Rating: C-
Dir: Tim Burton
Star: Winona Ryder, Jenna Ortega, Michael Keaton, Catherine O’Hara
I supposed credit is due for not rushing into a quick cash-in. Thirty-six years have elapsed since the original movie, with every character in it now older and wiser. Well, the women are. Beetlejuice (Keaton) is still somewhat the same unrepentant jackass he was – more on that later – and Charles Deetz got his head bitten off by a shark, presumably due to actor Jeffrey Jones engaging in behaviour even Beetlejuice couldn’t condone. Daughter Lydia (Ryder) is now a famous psychic, much to the disgust of her daughter, Astrid (Ortega), who is rebelling by being a sceptic. However, all is not well in the spirit world, with Beetlejuice’s ex-wife, Delores (Timmy’s girlfriend Monica Bellucci) having reassembled her dismembered body parts, and is now out for revenge.
There’s also a bunch of other stuff, and to be honest, that’s more a problem than a bonus. Lydia being courted by her sleazy manager (Justin Theroux). A romantic interest for Astrid, who may or may not be what he seems. Actor turned ghost detective Wolf Jackson (Willem Dafoe). Astrid’s estranged father, who died on an Amazonian expedition. One of the strengths of the original was its relative simplicity, and that’s not a label which anyone would apply to the sequel. It definitely seems to be riding on the strength of its predecessor. Burton may have been ground down by the studio system. This could largely have been directed by anyone possessing a working familiarity with its predecessor, and Keaton’s performance lacks the sense of danger and edge from the original.
Maybe it’s just a different era. First time around, Beetlejuice was panting after Lydia: with Ryder fifteen at the time of shooting, that would no longer fly. So he’s still after Lydia, only she’s now in her fifties. In general, Beetlejuice feels like an “Is Diet Pepsi alright?” version of the character: he’s not the main villain, that role being filled by Delores. I’m speculating (not having seen it), but wonder if this iteration might be more informed by the toned-down approach taken in the cartoon series. The show was certainly one factor in giving the character a sustained longevity in pop culture, which its original success might not necessarily have justified.
There are still elements to enjoy, not least stellar use of MacArthur Park, likely the equal of the original’s use of The Banana Boat Song. However, parts of it resemble an unmade episode of Wednesday, and Ryder is now clearly occupying the “Helena Bonham-Carter stopped taking my calls” spot in Burton’s Rolodex. O’Hara as Delia Deetz might be the best thing the film has to offer, and I’d rather have seem more of Delia and the sadly underused Delores, with less of Lydia and Astrid. It’s all rather too overstuffed for its own good. Like a number of recent sequels, such as Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, this comes across more as an exercise in nostalgia, than a story needing to be told.