After decades of waiting, “Beetlejuice” is back in theaters with “the ghost with the most” returning to haunt the living and put a ring on Winona Ryder’s finger.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is the sequel to the 1988 film “Beetlejuice” by the same director, Tim Burton. In this sequel, after suffering a death in the family, the three generations of women from Deetz’s household return back to Winter River, Connecticut, where arguments between mother and daughter leave Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) to work with Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) to help save her daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega), and to help Beetlejuice escape his marriage to a soul-sucking witch, Delores (Monica Bellucci.)
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” serves as a great continuation of the original, serving to expand on the world that we only got a peek of back in the 80’s while delivering that gothic angst and thrilling dark comedy about death that made the original a beloved classic.
The movie provides an interesting peek into both the past and future of the characters that made up the original flick. The film explores Lydia’s career as a television paranormal investigator whom Beetlejuice is still haunting throughout the years and now must deal with her estranged and angst-filled daughter, still mourning the loss of her father. Shockingly, the movie decides to expand on the identity of Beetlejuice.
The sequel does something that the original tended to avoid and never gave an answer to which was Beetlejuice’s backstory, explaining how the wisecracking and comedic ghost died. The movie’s inclusion of his backstory either ruin the character or better the story for some moviegoers. The acceptance of this backstory heavily depends on how you feel about Beetlejuice’s character, especially if you prefer how in the original, he kept his past a secret and rooted in mystery or enjoy the idea that earlier development and cut script ideas from the original film inspired his backstory that is now established in the sequel.
The backstory that the movie introduces might also influence how you feel about the B plot. The B plot of the movie involves Beetlejuice and his ex-wife, Delores, with the undead police trying to hunt her down while Beetlejuice attempts to escape her before she can actually kill him twice. Most of the B plot serves little to nothing to the rest of flick, only serving as a comedic breather in-between scenes and could honestly be cut out of the film while still maintain the main narrative between mother and daughter. Your feelings towards the B plot depend on how much you love Monica Bellucci’s performance of a vengeful ex and William Defoe as a police chief.
What moviegoers cannot deny is the fantastic dark comedy elements of the film, making fun of dying, therapy, and the bureaucratic nature of the afterlife. A lot of the film, especially when Beetlejuice is on the screen, will have you laughing at the peculiar and horrendous situation that our characters are in with surprise pregnancies, an actor in the role of authority, and Beetlejuice’s high jinks to get Lydia.
As well, the movie attempts to bring a new change from the original by moving away from the calypso and Jamaican song “Day-O (Banana Boat Song)” that the original popularized from the dining scene and ending. Instead, the flick decides to use 60’s-70’s disco music for its soundtrack with hints of grunge, with “MacArthur Park” by Richard Harris being the main song that it’s attempting to push as “Day-O” replacement with a dance number inside a church.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” serves as a great continuation of the original, offering a short yet fun experience to all moviegoers without feeling like it attempts to rehash the past and is a laugh from beginning to end.
“Every scene with Michael Keaton in this movie was amazing. I don’t know the exact screen time count in terms of minutes, but I’ll say solid 15-20 minutes of comedy right there. The dude is just great,” said Jeremy Jahns, an online reviewer.
Although some people may have gripes with the film usage of a backstory and the B plot service to the rest of the film, I feel as though this is a fantastic send-off and what fans have been waiting for over 30 years of this classic dark comedy and horror film.
