Beetlejuice, el Superfantasma

This is by far Michael Keaton's best performance. Every time he comes on the screen he displays such an eccentric performance that it rivals Jim Carrey from 'The Mask', only without as much help from computers. If his role calls for gross he brings revolting; pushy he brings offensive; witty he brings hilarious sarcasm. One of my few complaints is that he doesn't get enough screen time, although he does have a large portion of it, most goes to Gena Davis and Alec Baldwin.

Tim Burton's directing is great. My favorite scene by far doesn't even have Michael Keaton in it. Anyone who has seen this will remember it as the dancing dinner scene.

This is a classic. If you haven't seen it then you must've'e grown up under a rock or born before I was.

RELEASED IN 1988 and directed by Tim Burton, "Beetlejuice" chronicles the story of a couple (Alec Baldwin & Geena Davis) who accidently perish after moving to a quaint Connecticut town. They find themselves sentenced to "haunting" their former house where they try to scare the new wannabe swank couple out (Jeffrey Jones & Catherine O'Hara), but they find that their Goth daughter is more curious than scared (Winona Ryder). Michael Keaton plays the eponymous madcap "bio-exorcist" while Glenn Shadix is on hand as the new couple's interior designer.

This was Burton's debut on the silver screen and the first half is hilarious entertainment mixed with some interesting insights on the afterlife. The movie puts its best foot forward, but the second half isn't as compelling and I think the title character is more annoying than amusing.

THE FILM RUNS 1 hour & 32 minutes and was shot in beautiful East Corinth, Vermont, and (studio) Culver City, California. WRITERS: Michael McDowell, Larry Wilson and Warren Skaaren.

GRADE: B+

It may take two or three viewings to warm up to "Beetlejuice". It has a kooky, cockeyed sensibility and a rhythm that is by turns easy, lazy and frenetic. A charming couple in New England die and come back to their beloved home as ghosts, determined to rid the place of the horrendous new tenants. Possibly the most benign and engaging performance ever by Alec Baldwin; Geena Davis, Winona Ryder and Sylvia Sidney are also very appealing. The new couple from New York who take over the house (Jeffrey Jones and Catherine O'Hara) aren't as well written or thought-out as the other characters and some of their bemused, dry-ice comic lines take a few seconds to reach you. Of course, there's Michael Keaton, wildly comic as Betelgeuse. I recall hearing comments back in 1988 that Keaton wasn't around enough to make the picture worthwhile, but that's only if you watch the film for the fast quips and sight-gags. Keaton is truly wonderful, but he's also bombastic, and I felt there was just enough of him to satisfy--it's really not his story anyway, it belongs to Baldwin and Davis; Betelgeuse is used as a horny, vulgar punchline. Director Tim Burton is very careful not to overload the movie with raunch; he is surprisingly careful in setting up this story, and he works magic within a dubious scenario: a comic fantasy about dead folks which ultimately celebrates life. ***1/2 from ****

Considering he's not in the film that much and the film is named after his character he steals the whole show when he appears front and centre. He is so good you're amazed by him I wouldn't be surprised if Jim Carrey didnt use Michael Keaton's performance as Beetlejuice as a template for his fantastical cartoon character Stanley Ipkiss in the The Mask. Love the B Movie special fx and the Shake Senora dance scene. Little peave though was Betelgeuse/Beetlejuice dilemma. Wish they explained it a bit better thought I was having a dyslexic turn kept checking after all these years in was reading the name of the film wrong, kept stopping the film to check the title. The only downfall. All in all funny and out there film. I'd just watch it for Keaton's performance.

One of my favourite movies of all time. It's a Halloween classic. Spooky, funny and very rewatchable. I am waiting for that moment when I forget this movie again and get to rewatch it. Beetlejuice is a creativity booster, an inspirational, in an artistic sense, film. The sets, the wardrobe, the props - everything inspired me as a kid and made me love those dark-romance, Tim Burton motives.