Beetlejuice Beetlejuice - Film Review

Contrary to popular belief, Burton hasn't made a decent film since the mid-90s. He had a glorious run from his first feature film Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, and the two Batman films, Edward Scissorhands, leading to his second-best film of all time, Ed Wood. It can be argued that his tribute to '50s sci-fi with Mars Attacks is in this grouping of winners, which it is, was the last time Burton felt like a great filmmaker. Everything since has been a poor live-action remake of an old story that was done better sans the all-too-heavy, on-the-nose, sappy drama Big Fish. Burton loves remakes and sequels, even of his movies. So why not take his beloved Beetlejuice franchise and helm the sequel almost four decades later? How will the main characters from the first film fit in and what has Beetlejuice been up to since he was seemingly trapped in purgatory waiting for his number to be called up. 

The answer here is one of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice's biggest flaws. It barely gives an explanation that makes sense to any of it with some of the main characters getting the shaft in their movie to make way for brand-new characters that go nowhere. This is an issue that Burton has had over the last thirty years by adding too many characters in each film that seems to only add star talent to headlines rather than good plot development. In Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci, and a few others get this treatment that sidelines the main focus of the film, which is sad because everyone is here to see Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice again and what Catherine O'Hara and Winona Ryder have been up to.

Somehow, Beetlejuice talked his way into taking over Juno's role in the afterlife, helping people transfer over with a big staff of shrunken head Bobs who all adore the Ghost With the Most. Due to an accident, a few crates fall over in the afterlife and a woman named Delores (Bellucci) staples her maimed body back together and is out for revenge on Beetlejuice. There is an excellent flashback sequence showcasing what Beetlejuice was like before he died and his "loving' relationship with Delores before he became the titular demon. Meanwhile, back on Earth, Lydia Deetz (Ryder) is a successful TV personality who talks with spirits and ghost hunts. But the amazing, confident character she was as a teenager is long gone. In this sequel, she has zero confidence and is ruled over by the idiotic and slimiest of men named Rory (Justin Theroux), who has other nefarious intentions.

The most true-to-form character is her stepmother Delia (O'Hara), who has not lost a step with her character and is still manically hilarious but now hugely successful as an artist. In these three decades, Lydia had a child named Astrid (Jenna Ortega) who lives at boarding school but is called home in a hilarious way due to her grandfather passing away. From here, the story is set in motion has the entire Deetz family making deals with Beetlejuice once again and navigating the different areas of the afterlife with some rich dance numbers to some strange musical numbers that only Tim Burton could cook up, none of which live up to the great sounds of Harry Belafonte.

The truth is, Burton and writers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (Martial Law, Smallville, Wednesday) couldn't make a cohesive story that kept the Deetz family together and their relationship with Beetlejuice. Characters were added to take the spotlight off these main characters for some odd reason that bogs down the film with nonsensical story arcs that fizzle out fast rather than setting something up for a big payoff. Beetlejuice is only on screen for a fraction of the film's 105-minute runtime, where in the first film he felt like the biggest part of the narrative even though he wasn't on screen much. In this sequel, so much time is given to other plots and characters that Beetlejuice is almost left out of his film and that's a shame because from his line delivery to his physical presence, Michael Keaton's nuanced comedic performance is still pitch-perfect.

All this being said, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is still a fun ride that is full of laughs and visual wonders with a loving return to practical effects. Beetlejuice is still the hilarious pervert he was in the first film, ogling women as they pass by, and has a truck full of ghastly and gory surprises for his guests. The practical effects are ripe with yellow pus, red blood, and green goo throughout the movie. Burton even heads back to his roots with some of the claymation-style animations that he is known for. The film looks brilliant for sure and the cast looks like they're having a great time despite some of the issues with the characters not having their big moments to shine. Keaton and O'Hara are the best performances with everyone else turning up those silly volumes to compete with Keaton - it never works. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is silly enough and has quite a bit of fun that should have fans of all ages smiling, but it in no way can hold a candle to the original - even if it looks like there could well be another sequel. Worth A Look!