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Beetlejuice is such an iconic character that it’s easy to forget how weird and confusing he is (for starters, his name is actually spelled “Betelgeuse” according to his own tombstone). In this episode, Mark, Pete, Jordan, and Matt Belinkie (your substitute Matt) try to figure out if we’re dealing with a wily trickster demon or an impulsive idiot. We also look at the Deetzes, Manhattan transplants that combine the narcissism of the art world with predatory Reagan-era capitalism… which might actually be grimmer than the eternal DMV of the afterlife. And then there’s Otho, a gay character who seems to be an important stand-in for the gay screenwriter. Ultimately, this is a fun little dark comedy with surprisingly deep insights about the difference between simply BEING alive, and HAVING a life.

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