As a longtime Tim Burton fan, I went into “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” with apprehension, not because I hold all of Burton’s work to such a high standard, but because it’s been a very long time since he directed something as creative, vibrant and funny as 1988’s original “Beetlejuice.”
Part of being a Burton fan is witnessing his calcification into more of a brand than a filmmaker, sprinkling his signature goth-cute aesthetic over various licensed properties (“Dark Shadows,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Dumbo,” etc.), with mixed success at best.
Opening Friday in theaters, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is also a mixed success, but it’s the Burtoniest Burton movie in over a decade, and probably his best work in 20-plus years. It’s not surprising that Burton gets to cut loose with a sequel to the movie that essentially established his style in the mainstream, but it’s still refreshing to see him bring back the inventive playfulness of his early career, even if it’s in service of rehashing one of his biggest hits.
There’s no question that “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is a Hollywood legacy sequel, with all the constraints that implies, but it still feels like the most engaged Burton has been with his filmmaking in a long time.
The story in ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ is a mix of familiar and fresh
Burton brings back many of the key characters from “Beetlejuice” for this decades-later sequel, starting with Michael Keaton as the title character, a chaotic, sarcastic demon who’s fixated on escaping from the afterlife.
Part of that fixation involves Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder), who was a moody teenager in the original movie and is now a moody adult, with the same goth fashion sense and the same involuntary connection to the spirit world. Lydia has become a semi-famous TV psychic, peddling the kind of paranormal investigations seen on shows like “Ghost Adventures.”
Lydia’s daffy stepmother Delia (Catherine O’Hara) also returns, and while Delia is still a pretentious, self-centered artist, she and Lydia have a much warmer relationship, and O’Hara gets to give Delia a bit more depth and range. That starts with the death of Lydia’s father Charles, which sends Delia, Lydia and Lydia’s obnoxious manager/boyfriend Rory (Justin Theroux) back to the small town of Winter River, the setting of the original movie.
Along the way, they pick up Astrid (Jenna Ortega), Lydia’s sullen teenage daughter, who resents her mother’s fame and scoffs at the idea of the supernatural. Ortega previously worked with Burton on the Netflix TV series “Wednesday,” but Astrid is not just a variation on Wednesday Addams, who was herself an influence on the original creation of Lydia. Astrid is more grounded and politically active, and she’s reluctantly dragged into her mother’s ghoulish world.
‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ lets Burton and Keaton go wild
The efforts at emotional resonance in the movie’s multi-generational storyline are uneven, although there are more genuinely affecting moments than there were in the original, which was just a madcap spooky comedy.
Ryder, Ortega and O’Hara have strong chemistry as the Deetz women, but some of the supporting characters feel like generic hangers-on whose primary function is to keep the plot going. Theroux captures a particular kind of New Age smarminess in Rory, but he’s frequently pushed aside — sometimes literally — for more amusing interactions between Lydia and Beetlejuice.
Where “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” really shines is in Burton’s visual style and Keaton’s energetically goofy performance. Utilizing a mix of practical and digital effects, Burton brings a tactile sense to the afterlife scenes that make them feel like an endless funhouse or a demented theme park ride. Keaton fits right in, playing Beetlejuice as a twisted impresario who is endearing even when making horrific threats. Keaton gets more screen time in this sequel than he did in the original, but Beetlejuice never overwhelms the story, and he never wears out his welcome.
New afterlife characters played by Willem Dafoe and Monica Bellucci make less of an impact, but they’re still fun to watch. Dafoe plays an afterlife cop who was a vain action-movie star before he died, and Bellucci plays Beetlejuice’s previously unmentioned ex-wife, a member of a demonic cult who’s determined to take Beetlejuice’s soul. They provide a sense of urgency to the plot, but they’re often superfluous.
‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ is a worthy sequel
Ultimately, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” accomplishes what it sets out to do, expanding on the original movie while retaining most of its spirit. There’s no way for the sequel to be as exciting and wondrous as its predecessor, but Burton still finds ways to surprise and delight the audience. He tells the origin story of Beetlejuice’s relationship with his ex in the style of a black-and-white vintage horror movie dubbed into Italian, and he recounts the death of Lydia’s father via gruesomely cute stop-motion-style animation.
The screenplay by “Wednesday” creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar may be more functional than dazzling, but it works perfectly as a framework for Burton to express his eccentric visions, just as he did before. If he can keep that same momentum and energy going into a non-franchise movie, he may finally get back to the brilliance that first made fans like me take notice 30-plus years ago.
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