Question: In the movie where the Deetz's are remodeling the house outside and all the cranes and construction guys are there, Delia is talking to one of the workers while climbing down a set of stairs. As a child, it sounded like she said "If you tell me what you do, I'll tell you why my husband farted." Obviously this is not what she says, but even now as an adult, it really does sound like she is saying that! Can anyone please tell me what she was saying? Thanks!
Answer: She says "I'll tell you why my husband fired you."
Question: Was Beetlejuice attracted to Lydia?
Answer: Beetlejuice wanted to marry Lydia because that would allow him freedom from the ghost world. Any physical attraction would be secondary to that.
She was incredibly depressed. She wasn't happy anywhere and she didn't fit in with her own family or anything they were trying to do. She was a goth girl. The realm of the dead and the macabre seemed more a place for her. When one sees the "Netherworld," it kind of seems like a more interesting place. But... upon closer inspection, it's not really all that different from our world.
Answer: She wanted to be with her mom who had passed sway.
It's never stated that her mom had died. There could be a possibility that Charles and her mom got divorced. The first two answers are more likely.
I've heard the interpretation that Delia really is Lydia's biological mother, but they are very different and don't get along, so Lydia pretends that Delia is a stepmother.
Question: When Beetlejuice replaces the handrail as a snake, I don't understand the line, "We've come for your daughter, Chuck." I know "Chuck" is "Charles" so who is "we" and why does he say "they" are only there for Lydia? (01:00:28)
Answer: In addition, it's possible that Beetlejuice was trying to rope Adam and Barbara in on the idea, since they did request for his help to get the Deetzes out of the house. He might've thought they were working together.
Answer: It's a rather outdated usage. Queen Victoria was known for using the "Royal We," saying things like, "We are not amused." It was a way of saying something without being directly accountable for it. Others use it merely as an embellished speaking effect, meant as hyperbole. That is what Beetlejuice is doing to sound loftier.
It's not that outdated. The "royal we" is still in use. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_we.
Question: Why was Beetlejuice stuck inside the little town? Why couldn't he leave?
Answer: He'd gone outside the normal system for the afterlife and offered himself as a freelancer. His punishment was to be restricted to the model until someone said his name three times.
Question: How did the football players die exactly?
Answer: A bus accident.
Answer: After returning to Juno's office, the quarterback tells her that he doesn't think they survived the crash.
Question: What happened to Lydia's biological mother? Was this mentioned in a deleted scene? I once watched the movie with someone who said that Delia actually is the biological mother, but Lydia feels so disconnected and misunderstood, she pretends that Delia is her stepmother. (When I was a kid myself, I actually met a couple of kids who pretended that parents were adoptive or someone was a step-parent).
Answer: Her mother died and Delia is indeed her stepmother. We are not told in the film how her mother died. In the musical we're told Emily Deetz is her biological mother.
It's clarified in the second one that her mum is still alive. More than likely she doesn't like Delia because she sees her as replacing her mum or because they are so different.
Question: Does Beetlejuice kill the young Girl Scout?
Answer: I think you're thinking of the musical, there's no Girl Scout in the movie. As for the musical, after the girl plays up her heart condition and how a minor shock to her system could kill her, she ironically survives her encounter with Beetlejuice just fine.
Question: Why can't Beetlejuice say his name?
Answer: Because then he could ask anybody to say his name three times for him, and they would release him.
Question: What ever happened to Maxi Dean and his wife after Beetlejuice hammered them up into the ceiling?
Answer: It's never explained. It's entirely possible they were both killed considering they were launched through the ceiling, since that would have likely caused catastrophic head injuries. But it's also possible that given the cartoonish nature of the film, they were just ejected out of the house. It's up for the viewer to decide. (I personally am leaning towards them being dead given how violent Beetlejuice is.)
I also wonder if they died, because they could go back to New York and tell others about their experience at the house. They are wealthy and probably have a good-sized social circle, so they could attract some attention to the town. Depending on what exactly Beetlejuice is planning (after he marries Lydia), he may not want that yet.
Question: If the Maitlands aren't dead at the end and the Deetzes agreed to share the house, then how did Lydia fly while dancing?
Answer: The Maitlands are still dead. They are still ghosts.
Answer: The Maitlands are definitely still dead. Absolutely nothing in the movie indicates they came back to life. Lydia flying and all the things happening around the house at the end are the Maitland's doing - they're having fun with Lydia using their otherworldly abilities because Lydia's doing good in school.
Question: When Charles and Otho are taking the model downstairs, I think it's Charles that says "let's take it apart" or something like that, and Otho says "that's sexual, get it both ends." What did he mean? I never got that part and its meaning.
Answer: He says "It's sectional" not "It's sexual". He's just confirming it comes apart for easier carrying.
Question: When Barbara and Adam change their faces and are ready to go scare everyone, Barbara confesses to Adam that she doesn't want to go through with it. She says that she wants to be with Lydia. Why does she suddenly become infatuated with wanting to be with this girl whom she hardly even knows? It would make more sense if they both grew to love the whole family instead of just Lydia alone. Thus, her sudden change of heart seems kind of strange.
Question: When Beetlejuice tried to get the Maitland's business - I don't recall hearing what he expected for payment from them - does anyone know?
Answer: He didn't really talk about payment from the Maitlands. He made it seem like he was good at getting rid of the living and just wanted to help out. But really, he was trying to get "hired" so they would say his name 3 times so he could be summoned. Then by marrying Lydia, he could escape the Neitherworld.
Question: During the dinner party, Bernard's wife compliments the Deetzes on what they've done with the house. Then Otho tells Beryl (beside him) that he hopes it wasn't one of her attempts at ending her life. I don't understand - is he changing subjects or does this have something to do with the new house?
Answer: Otho was having a separate conversation with her, of which part was cut from the film. The shooting script has a part where he asks her why she was in the hospital recently, since the reason she gave was a lie.
Question: I hope this question is not too speculative, but why would it be bad for living people to learn about the afterlife? Juno tells Adam and Barbara that they can't let people find out.
Answer: Probably because people would go to extreme lengths to try and contact the dead. There would be a media frenzy. It would create a massive opportunity for shyster mediums to victimize living people who want to communicate with lost loved ones. Science would be turned upside down investigating it. There would be all kinds of religious issues and conflicts. People would want to commit suicide to leave unhappy lives. The dead would be hounded relentlessly and never able to "rest in peace" again.
Question: How is Lydia able to see Adam and Barbara along with Beetlejuice? Did she have some sort of near death experience or maybe inherited something from her family?
Answer: She says, "If you tell me what you do, I'll tell you why my husband will fire you."