everything you have heard about this movie is true.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Adam and Barbara (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis), lead the perfect life, in their house atop a quiet hill in the country.They have decided to spend their vacation at home rather than take a trip while strenuously avoiding their real estate agent/friend (Annie McEnroe) who thinks the house is to big for them, and should be sold to a family.Then, on their return trip from the Hardware Store in town, disaster strikes when (while trying not to hit a dog), their car goes over a bridge, and plummets into the water bellow.Soon after, they find themselves home again, and it's not long before they realize they haven't survived the crash.At first they panic, then they find The Handbook For The Recently Deceased (which reads like an lnstructions Manual), and they dive into it, looking for an answer to their problems.Unable to leave the house because the exterior is a Martian-like environment filled with dangerous creatures from outer space, they languish in their dust covered house (which they can't clean properly because the vacuum cleaner is in the garage).But things are about to take a turn for the worse, as an excentric New York family has bought the house, and is determined to make it all their own.There's the father, Charles Deetz (Jeffrey Jones), who just wants to be left alone:"Now remember Delia, we're here to relax and enjoy the country. NOT TO TRASH THE PLACE!"The pampered, atrociously misguided, and blythely disregarding mother Delia (Catherine O'Hara) who has no intention of respecting her husband wishes:"A little gasoline...blow torch...No problem."The suicidally depressed daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder) who states simply:"My whole life is a dark room. One BIG...DARK...ROOM!"And the pompously arrogant, and inept interior decorator, Otho (Glenn Shandix) who's appalled by the house he can't wait to destroy:It has absolutely no organic flow-through." He scoffs, defacing the walls with spray paint "Ugh!" he breathes, looking in the closet "Deliver me from LL Bean!"Meanwhile, Adam and Barbara have entered the Seventh Circle of Hell, as their beautiful home is being gutted by a group of crazy yuppies."What are we going to do?" Barbara wails "Is this some sort of punishment?""We're not completely helpless Barbara." Adam says with a wicked grin "I've been looking through that book, and there's a word for people in our situation: Ghosts!"They then put all their energy into haunting their own house. Moaning their hearts out as they parade around in sheets, and cutting each other's heads off, in order to look more terrifying.But the impostors, far from being frightened, seem bored, and a little annoyed by their theatrics.It is then that a mysterious bio-exorcist named Beetlegeuse (Michael Keaton) appears on T.V. offering a "free demonic possession for every exorcism."This gives Adam and Barbara hope that they might still drive these people out.But there are rumors going around about this bizarre new character, so much so that calling on his name three times may not be a good idea.Tim Burton has a knack for directing these types of movies, and does a good job with this one (although it's not as spectacular as Batman or Edward Scissorhands, and this is probably due to the script which could've been better written).Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis are really excellent, and the scenes their in are really funny.There's one really great scene in which the family is eating dinner, and Day-O starts playing, and they all sing as if possessed.The last scene is also very noteworthy.Winona Ryder is terrific as the dark, and dreary Lydia.All the other characters are perfectly cast.And Michael Keaton is great as Beetlegeuse.Originally, Review #65Posted On: April 30, 2010

BeetlejuiceThe effort that went behind the production design, costume design and the creativity on details is definitely plausible but it also makes it more painful for the viewers as it fails to seek attention on any page of the script and that's what holds this feature from joining the bigger league. Tim Burton; being infamous for its explicit vision on creating eerie world fails to execute it on screen as anticipated. On performance level, Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis holds on to their parts but the real game changers are Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton. Having said that, Beetlejuice has a crystal clear reasoning and a genuine upbeating soul in the characters that helps audience surviving the feature along with some humor sprinkled around here and there.

When I watched for the very first time Beetlejuice, I was still a young child whose only reference to the After Life World was the TV show cartoon Casper, that young ghost whose only wish is to become a little boy once again.So when my parents showed me that movie for the first time and tried to comfort me, assuring that it's not as scary as it looks, I was spooked anyway (the pun is intended).But I loved it even if I was scared a couple of times. I don't know maybe it's because that movie reminds me a lot of one of my favorite childhood picture ever: The Mask.Even if the two stories are way different from each other, The Mask and Beetlejuice share a lot of similarities. Their main characters share the same craziness, the same power to do what they want without any limit, the same way to modify their body shape as well. They are both carefree and seem to get out straight from a cartoon. Maybe Michael Keaton has been one of the model Jim Carrey took the inspiration from to play such an eccentric character as The Mask.The secondary roles are greatly played too starting with Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis. They have a great chemistry together and they are so sweet impersonating that young couple who suddenly dies in a tragic car crash and are forced to watch what was their home being taken over by a very obnoxious family they want out. They are not particularly being gifted into scaring this family away but that what's making them so attaching.Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Jeffrey Jones and Glenn Shadix are also so good playing the new owners. My favorite is Winona by far. She's such a treat playing this young lonely goth girl who befriends Baldwin and Davis as they are the only ones who seems to care about her.Even Juno and her footballers alongside the dead staff are so hilarious to watch. The only two scenes in which they appears are so fun to watch. There's absolutely nothing to throw away about the cast performance, it's perfect.Just as this movie!

A clever opening of a haunted house story. Tim Burton paints a daunting surreal picture. That being said, the house in this honeymoon/vacation get away is reflective of Alfred Hitchcock's, Psycho. Though Barbara played by (Geena Davis) tries to defend their house against interlopers, she and her charming husband never really know what to do. The film jumps around a lot too, but I won't delve into that. After a while, it finally sinks into the mud of our emotions. The whole film is about scaring people, I get that, but do we really need to laugh at others mistakes. This is not funny! I anticipate Burton films to be somewhat like this, taking someone like Edward Scissorhands and, making that a symbol of how, we in society are to laugh at someone's misfortune. No ... not buying into it. At least, this is the main premise to Beetlejuice. A film about a freakshow. Enough of the bad stuff though. (timeout!!) I will say the best part of this film for me was the set and design. It's fun to watch these people crack up; and, if this was Burton's idea, it's genius. The table scene is an absolute delight to see on screen, and it's scenes like these that can absolutely change a bad film to something meaningful to your day. Even if you go into this film depressed you are bound to laugh at some point. Once the funny emotions come out it's the point of no return, it's on. What I like, too, about this film is that there's an operatic tone, but sadly Burton doesn't do anything with it. It would have been good to see something like this flipped into a musical. All in all, a fun and fantastic film.