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| Images Courtesy of The Geffen Company |
Criminally underrated on its release, Tim Burton's phantasm slapstick mashup is one of the most inventive comedies ever made. Featuring a plethora of unforgettable performances, dozens of quotable lines, and some of the most creative makeup and set designs in the 80's, Beetlejuice stands not only the test of time, but remains a truly unique vision by one of the most iconic directors of the 20th century.
One of the most powerful components of the film is the
world that it builds around itself. It hilariously depicts an overworked undead
social services bureaucracy as the backbone of the underworld. The organization
has its own rules when it comes to invocations and exorcisms, housed in a confusing
tome of “rules.” Burton's madcap view that life after death does not allow you
to escape from the red tape is an essential ingredient, not only to the narrative
framework, but also allows for the existence of Beetlejuice himself, sleazing
around in between paranormal loopholes.
Michael Keaton's performance is the main event and every
single scene he inhabits is hysterical and crass, displaying a playful
vulgarity that is right at home in Burton’s comedic Carnival of Souls.
Using Ve Neill's Oscar winning makeup combined with Michael McDowell and Warren
Skarren's script, Keaton delivered the performance of his career (at the time)
and was painfully denied recognition during awards season.
Danny Elfman's score increases the humorously haunted
feel of the film, while Harry Belafonte's legendary voice assists to create two
of the film's most iconic scenes and cements the overall vibe as a comedic
fright fest that just wants to have a good time. Thomas Ackerman’s cinematography
is the final piece, capturing the mayhem with vibrant colors and interesting
uses of space, harkening to the true terrors of German expressionism.
This is a timeless film that both casual viewers and film
fanatics indulge in regularly because it is so different from other films in
the genre. It has humor, warmth, scares, and beautiful set pieces that all come
together in a perfect ectoplasmic mural. This could only be made by Burton
could make and would be the set up for his relationship with Keaton that would
ultimately deliver Burton's masterpiece Batman Returns.
A possession infused Jamaican folk dinner dance, a
ghostly team of dimwitted football players, tribal headshrinkers, and beautiful
special effects are all on display in this supernatural romp. You cannot help
but smile as you wander through the Maitland's House of Humor, but be sure to
avoid the Lost Souls Room!
--Kyle Jonathan