Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
It’s been thirty six years since the ghost with most, Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) tormented the Deetz family in their Winter River home, and, while life has been anything but normal in the subsequent years for Lydia (Winona Ryder) and her daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega), there’s a new panic in the afterlife when Beetlejuice’s ex wife Delores (Monica Bellucci) rolls in; her appearance might just be enough to spur Beetlejuice back into the world of the living, things could get messy.
Written by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and Seth Grahame-Smith and Directed by Tim Burton this family reunion of cast and crew delivers oodles of fan service to the highlights of 1988’s classic hit Beetlejuice. Sandworm’s, yep, afterlife nuttiness, mmmhmmm, shrunken heads, many of them, light black comedy, dim the lights yes, all the characteristics of a Beetlejuice tale are here, including the premise of a forced wedding…again. It’s as if to say, Burton and company waited all this time to really double down on their successes and throw in the kitchen sink while they’re at it, unfortunately, that’s not necessarily a good thing here in round 2. While nods and appreciation exist for keeping the tone, texture, and artistic aesthetic as close to the original, there’s also not a lot of advancement into the characters, that is to say, for its convoluted mess and many plotlines, there’s not much story arc happening, end result, a film that comes across a bit underwhelming for trying so hard. Sure the ensemble is clearly having fun with their assignment, it’s too bad they weren’t give much fresh material to really expand and explore in. Mediocre marks this go round, running a brisk hour and forty four minutes, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is rated PG-13.