Beetlejuice, Michael Keaton and director Tim Burton are back! JP has his take on the sequel, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.”
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
- Directed by Tim Burton
- Screenplay by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar
- Story by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, Seth Grahame-Smith
- Based on Characters by Michael McDowell, Larry Wilson
- Produced by Marc Toberoff, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Tommy Harper, Tim Burton
- Starring Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Willem Dafoe
Studio Synopsis:
Beetlejuice is back! Oscar-nominated, singular creative visionary Tim Burton and Oscar nominee and star Michael Keaton reunite for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel to Burton’s award-winning Beetlejuice. Keaton returns to his iconic role alongside Oscar nominee Winona Ryder (Stranger Things, Little Women) as Lydia Deetz and two-time Emmy winner Catherine O’Hara (Schitt$ Creek, The Nightmare Before Christmas) as Delia Deetz, with new cast members Justin Theroux (Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, The Leftovers), Monica Bellucci (Spectre, The Matrix films), Arthur Conti (House of the Dragon) in his feature film debut, with Emmy nominee Jenna Ortega (Wednesday, Scream VI) as Lydia’s daughter, Astrid, and Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe (Poor Things, At Eternity’s Gate). After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid, discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic and the portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened. With trouble brewing in both realms, it’s only a matter of time until someone says Beetlejuice’s name three times and the mischievous demon returns to unleash his very own brand of mayhem.
JP’s Take:
“Beetlejuice” (1988) was the second feature film to put flourishing writer / director Tim Burton on the map for the kooky, macabre, and dark comical touches he’s imbued the sleeper hit with. Thanks to his writing partners, Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren, for their keen story weaving, this eerie tale gave Burton the perfect outlet to exercise his somber style of filmmaking. So it’s a delight to see Tim Burton return, with a fresh take on the charismatic, ghostly, bio-exorcist’s dealings in the afterlife, which has been ingrained in pop culture for 36 years.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” carries the legacy quite well and retains much of the spooky good fun in a story that binds three generations of the Deetz family. There is a bit of nostalgia at play here, as the overarching theme, once again, is coping with the death of a loved one. As a dark satire about death, the original story revolves around the bureaucratic handling of those who made it to the afterlife and funneling souls to their final resting place. Here in the sequel, Delia (Catherine O’Hara), Lydia (Wynona Rider), and Astrid (Jenna Ortega) each come to terms with the grieving process, while dealing with an awkward and dramatic family dynamic.
Now that Lydia has harnessed her abilities to speak with the dead, she hosts a dubious paranormalist show, produced by her boyfriend Rory (Justin Theroux) called “Ghost House with Lydia Deetz.” Lydia’s estranged daughter Astrid is her biggest skeptic as she feels her mother is a fraud. Astrid is deeply affected by the disappearance of her father, Richard (Santiago Cabrera), after he went missing during an environmental activist trip in South America. The wedge between Lydia and Astrid is due to Lydia’s inability to speak with Astrid’s father in the afterlife. Adding to the bleak mix, Lydia receives a distressing call from her stepmother Deila about her husband Charles Deetz.
Despite the 36-year gap, you’ll be able to pick up the pieces of the Deetz’s lives without necessarily having to watch the first one. However, the sequel feels much more in-depth, provided you did see the original film as it sheds insight into Beetlejuice’s former life.
A couple of subplots are interwoven, where Astrid enters the netherworld again, you’ll need to watch the first one to understand how that works. Yet, her moment involves a young man named Jeremy Frazier (Arthur Conti), as she develops a crush on him after crashing through a fence into his yard. You’ll notice something cringy about him when their brief relationship begins to kindle.
Gone is the 80s post-modernist look of the original, which is traded up for a more neo-gothic feel for 2024. The quaint town of Winter River is still the homey, sleepy settlement with quirky neighbors and the monolithic Deetz estate that looks down from the hilltop.
I love that Burton dives further into the macabre atmosphere here, where gallows humor pierces the storyline with grim satirical one-liners. When Lydia comes to her mother’s aid, Delia announces that she’s lost Charles. Lydia asks “Is he divorcing you?” Delia returns with “No, he’s dead!” with a blaséd tone.
Much of the remaining comical heavy lifting is balanced between Michael Keaton, who embodies Beetlejuice, and Catherine O’Hara, whose artistic eccentricities as Delia are golden. Beetlejuice’s late wife, Delores (Monica Bellucci), also enters the picture. She’s given a quick sinister backstory as to her fate way back when, and her connection to Beetlejuice’s death as well. Her role plays a big part in Beetlejuice’s return to the realm of the living.
What’s endearing about this sequel is the love and attention Burton and crew bestow upon its production. Thanks to the nicely selected cast, the performances are genuine, yet giddy. The characters are quirky and lively and the visuals are delightfully grim. The story is an organic extension of its forebearer without feeling convoluted.
After getting out of the theater, I felt like this was the kind of sequel I could watch multiple times and not get bored, as I’ve done with the first “Beetlejuice.”
Official Site: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
