‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ is Overstuffed
Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice | Credit: Warner Bros.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice catches up with the Deetz family 30+ years after the original film. When a portal is opened into the afterlife, the family must come together to save each other.
After rewatching Beetlejuice again for the first time in decades, I was cautiously excited about seeing the sequel. The first film is just so creative and magical that I was excited to jump back into this world again. Knowing that so many members of the original cast and production were part of the sequel made me want to experience this new film.
And I think Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is fine.
For me, this sequel doesn’t reach the heights of the original film, but it’s not an entirely unpleasant film to watch. There are some things here to enjoy, particularly Michael Keaton’s return as Beetlejuice. Is he as funny as the first film? No. But Keaton’s knack for comedy still comes through.
I think the rest of the main cast is largely successful. Winona Ryder is effective as Lydia Deetz who has become a “psychic mediator” on her own TV show. It’s clear that she’s not okay and is struggling to get by; the addition of ghosts into her life is not helping. Though her first interaction with Beetlejuice was decades ago, she’s still haunted by his presence. Ryder I think really effectively captures how that experience would shape you. I just wish that the story had done a bit more to help us understand Lydia’s transformation during the 30 years between movies.
Catherine O’Hara is wonderful as Delia Deetz. She fully commits to the role and seems to be having a really great time as this over-the-top character. She is a wonderful counterbalance to the mother-daughter relationship between Lydia and her daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega).
Last but certainly not least, Jenna Ortega is great as Astrid. The more that I see of Ortega, the more impressed I am with her. There are plenty of moments in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice when she has to play the dramatic teenager (especially with Lydia as her mom). But there are moments when she is able to subtly capture what it’s like to be a teenager and all of the complex emotions you face during that stage of life. Ortega really brings it in this role, sometimes stealing a scene from other actors, just like Winona Ryder did in the first film.
Catherine O’Hara, Jenna Ortega, Winona Ryder, and Justin Theroux in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice | Credit: Warner Bros.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is also peppered with some effective nostalgic moments. One example is that the song “Banana Boat (Day-O)” by Harry Belafonte makes an appearance. That song was so pivotal in the first film and led to one of the most famous sequences, it was only fitting for it to return here. It was such a nice reference to the first film without going too over the top.
We also see more of the afterlife, some of which I think was largely successful. We get to see recently deceased people continuing to wait in line to get in. They’re still told to take a number, but have to wait an eternity to get called in. We also see more of the civil servants who are tasked with caring for the deceased. It’s such a creative world; I wish we could’ve seen more of it.
While there are a lot of good moments throughout the film, I found the story to be a bit overstuffed. One of the elements that makes Beetlejuice so effective is its simplicity. The story is really straightforward and is pretty constrained. That simplicity provides opportunities for a lot of fun for the characters to have while exploring this other reality.
The sequel expands the world and introduces more characters and subplots. There’s so much going on that some of it kind of doesn’t make sense. There are also a handful of characters in this film that are simply unnecessary to the plot.
There’s simply too much happening in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. While this does lead to some fun moments, it made it difficult for me to get into the story. There were just so many storylines to follow. Of course I’m invested in some of these characters from the first film, but this film doesn’t do a lot to keep me invested in them throughout the runtime.
I think that if the story had been trimmed down some, this film could’ve been almost as good as the original film.
Michael Keaton in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice | Credit: Warner Bros.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is an okay film. It doesn’t reach the heights of the first film, but it’s not a complete bomb either. It’s somewhere in the middle for me. I really wish that the story had been a bit more constrained to allow more time for the actors to shine in their roles. There’s a really creative and interesting film in here somewhere, but it’s buried under unnecessary plots and characters.