'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' Review: Tim Burton Finally Gets His Groove Back
After three decades, the juice is loose yet again in a sequel that manages to not only maintain the spirit of the beloved original, but dish out a wonderfully macabre new story for hungry fans as well.
Audiences are reunited with the Deetz family in this long-awaited sequel, the family relatively estranged as they come together for the funeral of Lydia’s father. However, Lydia’s daughter makes matters worse when she inadvertently opens up a door to the afterlife, forcing her mom to seek help from the man she swore never to see again, Beetlejuice, to help rescue her. The sequel sees the return of Michael Keaton as the iconic titular character, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, and newcomers Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux, Willem Dafoe, and Monica Bellucci.
Expectations were sky high for this long-gestating sequel, but fortunately director Tim Burton and this fantastic cast are able to deliver the goods. Every performance is perfectly calibrated for the material, embracing the goofy and grotesque nature of this story and world with palpable enthusiasm and playfulness. Keaton and O’Hara seamlessly slip back into their respective characters from the original, the former maintaining his youthful, dizzying charm and magnetism and then some while the latter has never been better as the character, delivering some of the film’s funniest and most tender lines with grace and precision. Ortega is a fantastic new addition to the cast, not only coming across perfectly believable as Lydia’s daughter, but solidifying herself as a pitch-perfect Burton performer.
Burton hasn’t made a wholly enjoyable film in years, seemingly having lost his signature touch. Fortunately, his direction here is the liveliest and most playful it has been in a very long time, giving the film terrific momentum and visual panache throughout, supported by truly phenomenal practical effects, makeup, production design, and puppetry. The charming, low-budget tactile feel of the original is perfectly intact, making the after life feel incredibly immersive and realized. Burton isn’t afraid to get freaky here, pushing the PG-13 rating to every conceivable boundary in the best ways possible, delivering hearty laughs and involuntary groans in the process.
The script is also very sharp, delivering consistent laughs and surprising heart as well. This thankfully doesn’t feel like a retread of the original or a spinning of the greatest hits for fans. The story feels like a natural continuation of the one established in the original film, keeping the characters audiences love fresh and exciting while weaving in the new players organically and effectively. The mythology of the afterlife is explored and expanded as Lydia and her daughter re-examine themselves and what they want for their lives as their world gets literally turned upside down. Fear not, this sequel isn’t remotely a cash grab of any sort and it’s all the better for it.
However, the sequel’s most formidable weapon is its heart, utilizing the dynamic between Lydia and her daughter to great emotional effect. While the two start out distant and prickly toward one another, watching them slowly break down their walls as they get in over the heads with Beetlejuice and other colorful characters is not only very enjoyable to watch, but the two become very easy to emotionally invest in. There are even a handful of moments throughout that brought tears to the eyes, both Ryder and Ortega bringing their A-game and bringing out the best in one another. This sequel could’ve easily rang hollow, but it’s clear early on this cast had no intention of letting that come to pass.
The film only has a couple of notable flaws, mostly in the storytelling department. There is a “twist” revealed about halfway through that wasn’t even remotely surprising and as a result, the reveal and build up leave a lot to be desired. However, the biggest hindrance the sequel suffers from is that it’s juggling too many storylines. Dafoe and Bellucci’s respective stories, the former a dead actor who now investigates crimes in the afterlife and the latter Beetlejuice’s ex-wife on the hunt for immortality, feel ultimately unnecessary and extraneous. If you took the two characters out of the film completely, it wouldn’t change a thing. If anything, it would make the experience tighter and more cohesive. Dafoe and Bellucci are certainly fun to watch as they both chew up and spit out scenery, but their talents weren’t put the best use here unfortunately.
While Beetlejuice Beetlejuice may not reach the deranged, indelible heights of its predecessor, this is a follow-up that should absolutely satiate fans, delivering a sequel that will give them more of what they love with extra toppings and flavors. It may not be dinner, but damn if it isn’t a delectable dessert that makes you want more. Spooky Season has finally arrived and Beetlejuice has kicked things off in just the right demented way.