Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Tim Burton, Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder reunite for this belated follow up to the cult 1988 fantasy horror/comedy, and while it doesn’t take any huge risks, it definitely delivers all the dark fun you could want from a Beetlejuice sequel.
Premise: Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder), her stepmother Delia (Catherine O'Hara), and her estranged daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega), are drawn back to the town of Winter River for a family funeral – but Lydia is still haunted by visions of Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton), the ‘bio-exorcist’ who tormented her family over thirty years ago.
Review:
While some belated sequels focus on introducing a new cast of characters in order to bring in a fresh generation of audience members (as the Scream legacy sequels have done so well), Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is unashamedly all about revisiting the original characters and giving the fans of the first film more of what they want. Yes, there are new additions to the cast – most noticeably Jenna Ortega as Lydia Deetz’s estranged teenage daughter Astrid – but the central storyline (such as it is) is very much focused on Winona Ryder’s now-grown-up Lydia.
Just like in the original Beetlejuice back in 1998, Michael Keaton actually doesn’t have a huge amount of screentime in this sequel – which is a good thing, because the original film understood that Betelgeuse is a character that works best in small doses, and that the ever-present threat of unleashing him is more interesting that actually seeming him run amok for 90 minutes. Thankfully, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has a much better grasp on what makes the character work than it sounded like the aborted 90s sequel Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian did, although when Betelgeuse does finally take centre stage, Michael Keaton gives it his all and reminds us why the character is still on people’s minds 36 years after the original film.
“…has a much more scattershot approach to its plot…”
If there’s one area where Beetlejuice Beetlejuice can’t quite match the original, it’s in its plot structure. The original film followed Adam and Barbara Maitland (who are not in this film) as they attempted to navigate the Afterlife, and it gave the film a very clear plot thread to build the comedy around. This sequel, on the other hand, has a much more scattershot and fragmented approach, with various different plot strands rather than one central one.
One plot thread follows Lydia, now a famous TV psychic, as she attempts to reconnect with her estranged daughter Astrid, while also dealing with her TV producer boyfriend Rory (Justin Theroux) and visons of a returning Betelgeuse. Justin Theroux is a great addition to the cast, his energy and humour fitting in perfectly with Tim Burton’s dark sense of comedy.
“…Tim Burton’s pacey direction keeps things entertaining & fun…”
Meanwhile, Astrid has a separate storyline of her own, focusing on her scepticism about the paranormal, her unresolved issues follow the death of her father who disappeared in South America, and her burgeoning romance with local Winter River teen Jeremy (Arthur Conti). That would arguably have been plenty – but then there are additional plot threads that don’t really go anywhere (such as one involving Monica Bellucci as Delores, Betelgeuse's ex-wife), even if some others (like the ones involving “Bob”, Betelgeuse's put-upon shrunken-headed assistant, or Wolf Jackson (Willem Dafoe), a B-movie actor turned Afterlife detective) are there purely for their comedy value.
The end result is that, plot-wise, the film can feel a little all-over-the-place at times – but Tim Burton’s pacey direction keeps things entertaining and fun, and any scene with Catherine O'Hara’s Delia is always comedy gold. So while I could nitpick about the lack of focus in the plot, I still enjoyed every minute of the film, and there were some genuinely lovely scenes for the three generations of the Deetz family.
“…a dark fantasy comedy focusing on character & laughs…”
As with the first film, you could argue that things are resolved fairly quickly and easily in the final act – although again, that’s not only in keeping with the first film, but it also suits the material – this is a dark fantasy comedy focusing on character and laughs, not plot mechanics or convoluted plans to save the day.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice delivers some great character moments for returning actors Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara – as well as an opportunity for Michael Keaton to really let his dark comedic alter ago off the chain again. Just like the original, this provides laughs and chills in equal measure (the paranormal stuff is likely to be too intense for younger viewers, so think carefully before taking small children to see this 12A-rated film), and is a whole heap of undead fun.
