36 years after he first terrorized the Deetz family, the ghost with the most is back in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, a rowdy, chaotic, helluva good time.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Review
Tim Burton defined the emo-quirky sub-genre of scary films in the late 80s and 90s with classics like Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, and of course Beetlejuice. In the past decade, it could be argued that Burton had lost what made him special, a macabre, goth aesthetic with eccentric characters that are as compelling as they are odd. Although I didn’t dislike his latest offerings nearly as much as others, I can admit that it felt like he needed to get back to his roots. What better way to do that than to revisit the film that put him on the map? The success of Beetlejuice in 1989 was a surprise to most. This wasn’t a family-friendly film per se but it definitely thrilled moviegoers of all ages and became an instant classic. Why? Well, when you blend together Burton’s signature style with Michael Keaton‘s insane, over-the-top, delightfully wicked performance you’re going to get something special. And something we all thought was untouchable.
But this is Hollywood, and to quote Antwan from Free Guy it’s all about “sequels and IPs.” So perhaps it was inevitable we would head back to Winter River and the Netherworld. Fortunately, this legacy sequel comes from the minds and talent that made the original work. Not only that, but Burton has clearly regained his spark. In Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, his outrageous imagination is running wild in all the best ways possible. Keeping pace with Burton is Keaton, who is firing on all cylinders in a way that makes it hard to believe it’s been over 30 years since he wore the iconic striped suit. It’s one helluva afterlife party that maintains the originals’ chaotic, rowdy, silly, and “scary” vibes.
Taking place in realtime, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice picks up 36 years after the events of the original. Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) is a famous medium of a ghost-hunting TV show, something her younger self would hate– since she is using her gifts to make money. It’s been years since she has been back to Winter River and the Maitland house. But after the death of her father Charles, she and her stepmother Delia (Catherine O’Hara) are brought back to the old place along with Lydia’s estranged daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) in order to settle affairs and get the house ready to be sold. It isn’t long before Beetlejuice (Keaton) worms his way into their lives, desperate to once again marry Lydia in order to escape his ex-wife Delores (Monica Bellucci) who has recently re-assembled herself and intends to exact revenge on her sweetheart.
Mother-daughter tensions and undead bio-exorcist grooms aside, this sequel’s plot has a lot going on. Lydia doesn’t just have to deal with the death of her father or the threat of Beetlejuice. She also must decide whether or not she truly wants to marry her producer/boyfriend Rory (Justin Theroux). He’s as sketchy as can be but unlike the original grifter Otho (Glenn Shadix), there is nothing amusing about him. In fact, this is one plot line I would’ve been perfectly fine with them leaving on the cutting room floor.
Then there is the case of the dead ex-husband (Santiago Cabrera) whom Astrid blames his loss on her mother. And she happens to be a non-believer, which works because making her a carbon-goth copy of her mother would’ve been a lazy writing choice. Astrid loves spooky season but doesn’t believe in ghosts or in her mother’s supernatural abilities. She also happens to connect with a local boy named Jeremy (Arthur Conti) who also isn’t impressed by his parents, but thinks Lydia is amazing. Finally, there is the dead, B-list movie star cop Wolf Jackson (Willem Dafoe) who has taken it upon himself to solve the Netherworld’s crimes. When Delores begins murdering the dead, Wolf seeks out Mr. Juice in order to stop her.
The upside to all these plot threads thrown in together is that they make for some truly chaotically entertaining sequences. Like one character claims, the afterlife doesn’t make a lot of sense. In order to fully enjoy Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s twisting and turning run, it’s best to keep that in mind. They do more-or-less come together somewhat cohesively by the end but it doesn’t really matter, because it was a blast just to witness it all.
Alfred Gough and Miles Millar’s script gives Keaton and O’Hara room to do what they do best while tying Ryder and Ortega with the emotional beats of the story. Not that it’s a bad thing to have their relationship be the grounding factor. It works, especially as the stakes get wilder and the shenanigans go into overdrive. This time around Ryder plays Lydia less angsty and more nervous. She is clearly unhappy with how her life turned out and feels like she has lost herself along the way. For anyone looking deeper, it’s apparent that Lydia’s story mirrors Burton’s own and by the end the two find their way back to what makes them strange and unusual. Ortega and Ryder play well off each other, with the former giving the latter all the same respect Lydia once showed for her stepmother Delia.
Bellucci’s Delores is what I imagine a vindictive, and vicious Morticia Adams would be like. She’s an alluring femme fatale that literally glides through her scenes with murderous intent. She may not say much but her actions make a statement. Was this ex-wife subplot needed? Maybe not. But it calls back to the wedding ring Beetlejuice gave Lydia and gives our unhinged ghost somewhat of a backstory. Dafoe’s performance was a highlight for me and one of the few that could draw my eyes away from Keaton/O’Hara. He’s comically bad (on purpose) and had my theater laughing whether he was swaggering into an interrogation room, reading his lines from a cue card, or just crushing a paper coffee cup with over exaggerated emotions.
The expanding cast of ghouls and mortals aside, Keaton and O’Hara run away with the whole thing. Unlike his time recently spent reprising another legacy role, it is obvious that Keaton is having a blast. He’s all the way in, maintaining a manic energy from start to finish. Beetlejuice is as creepy, slimy, hilarious, and mischievous as ever. Donning the beer belly, ghoulish makeup, and that iconic black-and-white striped suit designed by Colleen Atwood (who returned for the film), Keaton is brimming with charisma and hasn’t lost a step. O’Hara is similarly amazing as she gives the egocentric, high-strung Delia a bit of her Moira charm without the over pronunciation of words. (There also is a clever nod to Schitt’s Creek!) Delia is still lost in her own little world of delusional grandeur but she’s actually *gasp* the voice of reason?! It’s true friends but don’t worry, our Delia is still sharp-tongued, audacious, and overly dramatic.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice looks and feels like a Burton sketchbook of ideas brought to life. Visually, he has deployed practical effects in earnest with our beloved stop-motion sandworms making a triumphant return. One of the most exciting additions to this world is that the sequel spends more time in the Afterlife introducing us to all sorts of characters (and ways to die). Whether they speak or not, it’s fascinating to see the kind of ghostly ghouls Burton has dreamed up to populate the waiting room. Plus, much like his film The Corpse Bride, Burton gives the Afterlife a soul that is conspicuously missing from the land of the living. There is even a “Soul Train” to the “Great Beyond” and honestly that would be one groovy way to go. Just saying.
Longtime fans might have something to say about some tweaks that were made to what is considered “canon.” But honestly, canon has never mattered in this world. Just look at the 1989 animated TV show that turned Lydia and Beetlejuice into besties or Beetlejuice the Musical. Much like the lack of logical rules in the Afterlife, the Beetlejuice universe doesn’t need some airtight lore to live by. It does what it wants just like the ghost himself.
VERDICT
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is unrepentantly chaotic where the craziest things can happen and anything is fair game for laughs. Burton has returned to form and it shows in every facet of this film. Fans of the original are going to find a lot to love here while newcomers may wonder what the hell did they just watch before succumbing to the inevitable magnetism of Keaton’s Beetlejuice. The third act is kinda messy with multiple musical numbers, dream sequences, and some pretty outlandish choices. But hey, the rules of death are wonky, reality is equally confusing, so no, it didn’t bother me at all. It’s all very Beetlejuice. Oh and respect for our boy Bob!
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice premiered at the Venice Film Festival. The film is rated PG-13 for violent content, macabre and bloody images, strong language, some suggestive material and brief drug use with a runtime of 104 minutes long. It will release in US theaters on September 6.
