Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice – Review

Like most other millennials, we had to go and see Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice as soon as we could. 

Michael Keaton returns to his iconic role of Beetlejuice for the long-awaited sequel. Returning with him are Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara, reprising their roles of Lydia and Delia Deetz. The new entrants to the franchise are are Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux and Monica Bellucci. This was kind of all we knew from the trailer and we entered the theatre keen to find out what they have been up to for the last 36 years and how their lives are again going to be mixed up with Beetlejuice.

We open to find that Lydia is hosting a TV show and communicating with ghosts. When contacted by Delia we find that she is still an eccentric artist and hosting her own exhibition. When they find out about a family tragedy, they must connect with Astrid, Lydia’s somewhat estranged daughter played by Jenna Ortega, and head back to Winter River and the familial home from the original film. This works as a reason to return to the original setting and as a method of writing out Jeffrey Jones who played Lydia’s father in the original. 

We meet a French guy who dies and for a few minutes we follow him around the underworld. This work’s as a way to take us back to that setting and while we’re down there we meet Beetlejuice in his afterlife call centre where he is seemingly receiving calls for assistance. And it’s here that we are introduced to soul-sucking demon, Monica Bellucci and get a surprise cameo by Danny Devito. This sets up what would be considered Beetlejuice’s main plot throughout the movie. 

Then we are introduced to a love interest for Astrid in the form of local boy Jeremy (Arthur Conti). There are elements of this story that would have made for a great main plot rather than a somewhat convenient side plot but it isn’t followed with any depth. 

The addition of Astrid follows a strong reboot trope of the main character having offspring and while her delivery of lines is repetitive with almost every line being delivered in the same deadpan rhythm, Ortega was the obvious choice and she does have a decent story arc. However, Justin Theroux’s Rory and Monica Bellucci’s demon are unnecessary and there is too much time spent building up the new characters and storylines as well as updating us on Lydia and Delia that it is far too long before we see Beetlejuice reunited with Lydia Deetz. The first thing Lee said to me after the movie was, “That story should’ve started 20 minutes later.”

I understand the desire for Ortega to be cast in these kinds of roles. She has the look and now the reputation to fit into Tim Burton’s work. But here’s she is very one note and kind of bland. This really affects the likeability of her character and the chemistry she has with her on screen love interest. And this is the story I would’ve liked to have seen develop more than the conflict between Beetlejuice and his ex-wife demon.

Catherine O’Hara had some scene-stealing moments and probably got as many laughs in the theatre as Keaton, but most of the time just seemed to be fighting back the urge to slip back into a more Moira Rose portrayal. 

Winona Ryder was odd, not in a Tim Burton-type odd, but just some weird choices but generally just an adequate portrayal that didn’t seem to show the emotional depth needed for a grown-up Lydia Deetz. 

The new characters don’t add too much to the plot, with Monica Bellucci’s Delores character having zero impact in terms of story depth, despite being the big climax of the film visually. Willem Dafoe’s character adds some good laughs but hardly has an impact on the plot. And we’re still waiting to find out what happening with the French artist from the start of the film. 

It is about what you’d expect from a Beetlejuice sequel with Keaton’s portrayal of the titular character being the highlight. It’s clearly a role he enjoys and he’s definitely the big drawcard here. The look and feel are also standouts as well as Danny Elfman’s score, with the opening theme giving us some instant nostalgia. 

I think it’s probably that nostalgia that is a big driver of it being Keaton’s biggest box office hit in a long time but overall, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice didn’t really flow as a movie with the multiple storylines not coming together as cleanly as they could and some rigid acting performances detracting from the vibe of the movie.

Two and half stars out of five.