[This post contains spoilers for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice]
One of the most iconic moments in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice is the “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” sequence at the dinner table. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: more movies should have Catherine O’Hara spontaneously break into song. It’s a lesson that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice took to heart.
Late in the sequel, Beetlejuice (played by Michael Keaton) has mischiefed his way into marrying Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) after she signed a contract with him to save her daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) from the afterlife. After he injects Lydia’s doofus still-alive fiancé Rory (Justin Theroux) with truth serum, The Ghost with The Most possess everyone at the Deetz/Juice ceremony to make them sing: specifically, “MacArthur Park” by Richard Harris, an incredible Oscar-nominated actor who is probably best known to younger generations as Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films.
The original version of “MacArthur Park” (it was later covered by Donna Summer) was released in 1968 and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Impressive for a track that’s seven and 21 seconds long. In fact, if “MacArthur Park” had reached number one, it would be the third longest chart-topper in Billboard history, after the 10-minute version of Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well” and “American Pie” by Don McClean. You can listen below.
The “Weird Al” parody is pretty good, too.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is out in theaters now.
