It’s been many years since eager ‘Beetlejuice’ fans have been waiting for a sequel. And, now the “ghost with the most” finally makes his highly anticipated big screen return. In 1988, Tim Burton brought Beetlejuice onto the screen and everyone loved it - and the movie STILL has numerous fans today!
Now, after waiting for over three decades, the sequel that I thought would never happen finally arrives in theaters, and, as Beetlejuice says in the sequel, “the juice is loose.”
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.
It honestly felt like an eternity since they finally announced that a sequel was being made. And after the long wait finally ended, it was great to see the “ghost with the most” back on the big screen!
‘Beetlejuice 2’ really delivers on the dark, hilarious humor that the 1988 original is known for. The belated sequel has an unpredictable tone and weird vibe which fits perfectly with the original.
In this sequel, there is, indeed, a lot going on and the movie features quite a few little sub-plots. But, with all the plot points going on, you won’t get lost at all. One of the plot points that is featured in the movie involves Beetlejuice’s ex-wife looking for him - which is one of the many entertaining parts of the sequel.
Just like the original movie, Michael Keaton absolutely kills it as the one and only Beetlejuice. There are quite a few memorable moments that involve the infamous character - including a backstory. Yes, we finally do get a glimpse of his past (which also involves the ex-wife character). Now, his backstory is obviously dark and weird, but it’s Tim Burton - of course it’ll be weird.
It’s also good to see a couple other returning actors come back to reprise their roles. And, even though Winona Ryder does a great job once again as Lydia, Catherine O’Hara really steals the show as Lydia’s stepmom Delia. Her character is still really quirky most of the time, which adds to the humorous moments that she has.
‘Beetlejuice’ newcomer Jenna Ortega also does a good job playing Lydia’s daughter, Astrid, and she fits perfectly in the quirky world of ‘Beetlejuice.’ There are also a few moments where Lydia and Beetlejuice share scenes together and have to temporarily team up. Keaton and Ryder work well together in those scenes. And, the sequel also featured a hilarious Willem Dafoe, which the usually dramatic actor looked like he had a blast making this movie.
Overall, ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ is a worthy and entertaining sequel to the 1988 movie. The effects are great (mainly practical with little CGI), Keaton still shines as Beetlejuice and this movie shows that Burton can still make a good quirky movie. Also, there is a sequence that almost tops the “Day-O” sequence from the first movie.
Let me know on my Wyoming County Press Examiner reviews page on Facebook your thoughts on the sequel and here’s a tough question if you saw this movie - which movie do you think is better?
The cast: Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice; Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz; Catherine O’Hara as Delia; Jenna Ortega as Astrid; Willem Dafoe as Wolf Jackson; Monica Bellucci as Delores; Arthur Conti as Jeremy; Burn Gornan as Father Damien and Justin Theroux as Rory, along with a small cameo from Burton regular Danny DeVito.
The ‘Beetlejuice’ sequel is written by Alfred Gough and Miles Miller and directed by Tim Burton, who also collaborated with Gough and Miller on the Netflix series ‘Wednesday.’
A ‘Beetlejuice’ sequel has been in some sort of development ever since the 1988 movie was released, but the filmmakers and numerous writers couldn’t come up with a decent story for a potential sequel. Burton also stated that this movie would only be made if Keaton would return to reprise his role. And, honestly, if neither Burton or Keaton returned, a ‘Beetlejuice’ sequel wouldn’t feel the same.
‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ is rated PG-13 for violent content, macabre and bloody images, strong language, some suggestive material and brief drug use and has a running time of 104 minutes.
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