Well, it seems like everyones seen ‘Beetlejuice’ apart from me. Honestly my partner was quite surprised I hadnt given what goes on in the film and my general movie tastes. But it seems like noone ever recommended this one to me, because the assumption was i’d have already seen it. But I hadnt. So tonight we made a date and, yeh…Im kind of sad that I sat on this one for so long.
i’ll keep it short and sweet because…like I say…it seems like EVERYONES seen this movie before apart from me. But I really liked it. Tim Burton here is firing on all cylinders, Danny Elfmans score is pitch perfect. The casting is A+, rich and dense with ideas. The scripts rock solid for the most part, bringing a real sense of chaos to an already fairly chaotic cast of characters. Brimming with imagination and surprisingly fresh even 35-36 years after it initially came out.
I only really didnt like two things about this movie. One is the 3rd act finale feels INCREDIBLY rushed and improvised. I feel like the wedding scenario should have been better weaved into the story through the runtime, rather than dropped on the audience out of left field 15 minutes before the end of the film. The way the film resolves is also VERY rushed and doesnt really do a fair job of giving the audience ANYTHING to grab onto to explain how the hell anything in the final 10 minutes happens.
It doesnt really give a clear indication as to what the situation is between the Deetz and the Maitlands. it all felt a bit abrupt. I feel like 5-10 more minutes to really let that ending breath a bit more would have done this film the world of good.
The other issue is that Beetlejuice as a character isnt really that well explained. Now; I appreciate that he’s an oddity even by afterlife standards, and that going for the ‘hellraiser’ trope of having these paranormal super beings who rock up, do what they’ve got to do and then dissapear, leaving the aduience mystified IS a powerful trope when used well here…But because Beetlejuice is so ‘all over the place’ as a character, it kind of left me questioning the films own rules when he just rocks up, does a load of random stuff in a VERY over the top energetic way, and then dissapears without a trace. I dont want him overexplained. But I personally felt I needed a crumb or two more from him to really truely bed him in as a character.
Other than that, this is a pretty rock solid movie. I think its not something I could just put on and relax into such as Burtons ‘Ed Wood’, but if im in a particular headspace, I could really see myself enjoying this one again. Would almost certainly pair up well with ‘Forbidden Zone’ and I definitely recommend this one if you havent seen it already.
TYTD Reviews 