Ghost with the most

Beetlejuice (1988)

Rating: PG

Runtime: 92 minutes

Box Office (in today’s dollars): 145 million (approximately)

Characters: Betelgeuse, Adam Maitland, Barbara Maitland, Lydia Deetz, Charles Deetz, Delia Deetz, Otho, Juno, Maxie Dean, Sarah Dean, Bernard, Grace, Beryl, Jane Butterfield, Sandworms

Cool Stuff: Handbook for the Recently Deceased

Cool Music: “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)”

Cool Quote: “Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice.”

This movie is a Goth kid’s dream. While watching it, my girlfriend and I wondered if Tim Burton invented Goth ... but then we remembered that Robert Smith did. This movie is also the first major role for Winona Ryder. Rumor has it I am a big fan. She plays Lydia, the picture-taking, ghost-seeing, daughter of Charles and (step-mother) Delia Deetz. Oh, the ghosts she sees are Adam and Barbara Maitland, a sweet married couple who recently drove off a bridge and died. The star of the movie is, of course, Betelgeuse. A foul-mouthed, bio-exorcist who scares away the living. Speaking of scary, there are also sandworms to deal with!

The coolest thing in the move (other than Winona Ryder), is the Handbook for the Recently Deceased. It is a book that holds all the answers, yet the Maitland’s have a difficult time understanding it. You could say it is the Infinite Jest of its time. Harry Belafonte sings the cool song from the movie, “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)”, which is played during probably the most memorable scene of the movie when everyone is dancing around the dinner table. He also sings another song: “Jump in the Line (Shake, Senora)” during another memorable scene with Lydia.

My pick for the coolest quote is “Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice,” because if/when you say it, craziness ensues. I could have gone with “Nice fucking model!” but Salty likes to keep things clean around here. Oh, and since we are on the subject of keeping it clean, I have no idea how this movie got a PG rating. Unless you want to be explaining things to your kids for 92 minutes, I would wait to share this movie with them until they are at least thirteen.

I almost had three Tim Burton movies in the final 32 for my ’80s blog/tournament (Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, and Batman), but I decided that was too many. Batman had to be in, and I figured I would never do a Winona Ryder movie blog/tournament, so I had to include Beetlejuice as well.

Next movie to review: Who Framed Roger Rabbit