Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Like many other GenXers who was a goth in highschool, the original Beetlejuice was (and still is) among one of my favorite films, and I had high hopes for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Visually and aesthetically, I was not disappointed; the film captured the blue-filtered, twisted atmosphere of the original afterlife effortlessly, including character design, and it was nice to see some claymation and good practical effects again. The writers did their best at making an excuse for Jeffrey Jones not to appear, I think the best they could given the circumstances, but given that he was a key character in the original it felt odd how much they kept the character at arms' length during the film. My main misgiving, however, was the sardine-can storyline. There were far too many side stories happening at once throughout the course of the film, making the new characters who were introduced feel superficial and consequently unrelatable and even forgettable to the audience. Shoehorned in was significantly more song and dance than the original, which make the film feel almost more like a macabre variety show than a story to sit and watch, unlike the original where there were outbursts of noise and activity but needed pockets of silence, melancholy and creepiness. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was missing these bits of reprieve, instead being a constant merry-go-round of noise and activity. Although there was a good bit of throwback references and fan service, this film just felt like it was trying to be everything to everyone at once, and as a result misses the charm and tone of the original. In summation, it has the look but is missing the heart.

Beetlejuice, specifically Beetlejuice, and maybe Bob, were the only decent things about this sequel. The original Beetlejuice is legendary, and I'm going to pretend this one doesn't exist because, seriously, come on. 🤔 The sequel just didn't capture the magic of the original. The charm, wit, and unique style that made the first movie a classic were missing. It felt like a cash grab rather than a genuine attempt to continue the story. Fans of the original will likely be disappointed. It's a shame because there was so much potential. Hopefully, future projects will do better justice to the legacy of Beetlejuice.

The wife and I were disappointed today when we watched the movie. It appeared that the writers were trying to be funny at times however they were just silly. One scene towards the end just kept going and going until it became boring and monotonous. The story line was average at best. The acting was good however the script was as predictable as stale beer. Instead of 1:45 run time they could have cut 20 minutes out of the movie and it would have had no impact on the story at all. The best character in the opinion of my wife and myself was "Bob", the shrunken head character from the original movie.

The special effects were amazing. The acting was good. But there were SO many storylines. And none of them got enough time to be fully developed. Any one of the storylines, could have been the focus of the entire movie. Each storyline was rushed through and ended so fast. It's really unfortunate. And they put too much focus on Lydia's father. They honestly didn't even have to address the fact that he's wasn't in the movie. The actor in real life is a sex offender, so why even discuss his character? It added nothing to the movie.

There are also a lot of ghosts from part 1 that I felt should have been in this sequel-just use makeup and special effects like they did for Beetlejuice. Or recast them if you don't want them to show that they've aged. Also, I almost walked out during the first hour. It was boring. The movie didn't get good until the second hour.

As a big fan of the original, it pains me to say that the long-awaited sequel is a dull, scattered mess. There are too many storylines unfolding in this movie and not all of them are interesting enough to make us care. It's fun to see Michael Keaton reprising one of his most famous roles. He slips back into that striped suit like he hasn't missed a beat. But the movie doesn't really come alive (or become undead?) until the last third of the film. That's when the pace ramps up and the laughs start flying in rapid-fire fashion. By then, it's too late.

The original Beetlejuice was perfection. The sequel is a good example of why people say perfection is something you shouldn't mess with.