esrosedotblog

TODAY'S MOVIE

BEETLEJUICE (1988) NYTimes1176BestFilms;Tim Burton; the young Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis; utterly unique. I found Michael Keaton to be way over the top and a bit too much ham. It was distracting. I have seen him do this 'comic' character thing before in the Kenneth Branaugh MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING; actually, as it turns out, channeling Beetlejuice. I didn't get it at the time. After Batman, Keaton's career seems to have careered out of existence; mostly small parts in movies we didn't hear about.

I loved the production though; and Tim Burton's stuff is great. This is his second big film after PEE WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE which I have never seen and am afraid to. He works sparingly; which is good, as a little bit goes a long way. He does comic monsters like no one else. It is what makes the Haunted House ride in Disneyland work so well. And this is a ride too; 92 minutes of fun.

Gotta mention Catherine Ohara and Jeffery Jones who are the couple that are ousted (well sorta kinda) from the haunted house. Jones was the School Principal in FERRIS BUELLER and the Emperor in AMADEUS. He is one of those indispensible character actors you never forget. He is really great. Ohara is a regular in the Christopher Guest mockumentaries and is featured in many comedies. She is sublime. Oh. And the very young Winona Ryder is the daughter. I will give it a 3 out of Netflix5.