Now we finally get to see Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in cinemas, although from what has been delivered it is safe to say that this is a very different vision to one that Burton created all those decades ago.
The film picks up many years after the original. Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder – Girl, Interrupted) is now working as a celebrity television ghost hunter and has a daughter of her own, Astrid (Jenna Ortega – Scream). The other important person in Lydia’s life is her money-hungry partner Rory (Justin Theroux – Your Highness), who is only too happy to put making coin ahead of Lydia’s mental health.
Despite their differences the three find themselves having to come together to help Lydia’s mother, Delia (Catherine O’Hara – Best In Show), put together a funeral for her husband. This means a return back to the home where the whole adventure started and of course the model town that is home to none other than Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton – Batman).
The thing that made the original film so special was the fact that it was creative and original – and that helped people notice the genius of Tim Burton. The problem with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is that it is neither of those things and tries to incorporate so many ideas and stories that it becomes kind of a mess.
While the central story of this film is Lydia, Astrid and Rory travelling to see Delia and organise a funeral all these other sub-plots suddenly enter the frame. Astrid meets a boy, Jeremy (Arthur Conti – House of the Dragon), which is perhaps the most interesting sub-plot until it becomes ridiculous. Then there are also other stories that feature a seemingly vicious demon, Delores (Monica Bellucci – The Matrix Reloaded), who seems to be forgotten about for huge chunks of the film, and a paranormal cop, Wolf Jackson (Willem Dafoe – Spider-Man), whose story also turns to the ridiculous.
Then there are other things about the film that just don’t make sense. Astrid is alternative and a little bit Gothic yet doesn’t believe in ghosts or the supernatural (that makes no sense) while the fact that the characters Barbara and Adam Maitland aren’t around seems like a crime seeing how hard they fought to stay in the house in the first film. There is a throwaway line about why their ghosts aren’t there but true fans of the series just won’t buy it.
Another big mistake is some of the style choices that Burton makes throughout the film. To cover up certain actors being unavailable from the first film Burton decides to use stop animation and a range of film-making techniques when their characters are needed, but these sequences don’t seem to work and just manage to take the audience ‘out of the realism’ of the film. There are also some pretty dodgy special effects choices throughout the film as well, which I assume Burton meant to be a nod to the first film but sadly just look ‘cheap’ here. You would expect the creative mind behind Frankenweenie to come up with something a little better in 2024.
The other glaring thing wrong with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is one that I feel bad about bringing up. Jenna Ortega is a fine actress, but she is miscast here. It feels for most of the movie that she has been told to recreate her role of Wednesday, which is unfair to the character of Astrid and never allows her to evolve at all.
There is also a feeling that Michael Keaton’s brilliant performance as Beetlejuice is wasted here as well. The character never seems to be used in a way that respects the iconic character and instead it feels like he is only brought in when it is felt that a laugh is needed in a scene.
That said, when it comes to the cast both Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara work really hard to make this film work – but the spark that their characters had in the original film just isn’t there. Likewise, Willem Dafoe seems to have a lot of fun playing Wolf but not even his good performance can stop this ship from sinking.
There is no doubt that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will be one of the most successful films at the box office this year and I have no doubt that in a few years time we will be sitting down to watch Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, but to be fair, this film in no way recreates any of the magic of the first film, which is a shame because we all know what a genius Tim Burton is.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is currently screening in Phuket and is rated ‘G’
2.5/5 Stars
David Griffiths has been working as a film journalist for over 25 years. That time has seen him work in radio, television and in print. He currently hosts a film podcast called The Popcorn Conspiracy. He is also a Rotten Tomatoes accredited reviewer and is an alternate judge for the Golden Globes Awards. You can follow him at Facebook: SubcultureEntertainmentAus