Adam and Barbara Maitland (Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis) are a happily married couple having a nice staycation when they perish in a car wreck on their way home from their local hardware store. Dead, they wind up back at home, where they discover their precious dream home has been sold to an obnoxious New York family. Determined to rid themselves of their new housemates, Adam and Barbara try to haunt the house themselves, only to find that their efforts have failed. Desperate, the two recently-dead enlist the aid of a self-proclaimed “bio-exorcist” named Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton,) after which all hell breaks loose in director Tim Burton’s 1988 comedy Beetlejuice.

Armed with only a guidebook for the Recently Deceased, Adam and Barbara are stumbling through the afterlife and are having even less luck ridding their home of its new inhabitants. The new family is clueless; Delia Deetz (Catherine O’Hara) only wants to sculpt and create art—that is, when she isn’t redecorating the house to satisfy her artistic visions, and Charles Deetz only wants to relax. Neither is able to see or comprehend the Maitland’s haunting—only the couple’s daughter, Lydia (Winona Ryder) can see and talk to the ghosts. Worse, the Maitland’s are strongly warned against enlisting the help of Beetlejuice by their case worker, Juno (Sylvia Sidney,) who vehemently recommends that the couple rid the house of the Deetz’s on their own. And if that weren’t enough, once the Deetz’s do realize that the house is haunted, they attempt to capitalize on the fact by attempting to get Charles’ former boss (Robert Goulet) to invest in the town and turn it into a paranormal center.

Beetlejuice is, simply put, a very funny movie that has aged fairly well. Keaton’s over-the-top portrayal as the title character is one of his best ever, right up there with his performances in the likes of Nightshift and Mr. Mom. Baldwin and Davis were perfect choices to play the yuppie ghost couple, and Winona Ryder is outstanding as the young, creepy, gloomy Lydia (yet Glenn Shadix nearly steals the show as Delia’s friend and advisor Otho.) Toss in appearances by Goulet and Dick Cavett and you’ve got the makings of what turned out to be a very funny cast.

Like all Tim Burton flicks, Beetlejuice is a weird, bizarre movie that’s visually striking—eye-popping sets compete with just enough animation (mostly claymation and special effects in this case) to keep the creative storyline moving. In fact, Beetlejuice is so visually striking that it won the 1989 Oscar for Best Makeup (Ve Neill, Steve LaPorte, and Robert Short.) Just check out the scene in which Barbara and Adam visit Juno to get an idea of how comedy dead people should look. Throw in a Calypso music soundtrack full of classics from Henry Belafonte (which somehow works despite the movie’s dark theme) and you’ve got the makings of a wonderful 80’s comedy.

If there’s anything to nitpick about this Special Anniversary Edition DVD is the lack of Special Features. The only Special Features on this DVD are three animated shorts from the Beetlejuice Animated Series from back in the day. I was a little disappointed—I didn’t watch the animated series then, and I don’t really care to watch it now. I’d rather have had some commentary from Burton or the makeup experts, but either they couldn’t or wouldn’t appear, but it would have been nice. But other than the animated shorts, there’s nothing other than the actual movie.

Still, Beetlejuice remains what it always was—a funny, entertaining movie that’s still worth watching over 20 years later. If you haven’t watched it in years, it’s still as good as you remember. If you’ve never seen it, then now is the time to remedy that error.

Recommended: Yes