Beetlejuice (1988) Movie Review

 Hey everyone, happy Friday! I'm back with a movie review. This time I'm talking about Beetlejuice directed by Tim Burton and released by Warner Bros. Pictures in 1988. I realize I kinda did that backwards, reviewing the TV show before the movie, but given that the show is only loosely based on the movie, you don't need to have any knowledge of the movie to watch the show. Especially if you're like me, and were introduced to Beetlejuice through the animated series rather than the movie. So, let's get into it.

Beetlejuice is one of those movies where everything you expect to happen in the movie, either doesn't happen, or doesn't happen the way you expected it to. For example, you'd think that Beetlejuice would be the main character since his name is the title of the movie. However, he doesn't fully appear in the movie until about thirty minutes in. In fact the main characters are Adam and Barbara Maitland, played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis, with Lydia Deetz, played by Winona Ryder, as the third main character. So not only is Beetlejuice not the main character of the movie, but Michael Keaton doesn't get top billing in the opening credits, though, unlike with Batman, which came out a little over a year later, Keaton at least gets top billing on the movie's posters, and on the home video covers.

Out of the entire cast of this movie, Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder are the actors I'm most familiar with, having seen them in a bunch of movies and shows over the years. The first time I remember seeing Winona Ryder in anything was Mr. Deeds in 2002, followed by Star Trek (2009) where she played Spock's mother, Amanda. The rest of the cast are people I'm not as familiar with, though I have seen Jeffrey Jones in both Howard the Duck and Ferris Bueller's Day Off both of which came out in 1986, and Catherine O'Hara in the first two Home Alone movies, which, spoilers, I'll be reviewing this year. The only thing I've seen Geena Davis in is Stuart Little (1999). I can see why Burton chose Keaton to play Batman after this movie was finished.

It's actually pretty odd that Beetlejuice was responsible for Batman getting made. Warner Bros. was a bit wary of greenlighting Batman because Tim Burton had only directed Pee-wee's Big Adventure up to that point, and, despite that movie being a success for them, Warner Bros. was unsure about entrusting a big budget feature film to such a rookie director. So, they gave him a trial run on Beetlejuice. Once the movie was successful, WB finally greenlit Batman after nine years of that movie being in development. 

I remember hearing Harry Belafonte's "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" on the radio alot when I was a kid, even going right up to when I was a teenager in the 2000s. Even before that though, the "Day-O" part was sung by Beetlejuice in the opening of the cartoon's first episode. My favourite scene in the whole movie is when Charles, Delia and their business partners start dancing and singing to the song. 

Honestly, I'm not a big Tim Burton fan, but the movies of his that I've seen, I've liked. Mostly. Batman Returns is my least favourite Tim Burton movie, and my least favourite Batman movie. Beetlejuice is a really good movie though. I never owned it on VHS or DVD, but I'm glad I have it on Blu-ray. As I said in my TV show review, I don't remember seeing the movie until it was on TV sometime in the mid 2000s, once I had a TV in my bedroom. It's possible that I saw it earlier than that, but if I did, it was one time, and it's not a movie that we rented regularly, if at all.

There's a sequel coming out in 2024 or 2025, with Keaton, Ryder, and O'Hara returning from the first movie. But, honestly, I have no idea if the movie will do well at the box office. Despite the success of the original movie in the '80s, Beetlejuice hasn't returned in any major way since the animated series ended in 1991. So while the movie was pretty successful in 1988 and has a fanbase, I don't think the sequel will have mass appeal. But, I guess we'll see in about a year or two when it finally comes out.

Overall Beetlejuice was a fun movie to watch. Like I said, I haven't seen it since the mid-2000s and hadn't watched it much, if at all, before that. So it was fun to revisit after so many years. Especially because I'm not a big Tim Burton fan, and I don't revisit his movies, except for Batman and Batman Returns. Now I can add Beetlejuice to that list, since I have it on Blu-ray now.

Alright my friends, that's it for me for this week. Unless I finish reading Solo Command this weekend. I'm trying to not do that but we'll see. So until next time have a great rest of your day and I will talk to you all later. Take care.