Beetlejuice (film): Difference between revisions
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{{work}}
[[File:Beetlejuice-Poster.jpg|frame|Go ahead. Make his millennium.]]
{{quote|[[It's Showtime!|''"It's showtime!"'']]}}▼
▲{{quote| ''"It's showtime!"''}}
Meet the Maitlands, Barbara and Adam. They're a young couple, crazy in love, and trying to have a baby to fill up their idyllic home in a sleepy little Connecticut town. One day, they run to town for an errand...and crash through the covered bridge over the river.
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The ghosts of the Maitlands return home, not knowing how, and find that they can no longer leave it (unless they want to be beset by [[Sand Worm|sandworms]]). Even worse, their house has been sold to the Deetzes -- an eccentric, upscale yuppie family who want to do a complete overhaul. Not knowing what to do, and getting little-to-no real help from the [[Celestial Bureaucracy]] known as the afterlife, Barbara and Adam learn of a being known as Betelgeuse (pronounced, of course, "Beetlejuice"). They release him after [[Speak of the Devil|saying his name]] [[Rule of Three|three times]]. [[Hilarity Ensues]].
The movie was so popular that [[Beetlejuice (
{{tropelist}}▼
In 2019, it was [[Beetlejuice (theatre)|adapted for Broadway]] as a musical that was unfortunately shuttered prematurely by the [[COVID-19]] pandemic; when the worst of the pandemic passed, it re-opened in 2022.
In 2023, a sequel, entitled ''[[Beetlejuice Beetlejuice]]'', entered production. Still in the hands of [[Tim Burton]], the file reunites most of the cast (excluding Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin, whose aging would be hard to explain for ghosts) and adding [[Jenna Ortega]] as Lydia's daughter Astrid. Although much of the film was shot on sets in England, tiny East Corinth, Vermont was once again [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVs0CNw-4jk converted into the town of Winter River] for exterior location shooting.
▲{{tropelist}}
* [[Abnormal Limb Rotation Range]]: Betelgeuse
{{quote|
* [[Action Girl]]: Barbara.
* [[Afterlife Antechamber]]
* [[Ambiguously Gay]]: Otho
{{quote|
'''Beryl:''' "Paranormal"? Is that what they're calling ''your kind'' these days?
(''rest of the dinner table goes silent'') }}
* [[And Now You Must Marry Me]]
* [[Animated Adaptation]]/[[The Renaissance Age of Animation]]: ''[[Beetlejuice (
* [[Antagonist Title]]
* [[Anti-Hero]]: Betelgeuse isn't evil...but he's definitely NOT a good guy.
** The Deetzes are varying shades of [[Jerkass]] who treat the Maitlands and their ghostly antics with emotions ranging between annoyance and amusement, and ultimately Charles wants to use them as a tourist attraction. However, once they summon them to see them and realize they're actually people who they're hurting, they smarten up and learn to live in peace.
** Betelgeuse is really more of a minor complication for most of the movie, before suddenly upgrading to the [[Big Bad]] in the last ten minutes or so.
* [[Arc Words|Arc Music]]: Harry Belafonte's songs, from the pre-credits to the closing finale.
* [[Bedsheet Ghost]]: The Maitlands, while trying to scare the Deetz family. It didn't work: Charles thought one of them was Lydia playing a prank, Delia was too doped out on valium to notice them, and Lydia thought it was Charles and Delia playing some kinky bedroom game (at first).
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* [[Bizarrchitecture]]: Most notably the hallway in the afterlife... but also a few other instances, such as at the very end. Not to mention what the Deetzes do to the Maitlands house after moving in.
* [[Black Comedy]]: Of course. Prime example, Betelgeuse says he'd better flip to the business section of his paper and look for a job -- and flips to the obituaries, which colorfully and cheerfully list the dead as new arrivals to be greeted.
* [[Book Ends]]: Early on in the film, Adam reads the ''Handbook For the Recently Deceased'' and claims that it "reads like stereo instructions." Charles later says the same thing at the end of the film when he's reading a guide for living people with ghosts in their houses called "The Living and the Dead".
* [[By the Power of Greyskull]]: Saying "Betelgeuse" three times summons him into the "real world" to wreak his mischief, saying it three times again sends him back.
* [[Celestial Bureaucracy]]: Made up of the ghosts of people who committed suicide.
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*** He's actually just a [[Con Man]] who thinks Adam and Barbara are "nice and stupid" marks.
* [[Dead All Along]]: Adam and Barbara. And a team of football players.
{{quote|
'''Juno:''' [[Deadpan Snarker|How did you guess?]] }}
* [[Dead Man Writing]]: Subverted. Lydia writes a suicide note, but it is never seen by anyone since she is talked out of killing herself.
* [[Dead to Begin With]]
* [[Deader Than Dead]]: See [[Fate Worse Than Death]].
{{quote|
* [[Decapitation Presentation]]: One of Adam and Barbara's failed attempts at scaring the Deetzes.
* [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?]]: Barbra Maitland wangs the [[Sand Worm]] right on the nose, causing it to retreat...and then later befriends it!
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* [[Hormone-Addled Teenager]]: Completely and utterly averted with [[Emotionless Girl|Lydia]].
* [[I Just Want to Be Special]]: Lydia longs to be a ghost.
* [[Invisible to Normals]]: Which is why their spooks didn't work. Luckily for them, Lydia isn't normal.▼
* [[I See Dead People]]: Lydia
** According to The Handbook, anyone can if they ''choose'' to believe in ghosts. The entire Deetz family at the end can see Adam and Barb.
▲* [[Invisible to Normals]]: Which is why their spooks didn't work. Luckily for them, Lydia isn't normal.
* [[It's Showtime!]]: When Lydia Deetz finally invokes him at the climax of the film, Betelguese looks up from the miniature headstone on which he's been sitting, grins, and growls, "It's showtime."
* [[Jacob Marley Apparel]]: All of the ghosts except Betelgeuse.
{{quote|
'''Beauty Queen Receptionist:''' This is what happens when ''you'' die. That is what happens when ''he'' dies. And that is what happens when ''they'' die. It's all very personal. And I'll tell you something: if I knew then what I know now... ''(shows her slit wrists)'' ...I wouldn't have had my little accident. }}
* [[Kitschy Local Commercial]]: The [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UICgA-P67Zw commercial featuring Betelgeuse] appears to be based on the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGEYCsvPJzw cheezy ads Cal Worthington used to create for his car dealership.]
* [[Large Ham]]: Michael Keaton as Betelgeuse.
{{quote|
* [[Layman's Terms]]: The [[Encyclopedia Exposita|Handbook]] For The [[All There in the Manual|Recently Deceased]]. Strangely, it seems to be trying to be a ''[[Animate Inanimate Object|helpful]]'' [[Tome of Eldritch Lore]]. Barbara asks a question and the book just ''happens'' to open to the relevant section. Unfortunately, the Handbook was written by a bureaucrat.
{{quote|
'''Adam''': ''I don't see anything about heaven OR hell. This book reads like stereo instructions. Listen to this: "Geographical and temporal perimeters. Functional perimeters vary from manifestation to manifestation.'' }}
{{quote|
'''Adam:''' Well, we tried.
'''Juno:''' The intermediate interface chapter on haunting says it all. Get them out yourselves. It's your house. }}
* [[Look Behind You!]]: Betelgeuse does it to a witch doctor.
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* [[My God, What Have I Done?]]: The Deetzes realize something is terribly wrong after summoning the Maitlands into their wedding clothes.
* [[Nested Mouths]]: The Saturnian [[sandworms]] have what looks like a smaller version of themselves inside their mouths, with a different colour scheme.
* [[New House, New Problems]]: The Deetzes move into a haunted house; however, the lackluster haunting job done by Adam and Barbara Maitland does nothing to scare them away.
* [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero]]: As Juno calls them out on, the Maitlands let out Betelgeuse, they let Otho {{spoiler|steal the ''Handbook''}}, and their lackluster haunting attempts have succeeded only in Charles thinking the town would make a neat tourist attraction.
* [[Noodle Incident]]:
*
** And then there was this exchange between Adam and Barbara when Lydia at first fails to convince her parents about them:
{{quote|'''Adam:''' She’s got photographs, Barbara!
'''Barbara:''' Adam, you had a photo of Bigfoot.
'''Adam:''' That was... different.}}
* [[Obstructive Bureaucrat]]: The [[Celestial Bureaucracy]].
* [[One-Scene Wonder]]: Despite his name being in the title, Betelgeuse is on-screen for all of ''eighteen minutes''. He makes every second count.
* [[Only Sane Man]]: Compared to Delia, Otho and Lydia, Charles is a perfectly normal guy, and is openly frustrated with the behavior of the other three.
* [[Our Ghosts Are Different]]
* [[Peek
* [[People Puppets]]: The [[Power Perversion Potential|infamous]] [[Played for Laughs|dinner scene]].
{{quote|
* [[Product Placement]]: The B-man tempts a fly with a Zagnut bar. (Yes, Zagnut ''is'' a real candy bar.)
* [[Precision F-Strike]]: After Betelgeuse knocks down a tree:
{{quote|
* [[Reality Warper]]: All ghosts seem to be able to do this to an extent, though they are limited to the place they are haunting. The Maitlands, being new to the whole Dead thing, take most of the movie to get the hang of it. Betelgeuse's powers, on the other hand, seem virtually limitless... though that is hampered by that whole [[Achilles' Heel|"call my name"]] business.
** His glaring weakness is touched upon a few times during the movie, (particularly during the [[Scaled Up]] scene, where he nearly murdered one of Lydia's parents before Barbara was able to send him back) which leads him to seek out Lydia. Marrying her would, presumably, rid him of the...
* [[Rule of Three]]: Betelgeuse's summoning/dismissal procedure.
** And knocking three times on the chalk door to enter the afterlife offices.
** You only get three consultations with your caseworker.
* [[Sand Worm]]
* [[Saw Star Wars 27 Times]]: Beetlejuice has seen ''[[
* [[Scaled Up]]: Snake!Betelgeuse.
* [[Scale-Model Destruction]]: Averted by the town model, which only suffers minor damage.
* [[Secondary Character Title]]
* [[Shout-Out]]: When Betelgeuse drags a fly down into his tomb, he sarcastically cries [[The Fly
* [[Skeleton Key]]: Lydia gets one from a relative of the deceased couple.
* [[The Scarpia Ultimatum]]: Betelgeuse to Lydia.
* [[Sealed Evil in
* [[Small Secluded World]]: The main characters are stuck in their house, unable to have any contact with the surrounding world. At first, they do not realize that they are dead and haunting the house in which they lived.
* [[Smug Snake]]: Otho.
* [[Snake People]]: Snake!Betelgeuse, except no arms.
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* [[Take Our Word for It]]: Betelgeuse's "scary face."
* [[Tear Off Your Face]]: Barbara pulls her own face off in an attempt to frighten off the Deetzes. Unfortunately they can't see her.
▲* [[Ted Baxter]]: Delia thinks she's a great artist.
* [[Theme Music Power-Up]]: When Lydia summons Betelgeuse to save the Maitlands at the end.
* [[The Unmasqued World]]: The Maitlands are roundly criticized by their caseworker for letting the living get solid evidence of ghosts, while the Deetzes look to find a way to monetize their haunted house.
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* [[The Wall Around the World]]: The impassible and dangerous desert around the Maitlands' house that keeps them there.
** The context of a remark from Betelgeuse about hating sandworms suggests the place outside their house may be ''Saturn''.
* [[Wafer-Thin Mint]]: The dog on the bridge.
* [[Weirdness Censor]]: Lydia is the only one who normally sees the dead couple; just about everyone else completely filters them out.
{{quote|
* [[Weirdness Magnet]]: Lydia, she's initially the only one who can see the Maitlands, and is nearly forced into a marriage with an undead bio-exorcist. Not too many people can say that's happened to them...
* [[Wipe That Smile Off Your Face]]: At the end, when Barbara tries to banish BJ, she's able to get his name out once before he zips her lip...literally. She unzips her lip to say his name a second time, which pisses him off enough to seal it up with a metal plate.
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{{reflist}}
{{AFI's 100 Years 100 Laughs}}
[[Category:Films of the 1980s]]
[[Category:Hugo Award]]
▲[[Category:Beetlejuice]]
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