Beetlejuice Squared

A fun, but overstuffed sequel

Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder), still living under the shadow of Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton), is now the host of a paranormal reality show and the mother of Astrid (Jenna Ortega), a moody teenager from whom Lydia is estranged. Delia (Catherine O’Hara), Lydia’s stepmother, frequently points out the irony. Lydia’s father, Charles (Jeffery Jones), meanwhile, dies of a bad case of being played by a sex offender. 

Charles’ funeral prompts his surviving family members to move back to the house from the first movie. The Maitlands (Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis) have since found a loophole and moved on, which Astrid even calls “convenient.” Returning director Tim Burton and the new writers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar felt that the Maitlands story had been told. Plus, no amount of digital de-aging technology on Baldwin and Davis would have looked convincing. Those are both valid points.

First Thing’s First

I’m not a huge fan of the original Beetlejuice. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fun movie. It put Ryder on the map and Keaton’s great. It’s also the first time Burton gave us the full monty. I can understand why it would appeal to people who are “strange and unusual,” especially during the pep and cheer of the ’80s. Still, it’s not my favorite Tim Burton film.

That might be a good thing because if I were any more of a Beetlejuice fan, I’d probably have been as disappointed as I was after I saw Incredibles 2. This sequel could have been worse. If you’re familiar with the never-made Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian (NSFW), you’d know it could have been a lot worse. Still, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice also could have been better.

Too Many Subplots

I was surprised when the opening title said, “With Jenna Ortega.” Was that a billing displacement? Wasn’t this movie going to be about Lydia’s relationship with Astrid and Delia, with the occasional appearance of Betelgeuse? That is there, but all these other characters draw the focus away from them.

Monica Bellucci appears as Delores, Betelgeuse’s ex-wife, who wants to swallow his soul for immortality. Willem Dafoe appears as Wolf Jackson, a former actor who became a private detective on the other side. I’m a fan of both of them, but Bellucci and Dafoe did not need to be in this movie. This is a slight spoiler, but the conclusion to both storylines isn’t very satisfying.

Love Love Love (Massive Spoilers)

The Deetzs’ love lives also get considerable attention. Besides Delia dealing with Charles’ passing in a very Delia way, Lydia gets engaged to her agent, Rory (Justin Theroux). He’s a poor man’s Otho (Glenn Shadix), minus the belief in the supernatural. Astrid also meets Jeremy Frazier (Arthur Conti), a cute boy with an interest in Fyodor Dostoevsky. However, he’s not quite what he seems.

It turns out that Jeremey’s also a ghost. Then it turns out that he’s a murderer. Then, it turns out that he’s trying to trick Astrid into switching places with him so that he can live again. Wow, that’s a lot, and it probably would have worked better if there wasn’t so much other stuff going on. That said, Betelgeuse telling Jeremy, “I think it was Dostoevsky that said…later, f****r,” before sending him to hell, is the funniest part of the movie.

So Now What?

Overall, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was entertaining. Ryder and Keaton are still great as these characters. There are several funny scenes, like a dance scene that’s not “Banana Boat (Day-O),” but still well done. If you’re a fan, I’d say give it a shot. Though I’ll let you decide if you want to wait until it’s on DVD/streaming or contribute to the c******d of money this movie has already made in cinemas.

A high box office is usually a surefire sign of a sequel. When asked, Burton said that if it takes another 35 years to do a sequel, he’ll be over 100. “But I guess it’s possible with the advent of science these days, but I don’t think so.” There is certainly a ticking clock if Burton, Keaton, and Ryder are going to do another one. However, the title of this installment and the ending does set up the concluding chapter of a trilogy entitled Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.