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Revision as of 16:53, 8 July 2017
Beetlejuice is a 1988 American comedy fantasy film directed by Tim Burton, produced by The Geffen Film Company and distributed by Warner Bros. The plot revolves around a recently deceased young couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) who become ghosts haunting their former home, and an obnoxious, devious ghost named Betelgeuse (pronounced Beetlejuice, portrayed by Michael Keaton) from the Netherworld who tries to scare away the new inhabitants (Catherine O'Hara, Jeffrey Jones, and Winona Ryder) permanently.
After the success of Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Burton was sent several scripts and became disheartened by their lack of imagination and originality. When he was sent Michael McDowell's original script for Beetlejuice, Burton agreed to direct, although Larry Wilson and later Warren Skaaren were hired to rewrite it. Beetlejuice was a critical and commercial success, grossing $73.7 million from a budget of $15 million. It won the Academy Award for Best Makeup and three Saturn Awards: Best Horror Film, Best Makeup and Best Supporting Actress for Sylvia Sidney, her final award before her death in 1999.
The film spawned an animated television series that Burton produced and a planned unproduced sequel, Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian. In 2012, new development on a sequel was announced.
Plot
Barbara and Adam Maitland decide to spend their vacation decorating their idyllic Connecticut country home. As the two are driving home from a trip to town, Barbara swerves to avoid a dog and the car plunges into a river. After they return home, she and Adam notice that they now lack reflections and they discover a Handbook for the Recently Deceased. They then begin to suspect that they did not survive the car accident; Adam attempts to leave the house but finds himself in a strange, otherworldly landscape covered in sand and populated by enormous sandworms.
The house is sold and their new owners, the Deetz family, arrive from New York City. Charles Deetz is a former real estate developer; his second wife Delia is a self-proclaimed sculptor; and his goth daughter Lydia, from his first marriage, is an aspiring photographer. Under the guidance of interior designer Otho, the Deetzes transform the house into tasteless pastel-toned modern art. Consulting the Handbook, the Maitlands travel to an otherworldly waiting room populated by other distressed souls, where they discover that the afterlife is structured according to a complex bureaucracy involving vouchers and caseworkers. The Maitlands' own caseworker, Juno, informs them that they must remain in the house for 125 years. If they want the Deetzes out of the house, it is up to them to scare them away. Barbara and Adam's attempts at scaring the family prove ineffective.
Although Adam and Barbara remain invisible to Charles and Delia, teenage Lydia can see the ghost couple and befriends them. Against Juno's advice, the Maitlands contact the miscreant Betelgeuse, Juno's former assistant and now freelance "bio-exorcist" ghost, to scare away the Deetzes. However, Betelgeuse quickly offends the Maitlands with his crude and morbid demeanor; and they reconsider hiring him, though too late to stop him from wreaking havoc on the Deetzes. The small town's charm and the supernatural events inspire Charles to pitch his boss Maxie Dean on transforming the town into a tourist hot spot, but Maxie wants proof of the ghosts. Using the Handbook for the Recently Deceased, Otho conducts what he thinks is a séance and summons Adam and Barbara, but they begin to decay and die, as Otho had unwittingly performed an exorcism instead. Horrified, Lydia summons Betelgeuse for help; but he agrees to help her only on the condition that she marry him, enabling him to freely cause chaos in the mortal world. Betelgeuse saves the Maitlands and disposes of Maxie, his wife, and Otho. Betelgeuse then prepares a wedding before a ghastly minister. The Maitlands intervene before the ceremony is completed, with Barbara riding a sandworm through the house to devour Betelgeuse.
Finally, the Deetzes and Maitlands agree to live in harmony in the house. Betelgeuse, meanwhile, is seen waiting in the after-life reception area, where he angers a witch doctor, who shrinks his head.
Cast
- Michael Keaton as Betelgeuse (pronounced Beetlejuice)
- Alec Baldwin as Adam Maitland
- Geena Davis as Barbara Maitland
- Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz
- Catherine O'Hara as Delia Deetz
- Jeffrey Jones as Charles Deetz
- Annie McEnroe as Jane Butterfield
- Glenn Shadix as Otho
- Sylvia Sidney as Juno
- Robert Goulet as Maxie Dean
- Maree Cheatham as Sarah Dean
- Dick Cavett as Bernard
- Susan Kellermann as Grace
- Adelle Lutz as Beryl
- Simmy Bow as Janitor
- Carmen Filpi as Messenger
- Patrice Martinez as Receptionist
- Tony Cox as Preacher
- Jack Angel as the voice of the Preacher