MOVIE REVIEW: BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE

 

Three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River after an unexpected family tragedy. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia's life soon gets turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter discovers a mysterious portal to the afterlife. When someone says Beetlejuice's name three times, the mischievous demon gleefully returns to unleash his very own brand of mayhem.

Director: Tim Burton

Cast: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder,  Catherine O'Hara, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe

Release Date: September 6, 2024

Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Horror

Rated PG-13 for violent content, macabre and bloody images, strong language, some suggestive material and brief drug use.

Runtime: 1h 44m

Review:

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice sporadically recaptures the manic energy from Burton's original but it’s not consistent enough, thanks to an overstuffed story, to really deliver the way it should.  Tim Burton does manage to rediscover his gleefully macabre, cartoonish visuals that made him a name in the 80's and 90's.  The film works best when it’s playing in the afterlife with its exaggerated color schemes and wonderfully twisted character designs.  He's clearly having a ball revisiting this particular playground, but he adds some new wrinkles to mix such like a sequence using claymation and a subtitled, Ed Wood inspired flashback.   Those moments when Burton really leans into the weirdness work so well that you wish that he'd done it more throughout the film.  That's not to say that the rest of the film won't have fans grinning even if some of the jokes don't quite land the way they should.  Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O'Hara easily jumping back into their characters make it easier to navigate some of the film's dead spots.  They are able to recapture the essence of the original characters without missing a beat, which is great fun to see onscreen.  Ryder serves the film's north star doing some strong subtle work as the middle aged Lydia.  Catherine O'Hara is the film's bright spot in the opening act as the film pops to life as soon as she appears onscreen.   Keaton's voice is noticeably deeper and he's not bouncing around with the same chaotic energy he brought to the role in the original but he's still able to channel that mischievousness that made the character so memorable.  Newcomers, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega and Willem Dafoe are solid with some leaving a bigger impression than others.  The ageless Monica Bellucci looks wonderful as an undead, soul sucking frankenstein but the film gives her woefully little to do.  Willem Dafoe is given a bit more rope and he has a ball chewing up scenery as deceased actor turn detective.  The film would have been better off giving those two more screentime as opposed to Ortega and Theroux's characters who are uninteresting and flat for the majority of the time.  The overload of subplots saps so much energy and momentum from the film that you're left wishing they had focused on the story more and kept it more straightforward.  The film works better in its second half once it becomes more focused with some threads being closed off rather quickly which gives Lydia and Beetlejuice more of a spotlight.  A quick throwaway line handles the absence of the Maitland's while Jeffery Jones' character death sets off the entire plot which allows for some clever methods to have him be a presence without the actual actor.  If there was a film that's perfectly suited to deal with the exclusion of an actor who'd run afoul of the law, its definitely this one as they easily weave it into the story's vibe.  It’s a testament to the cast and crew that they are able to recapture the original's vibe so succinctly in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice even if the story doesn't land the way the original did.

B-