Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel of the ghost with the most, delivers comedic beats despite some tonal misfires. It’s not so much bad as it is commitment-shy, as reticent and scared as shrunken-head Bob. Still, it’s entertaining, thanks to Michael Keaton’s dynamite performance and Jenna Ortega’s weighty one. It leans on nostalgia but shines more when introducing new facets to the afterlife.
A sequel that takes place decades later, Tim Burton returns to direct with Michael Keaton as the titular character who wreaks havoc again. Also back is Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz and Catherine O’Hara as her stepmother, Delia. However, Lydia now has to deal with her own angsty teenage daughter, Astrid, played by Jenna Ortega.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has a lot of moving parts. Issues of familial drama in the afterlife and machinations in the living world collide to reunite Lydia with Beetlejuice as they embark on a rescue mission. With a 105-minute runtime, the film is lean and does not overstay its welcome.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Focuses on Love and Loss But With Lots of Laughs
The movie begins with a funeral for Lydia’s father, Charles, letting us know that this is a film about love and loss. So it’s no surprise that emotions arise about Astrid’s deceased father, Richard, played by Santiago Cabrera. Astrid’s path is made harder by the fact that mother and daughter are not close. Astrid does not believe her mother’s claims of ghosts. But neither does Lydia’s shady fiance, Rory, played by Justin Theroux. However, there is love in the mother/daughter dynamic, although it’s hard to see with Astrid’s frustrations. On the other hand, Lydia’s partner is a pandering, manipulative love. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice leans into the different types of love and affection, including the fake, manipulative kind, obsession, and the love between family.
Lydia is not the only one with impending nuptials. Beetlejuice himself is on the run from his partner. Monica Belluci plays his soul-sucking possessive girlfriend hot on his heels. Meanwhile, playing into Astrid’s affection for her deceased dad, her new friend with a dash of something more, Jeremy, played by Arthur Conti, convinces her to search for her father. So everyone’s searching for love in a sense or fleeing from it. Except perhaps the afterlife actor cum detective, Wolf Jackson, played by Willem Dafoe.
Some Comedy Grasps Today’s Humor, But Tonal Shifts Are Off-Putting
Comedy is a broad medium, from physical humor to edgy turns of phrase and everything in between. This film tosses a variety into the brew of this film, but it doesn’t all foam to the surface. Couples counseling between Lydia and Rory guided by Beetlejuice starts hilarious. The soul train and processing at the station is another fun scene.
However, the movie becomes creepy and downright disturbing, making me sometimes wonder about the film’s overall tone. The scene of Lydia’s stomach growing as a baby Beetlejuice bursts out is grotesque. When the baby pops up again later, it feels less like comedy and more like horror each time.
A lip-sync musical number begins funny and ends creepy, and later, the music playing in a dream sequence screams Carrie and inspires shudders. These tone shifts make it hard to process the film. While horror comedies can and do work, the transitions between genres here do not flow. It’s jagged and incomplete.
Ortega and Keaton Are Wonderful
That said, Jenna Ortega and Michael Keaton shine in this film. Ortega brings a humanizing mix of emotions to her character. She’s not just an angsty teen; she struggles with anger, loss, and the pangs of a crush. Michael Keaton reprises his role with ease. However, perhaps because of the script and direction, Keaton’s expressions sometimes have an underlying sinister quality that felt absent from the first movie. Still, these two stand out amidst the cast. Unfortunately, Catherine O’Hara constantly looks one step away from yelling, “Kevin.” Meanwhile, Winona Ryder appears trapped in roles that lean into dazed looks of confusion and little else.
Despite Scares, It Feels Like a Sitcom
The conflicts never feel like weighty stakes. On the contrary, the resolutions are so easy that I have to wonder if the movie was necessary. In the first film, the battle to stop Beetlejuice from marrying a teenage Lydia felt far more dire. In addition, Lydia’s desperation to save Adam and Barbara is palpable. Unfortunately, whatever tension Beetlejuice Beetlejuice attempts to establish dissolves with a series of pat solutions.
It’s a movie stuck smack-dab between good and bad. Two cast members strut their respective stuff, leading to some bright moments of hilarity. But with brash shifts in tone and dissolving tension, the movie struggles to find its footing. It’s not a movie unworthy of inclusion with the original, but Beetlejuice Beetlejuice makes you wish something better came along.
