Ah, sequels. Most are not equal to the original film, though some, amazingly, surpass them.
Tim Burton’s sequel to his 1988 classic Beetlejuice, falls somewhere in between. The original film was so different, inventive, and well-cast that fans immediately embraced it. It inspired nothing less than a following and made a star of Michael Keaton who played the title protagonist. It has become a genuine classic, so many fans have been anticipating the opening of the sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Only 3 members of the original cast return for this film. Michael Keaton, of course, is once again Beetlejuice. Winona Ryder returns as Lydia Deetz, and Catherine O’Hara returns as Delia Deetz. Added to this mix are Jenna Ortega as Lydia’s daughter Astrid, and Justin Theroux as Rory, Lydia’s fiancée. Rory also serves as the producer of Lydia’s successful television show, Ghost Houses, a subject she knows well. She’s a widow, now living in New York, who still feels haunted by Beetlejuice. Daughter Astrid is a typical sullen, rebellious teen who doesn’t believe in ghosts or the afterlife and thinks her mother is a fraud. Delia now lives in London with a successful visual arts gallery in Soho.
An unexpected death brings them all back to Winter River and the house where Beetlejuice had them all singing “Day-O”. Yes, this song is still in the film. By the way, Danny Elfman’s musical score is outstanding.
Of course, nothing goes as planned. Astrid fights with her mother over a new boy Jeremy (Arthur Conti) she met in town and is crushing on and plans to spend Halloween with. Astrid flees to the attic discovers the town model there and accidently uncovers the portal to the afterlife. She does exactly what her mom tells her not to do and ends up in the true down under. If you’ve seen the first film, you know what it takes to get down there, and therefore, Astrid is a believer now!
Willem Dafoe portrays Wolf Jackson, a B-movie actor who played a cop when he was alive. Now he runs law enforcement in the afterlife. He plays it strictly for laughs, but his character is used too much which kills some lines and situations that would have been funny. I have to blame the director for this. Overall, it takes too long to get to the real plot line which isn’t consistent even after you finally get there.
Other denizens of the dead worth mentioning include Monica Bellucci as Delores, Beetlejuice’s murderous ex-wife, and Danny DeVito playing a janitor — using some very dark, gross humor. Actually, most of the humor is dark and often gross, as you’d expect. After all, that’s probably what you’ll go to see.
I was frustrated by the lack of a cohesive plotline. The original film had such an amazing, well-linked series of events. That doesn’t mean there aren’t amazingly effective and entertaining scenes. Basically, any scene with Catherine O’Hara is great, and Jenna Ortega is the absolute best addition to this cast. Justin Theroux hams it up as new-ager Rory and is fun to watch. Burn Gorman is quite good as the befuddled priest, Father Damien.
Michael Keaton is probably the only actor who can play Beetlejuice, and he owns the role. Having said that, like the main narrative, it takes a little too long for him to really get going with the witty lines and the gross visuals. This mistake with pacing made him seem less energetic, at first, than the character usually is.
here are just too many digressions that break up the main action. However, many of them are very funny. My favorite is the Soul Train bit, and then there’s Bob (memba him?). Bob doesn’t really digress from the story; he enhances it. Bob is the best figment of Burton’s imagination!
I found the ending just a little too weird and quirky (and rushed?) to be effective. The preview audience, many wearing costumes, liked it but I’ll be interested to see how general audiences react. If you’re a Beetlejuice fan, you’ll want to see it. You will be entertained. – JoAnne Hyde
