BEETLEJUICE. The Triumph of Wild Imagination

Hello. My name is Dawid Myśliwiec, and I’m ten years old*. I’ve come to you from the past to tell you about an awesome movie I watched on video with my parents. I don’t know if you’ve seen it yet, but it’s called “Beetlejuice”, and it was made in 1988 by this funny guy named Tim Burton. I saw his picture in some movie magazine—he had messy hair and wore an oversized coat. He looked funny, but he also has funny ideas, and “Beetlejuice” is a great movie. A lot happens in it, and it’s pretty wild.

At first, I thought it would be a scary movie because it starts with a husband and wife (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) who die in an accident and become ghosts. But actually, “Beetlejuice” isn’t really a scary movie, but more of a comedy with spooky elements. Why? Well, because these ghosts, Adam and Barbara, end up in the afterlife, where they have to learn how to live all over again. At the same time, they can still go back to the real world, where their beloved home is now occupied by other people. Adam and Barbara aren’t happy about that, so they decide to use their newly acquired “ghostly” skills to scare the new occupants away. Unfortunately, it turns out they’re pretty bad at being ghosts, and they can’t manage to drive the uninvited guests out of their home. They have to ask for help from Betelgeuse, the title character (played by Michael Keaton), who’s already scared plenty of people. At first, they have no idea how to pronounce his name (you have to say it three times to summon him), but eventually, they find out it’s just “Beetlejuice”, and they come face-to-face with the crazy dead guy. At first, they don’t want to trust him, but the talkative monster won’t leave them alone because he’s fallen for the beautiful daughter of the new occupants, Lydia (played by a young Winona Ryder), and he wants to marry her.

I won’t tell you more because you just have to see it! “Beetlejuice” is a typical comedy of errors—there’s a lot going on, the action is crazy, and even though it’s full of monsters and creepy creatures, there’s plenty of laughter. I especially like the combination of the two worlds—the everyday, real one, and the one where ghosts, spirits, and other creatures live. Everything is so well thought out—there are specific rules the ghosts have to follow, there are offices where they have to wait in line, and even waiting rooms like at the doctor’s! But funny things don’t just happen there—the scenes where Adam and Barbara try to scare the new tenants but totally fail are hilarious. Their imagination is wild! They turn into the scariest monsters, force the family members into bizarre behaviors (I was rolling with laughter during the dinner dance scene!), but still, they can’t kick the intruders out of their home. In the end, though, they become friends with Lydia, who is the only one who can see Adam and Barbara from the beginning, and together they even find a way to deal with Beetlejuice. “Beetlejuice” isn’t a long movie—it’s about an hour and a half—but I had such a great time, and I wish Mr. Burton had added a few more funny and spooky scenes.

After watching the movie for the first time, I saw it two more times before my parents returned the tape to the rental store—I liked it that much! Apparently, it’s not a movie for kids, but I wasn’t scared of “Beetlejuice”; I just had a blast, and sometimes the director’s ideas really amazed me. The actors were great too, especially the guy who played Beetlejuice, Mr. Keaton. And the music was fantastic, though I can’t remember who wrote it (some guy named Elf Danny???). Overall, I really loved everything about the movie, and if anyone hasn’t seen it yet, they should run to the nearest video rental store and get the tape—and not just for one day, because they might want to watch “Beetlejuice” a few times, just like I did. It’s that good of a movie.

*The ten-year-old version of the author was chosen at random—I was probably even younger when I first watched “Beetlejuice”, but I couldn’t quite remember when it was exactly.