Nick’s Cinema Verdict: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Review)

Nick’s Cinema Verdict: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Review)

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”

PG-13/Comedy/Horror/105 Mins

Directed by: Tim Burton

Written by: Alfred Gough & Miles Millar

Starring: Michael Keaton (“Birdman”), Winona Ryder (“Stranger Things”), Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek”), Jenna Ortega (“Wednesday”), Justin Theroux (“The Mosquito Coast”), Willem Dafoe (“Poor Things”) and Monica Bellucci (“Mafia Mamma”)

Review: Almost 40 years ago, we were treated to the wonderfully weird world of Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice.” While the titular character only appears in the original film for only 17 minutes of screen time (yet he makes every second memorable), audiences also fell in love with the bizarre and unique characters from the Deetz family and the deceased Maitlands that haunt their home. In the years since, fans have obsessed over this peculiar picture, quoting lines, singing their hearts out to “Day-O” and dressing up as their favorite character for Halloween. I am a part of that huge fan base and I too wanted to know what these oddball characters have been up to since the events of the first film.

Mixing the old with some new blood, we return to Winter River and the Afterlife with “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.” Following a death in the family, Lydia, Delia, and Lydia’s daughter, Astrid, go back to the small town and return to the Maitland house. Except this time, there’s no ghosts haunting those halls, just a pesky demon hanging around the old model town in the attic. For reasons I won’t reveal, a portal to the Afterlife is opened and Betelgeuse is back to their old tricks, their ex-wife has returned and the Deetz women now have to deal with the deceased in the land of the living and the dead.

Right off the bat, this film is just an absolute blast from start to finish. You can tell from everyone involved that they cared about the material and wanted to deliver a sequel that lived up to the original. While it may not reach that classic status of the first film, it’s still a worthy sequel guaranteed to satisfy fans. It delivers the fan service but it never feels forced and like seeing an old friend, it feels like a welcome return to this wacky world as well to a Tim Burton that feels rejuvenated with the filmmaking he has on display.

This is Burton at his most energetic and best since “Frankenweenie.” It’s a return to his signature style, using real and giant sets, using almost entirely practical effects, including a hilarious use of stop-motion for a death sequence. While it is a film that looks modern, it makes the most of its old school film techniques that makes this film more special compared to the other films playing in the theaters. Movies made like this are more rare nowadays. The use of prosthetics, dummies, animatronics, makes this otherworldly world feel more real. You see the actors touching and interacting with these real effects and it adds to their performance. I also admired how this film takes place near and on Halloween. Unlike the previous film, which seemed to take place in the summer, this one takes advantage of its spooky season appeal. The town is decorated for the holiday, jack-o-lanterns, autumn leaves and orange lights are everywhere which makes this film perfect for the upcoming season.

Burton nailed his style and Halloween tone, does he have a good story to add substance to it? For the most part he does! Bringing in “Netflix’s Wednesday” creators Alfred Gough & Miles Millar on as screenwriters, they were able to craft a story that expanded on the world and narrative that came before. Especially for the Deetz women, they are given a well rounded story about generational trauma & dealing with grief and loss. Betelgeuse is given an arc with no growth and is there to move the plot forward with their wild and pesky antics. This is a good thing because that’s how they were used in the first film and isn’t the type of character that is expected to change throughout the years and throughout this movie. However, the black and white flashback of how they met their ex-wife and their demise is a hilarious highlight. Michael Keaton once again shines as the titular demon. It’s like not a day has passed and he slipped back seamlessly into his most famous role (next to “Batman”.)

Same can be said for Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara as Lydia & Delia Deetz. For Winona, it feels like a natural development for her character still wearing all black and sporting a unique hairstyle but is more extroverted due to being a TV personality as well as a caring mother. While O’Hara steals the film with her sarcastic one liners, showing that she is just the same as when we left her in 1988. As for the newcomers, Jenna Ortega as Astrid just feels right playing the daughter of Lydia. Channeling that introverted nature of how Lydia was as a teen but is less about the morbid/death stuff and more interested in world issues like her father. She feels familiar but also feels like their own character. Another standout is Justin Theroux as Rory, Lydia’s TV producer and lover. He brings a lot of laughs as the idiotic boyfriend who always says the wrong thing at the worst time.

Probably my biggest issue with the film has to do with the other new character, Delores AKA Betelgeuse’s ex-wife. Promoted heavily in the trailers as the big bad, I expected to see a lot of this character. However, it felt like her subplot was pushed all the way to the back of all the other narrative threads. Used sparingly like  Betelgeuse, yet she makes no impact and if she was cut from the film, it probably wouldn’t change the film’s overall narrative too much, if at all.

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” could never reach the heights of the original. However, the fun/entertaining story, the expanded look into the Afterlife, satisfying character arcs for the legacy characters and the old school nature of the film makes this the best “Beetlejuice” sequel we could’ve asked for.

Score: 8.5/10