Thirty-six years might seem too long to wait for a sequel, but Tim Burton is back with "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice," the follow-up to his 1988 movie. The risk of having a sequel come out so long after the original is the possibility of fading interest, but there seems to be an excitement in the air (and box office projections) for the second round of Burton's madness.
Burton, the once-great macabre auteur, has had a rough decade-plus in his career, falling down the rabbit hole (no pun intended?) of CGI slop like the "Alice in Wonderland" films and 2019's live-action "Dumbo." "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" finds him back in his element, for better or worse.
Winona Ryder returns as Lydia Deetz, who is now a famous television medium. She is in a relationship with her manager Rory (Justin Theroux) and usually in some familial game of tug-o-war with her daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) and her stepmother Delia (Catherine O'Hara). Delia informs Lydia that her father has passed away and they must return to their infamous home to pack everything up and sell it. Lydia hopes returning to her childhood home won't awaken any past memories or summon Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton, having the time of his life returning as the titular character).
For a three-decades-later sequel, "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" has enough energy and verve to help it not feel like a soulless cash grab. While it's easy to play upon a generation of moviegoers' rosy notions of what once was at the multiplexes, the new movie feels distinct enough to just escape any hints of laziness. As far as a new Burton movie goes, this feels like he has returned home to what he's comfortable doing. He feels free from the constraints of soulless Disney products.
The movie's energy is often stunted by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar's overstuffed screenplay, which has a subplot too many. When talking about story structure, there's often an A-B-C plot, but "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" tacks on a C and D. Monica Bellucci pops in-and-out of the movie as Delores, Beetlejuice's ex-wife, and Willem Dafoe has a thankless role as a detective. Neither character serves the movie in any meaningful way.
It's refreshing to see that Burton has kept the same style and aesthetic as the original film. The winking and cartoonish effects might look dated in 2024, but it allows the movie to keep its sense of roots and originality. Burton's output has always been wildly up-and-down, but his commitment when he is passionate about a project always shines through. For the first time in a long while, that shows again.
| Movie title | Beetlejuice Beetlejuice |
|---|---|
| Release year | 2024 |
| MPAA Rating | PG-13 |
| Our rating | |
| Summary | This thirty-plus-years-later sequel may be bogged down by an overstuffed screenplay and some extraneous characters, but it still has the energy and verve of the original - plus Michael Keaton revisiting the title character and having the time of his life. |
