Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

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.

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.

Plot

After a family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia's life is turned upside down when her teenage daughter, Astrid, accidentally opens the portal to the Afterlife.

Cast

Keaton, Ryder and O'Hara all return, sadly Baldwin & Davis do not. However for the record I fully understand Burton's reasons for not including them. Also along for the ride are the always excellent Ortega, Dafoe, Theroux and Bellucci although she's absolutely wasted here. Devito offers us a memorable cameo appearance and Burn Gorman offers us a couple of scenes.

Verdict

Beetlejuice 2 is one of those sequels people had talked about for decades including countless rumours, fake news reports and even fan made trailers but I didn't expect to ever actually happen. When the trailer dropped it was official, undeniable and I was both excited and hesitant. You see I'm of that generation who saw the original movie when it first came out and I loved it but 36yrs later getting a sequel! Could it meet expectations? Could the characters hold up? Well, the answer is a very mixed bag.

Over three and a half decades the logical thing this needed to do was play to nostalgia hard, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice surprised me in how little it did this. Yes there are nods here and there, yes there are throwback scenes and yes there is a certain song that returns but for the most part they really make a movie here for a new generation who likely haven't seen the original more than Beetlejuice fans and I personally didn't appreciate this and deemed it a baffling choice.

Next up the cast, Keaton as Beetlejuice didn't feel the same, I'm not sure it was him or the writing but he wasn't the captivating character we love and know from the 80's. Lydia? Ryder delivered and was fantastic, this was a great return. O'Hara again was very much Delia, but we do remember Delia is a deeply annoying character right? So this much screen time compared to the original movie was most certainly not a good thing. Theroux was excellent, Ortega was brilliant, Dafoe was his usual madcap self and Bellucci was.......well, she was there. You see I love Bellucci but ultimately she was setup as the movies antagonist, she's barely on screen, contributes nothing and even the characters swansong is rushed and quite frankly terrible.

You see the plot is very tired and extremely generic, it needed that nostalgia, it needed Beetlejuice, it doesn't have much of either. And when we do have the Beetlejuice scenes they're, very very lackluster. And the inevitable music scene, I'm in awe how bad that was, it felt tacked on, it wasn't funny, it was far too long, the song choice was deeply confusing and I just cannot stress how poor it was.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice isn't bad, it's just rushed, uninspired, doesn't tick boxes it logically should have and just fell flat for a movie 36 years in the making.

Rants

Okay I enjoyed Bob, or should that be the Bobs? The shrunken head people stole the movie (Not a spoiler it's on the poster!). See these guys were great, I'm not saying they could have their own movie but I'd happily watch more. Stick them all in their yellow suits and they could be like action Minions! Let's have Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice with more you know.....Beetlejuice, Bobs, Ortega, Ryder and O'Hara can stay at home.

The Good

Some nostalgia Some of the cast are fantastic The Bob's A few decent moments

The Bad

Too much falls flat and simply isn't funny Far too much O'Hara Not enough Nostalgia Feels rushed, forced, doesn't quite click.

Not enough Beetlejuice Bellucci is wasted Weak plot That musical scene!

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.