly content with their simple life in the idyllic New England town of Winter River, CT. After a fatal car accident (caused by a cut little pooch), their once normal lives are suddenly thrust into a confusing afterlife full of red tape and required reading.
After the initial shock of their unexpected death, Barbara and Adam look to live out eternity doing exactly what they’ve always done. Unfortunately, New York socialites Charles and Delia Deetz (Jeffrey Jones and Catherine O’Hara) soon move into said house. Delia, along with her round friend Otho (Glenn Shadix), completely redecorates the Maitlands’ lovely abode with strikingly Burtonesque visuals.
Living in the attic, the only place Delia hasn’t gotten to, Barbara and Adam plan to frighten the Deetzes away. They transform themselves into rotting corpses, but soon realize the living usually won’t see the living. After a quick appointment with their afterlife caseworker, Juno (Sylvia Sidney), the Maitlands discover they are stuck in the house for 125 years. With no knack for haunting, they call on a malevolent freelance bio-exorcist for help.
His name is Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton, and pronounced “Beetle-Juice”), and turns out to be a deranged, wise-cracking, perverted, and malevolent businessman. During his makeshift interview with the Maitlands, we soon learn he is quite an intelligent dead guy as well. When asked of his qualifications…
“Well, I attended Juilliard. I’m a graduate of the Harvard Business School. I travel quite extensively. I loved through the Black Plague, and I had a pretty good time during that. I’ve seen The Exorcist about 167 times… and it keeps getting funnier every single time I see it. Not to mention the fact that you’re talking to a dead guy. Now what do you think?! Do you think I’m qualified?”
It turns out, Betelgeuse was actually Juno’s assistant back in the day. He went out on his own as a freelance bio-exorcist and eventually got into more trouble. Now he scams his way from recently deceased to recently deceased for reasons we find out later in the film. And, while his scares pack a punch, he turns out to be more trouble than the Maitlands’ bargained for.
Looking back on this underrated 1988 cult classic, it really is quite amazing the star power this flick had. First, you’ve got the sexy leading lady, Geena Davis, who is still going strong today. When Beetlejuice was released, she was known for her roles in The Fly, Transylvania 6-5000, and Fletch.
Her on-screen husband is played by Alec Baldwin, the most notable of the famed ‘Baldwin Brothers’. Baldwin was just coming into his own by this point. Before Beetlejuice, he co-starred in a couple of television series and a few minor films. This was his first major success, and helped catapult him into lead actor stardom.
Their counterparts, Catherine O’Hara and Jeffrey Jones were equally-talented and probably a bit more well-known. Jones was already known as a great 80’s character actor with Ed Rooney (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) being his more recognizable. O’Hara, on the other hand, was one of the best participants in SCTV’s successful (but overshadowed by Saturday Night Live) run in the late 70’s and early 80’s. She sort of fell off the face of the earth for a few years, but returned to mild prominence with Beetlejuice, and 1990’s Home Alone.
This is one of Michael Keaton’s finest roles of his career. Michael Keaton worked on-set for all of two weeks, but in that time he made the role of Beetlejuice his own. He inhabits Betelgeuse. Director Tim Burton gave Keaton almost total control over his character and his lines… and the film proves just how amazing an actor Keaton truly is. For a character on-screen for a mere 17 minutes, Keaton solidified the Betelgeuse character’s spot in Hollywood. Burton and Keaton would team up twice more in the coming years with Batman and Batman Returns.
And I’d be remised if I didn’t mention a young Winona Ryder’s performance. This was the teenaged actress’ first major film role, and she managed to hit one out of the park as the Deetzes dark daughter. She was Goth before “being Goth” became cool nearly a decade later. Her on-screen role here somewhat parallels her off-screen director’s life.
Beetlejuice is a film perfectly designed for Tim Burton’s quirky eye for the imagination. Like many of his films, every scene drips with eye candy. I can’t imagine any other Hollywood director,past or present, that could have pulled this bad boy off as cleverly.
However, not all the credit should be given to Burton and the cast. Much of this film’s success comes from its collaborative nature. This includes the outstanding score, by the venerable Danny Elfman, which effectively sets the tone for the entire film. In fact, in some of the first test screenings, most audiences actually hated the film. The reason: Elfman’s score was not yet complete.
While Beetlejuice may technically not be a traditional horror flick, it does contain some dark imagery and some very, very mild elements associated with the genre. It won an Oscar for Best Makeup, as well as a Saturn Award for Best Horror Film.
And, while a sequel to Beetlejuice has been bandied about for well nearly 15 years, I think a special edition DVD should be a priority. The current release can be considered bare-bones at best. It would be amazing to listen to an audio commentary with Burton, Elfman, and much of the cast. The 20th anniversary of its theatrical release is just a couple of years away…
Flick Figures: 32 dead bodies; 2 drownings; 1 afterlife whorehouse; 1 canine-induced automobile accident; hanging; decapitation; face-peeling; fly consumption; roach consumption; stair-surfing; jaw-dropping; head-shrinking; levitations; covered bridge destruction; Burtonesque claymation; sandworm-fu; sculpture-fu; gratuitous Dick Cavett; gratuitous Robert Goulet.
Share on Facebook
- 
-