The chaos inBeetlejuicewas triggered by Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara Maitland (Geena Davis), who died at the beginning of the movie, and I still have an issue with their deaths that continued throughout the entire movie.
In 1988, after making his feature directorial debut withPee-wees Big Adventurethree years prior, Tim Burton showed his unique visual style inBeetlejuice, while also giving the audience a taste of the punch in of stories he would go on to cover.Beetlejuicewas a critical and commercial success, and it finally got a sequel in 2024 simply titledBeetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Beetlejuiceintroduced the Maitlands, a young married couple who died in a car accident.However, they are unaware that they died until their house is sold and the Deetzes move in.
Custom image by Yeider Chacon.
After their attempts to scare the Deetzes away fail, the Maitlands summon chaotic bio-exorcist Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) for help, but his methods are way too much.
Throughout all this, the Maitlands bond with the Deetzes teenage daughter, Lydia (Winona Ryder), the only one who can see them.Beetlejuicealso introduced some ofthe rules of the Neitherworld, and because of that, theres one thing that bothers me about the Maitlands.
Adam & Barbara Aren’t Like Other Ghosts In Beetlejuice
When the Maitlands finally read theHandbook for the Recently Deceasedand go into the Neitherworld in hopes of getting the answers they need, it becomes clear that,when someone dies, their ghosts keep their final appearance.
Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice stars Michael Keaton as the titular “bio-exorcist”, an obnoxious spirit who specializes in driving living occupants out of homes. When Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam Maitland (Alec Baldwin) die suddenly, they pass into the spirit realm, and must stay in their home. However, in the living world, the Deetz family purchases the house and moves in, prompting the Maitlands to enlist the help of Beetlejuice to drive them away.
This means that, if someone dies eaten by a shark (ashappened to Charles Deetz), they will show up in the Neitherworld with the parts of their body that the shark ate missing, or if they burned to death after falling asleep while smoking (as happened to one of the ghosts in the waiting room), they will show up burned to a crisp.
When the Maitlands return to their home, they are soaking wet, but they dry at one point and stay dry the rest of the movie.
Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice delivered a dark comedy which saw Adam and Barbara navigating their afterlife with some help from the Handbook for the dead.
Even the ghost of Astrids (Jenna Ortega) father, Richard, inBeetlejuice Beetlejuice, was shown with blue skin and small fishes on his body, as he died in the Amazon River.
While the Maitlands being wet or dry doesnt really affect their story inBeetlejuice,it does bother me how they seem to have skipped that rule for no apparent reason, but I understand that there would have been some behind-the-scenes challenges if they had followed the rule.
Why Adam & Barbara Weren’t Soaking Wet After Drowning For The Rest Of Beetlejuice
There Are Big Reasons Why The Maitlands Skipped That Afterlife Rule
Adam and Barbara Maitland looking as they did when they died would have, ultimately, not been practical at all.All those ghosts in the waiting roomkeeping their final appearances works because most of them dont move at all and only appear briefly, butkeeping the wet look on Baldwin and Davis would have been a pain for everyone involved.
Having Baldwin and Davis constantly wearing wet clothing and having their hair and faces wet all the time wouldnt have been practical, so appearing dry for the rest of the movie was an artistic solution.
Some viewers have argued that, maybe, a ghosts appearance isnt locked until they understand they are dead, which is why the Maitlands got as far as to drying, because it took them a while to realize what happened.
Whatever the in-universe reason for it, at least Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis didnt have to wear uncomfortable, heavy, wet clothes through most ofBeetlejuice.
Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice stars Michael Keaton as the titular “bio-exorcist”, an obnoxious spirit who specializes in driving living occupants out of homes. When Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam Maitland (Alec Baldwin) die suddenly, they pass into the spirit realm, and must stay in their home. However, in the living world, the Deetz family purchases the house and moves in, prompting the Maitlands to enlist the help of Beetlejuice to drive them away.
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Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice stars Michael Keaton as the titular “bio-exorcist”, an obnoxious spirit who specializes in driving living occupants out of homes.
When Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam Maitland (Alec Baldwin) die suddenly, they pass into the spirit realm, and must stay in their home.
However, in the living world, the Deetz family purchases the house and moves in, prompting the Maitlands to enlist the help of Beetlejuice to drive them away.
