The ghost with the most is back, and I feel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice isn’t as raunchy as the original. The music is also very different. In the original, Adam Maitland (Alec Baldwin) loved Harry Belafonte‘s calypso music and therein lies the problem: roughly thirty years have elapsed and we’re in the disco age! While I don’t mind the tunes from this era to indicate a passage of time, the new tone feels out of place.
Although he and his wife died, and were supposed to be stuck in their forever home, they’ve moved on instead of continue living in harmony with Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder). The thought they reincarnated would’ve been an okay plot for a reunion movie, but the story is about dealing with PTSD. This continuation is very fitting, and now it’s up to her daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) to not die herself. It makes me wonder if writers Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, Seth Grahame-Smith intentionally stole from the new Ghostbusters movies or not. The tropes are all the same.
While I like this younger face because she’s just as beautiful as Ryder, I think to make her the superstar is too much. Just whether she wants the title depends on not being typecast. I was worried about this choice when the news dropped about her getting a role in this film after becoming a success as Wednesday Addams.
Although the reason this sequel took decades to get made was because of how busy the original cast was with other projects. Until Tim Burton said let’s do this, nobody else had the power to move the project forward. But with Baldwin and Davis not being the focus as the tale was being figured out, it seems the wait isn’t as worthwhile. That’s also because this film suffers from the same syndrome as other belated returns. Not every backstory is necessary.
Beetlejuice’s origins is at least worthy of a Spanish horror movie and I’m sure Coffin Joe would love it too. Even without it, Delores’ (Monica Bellucci) motives to harm him are still okay. Based on what we know from the first film, this paranormal spectre got it on with many women and kept their ring fingers. Nobody should be surprised someone would come back to life (again) and want to renew their vows.
Although the events occurred a long time ago, it seems some members of the Deetz family are still suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Beetlejuice’s haunting shocked them to the core! I’m glad this film deals with that. Although Charles did not return to avoid potential outlash from fandom because the actor was accused of criminal behaviour, and as for Otho (Glenn Shadix), sadly the actor passed away. I would’ve loved to learn more about what happened to him instead of the quick mention which does his role in the franchise a disservice.
At least this film isn’t like others banking on nostalgia to bring viewers in, the forward thinking elements have its heart in the right place. As for briefly saying why the Maitlands are not around felt like a contradiction of the original material. I would’ve been okay with CGI to make them look like they never aged. If Disney’s Star Wars will do it for Luke and Leia, why can’t Tim Burton and Warner Bros. Studios do the same? It’s great to see Michael Keaton back as Beetlejuice, but I feel the changing of the guard to a new generation will have some purists disagreeing with part two. At least I have the cartoon series, to which I’ll have to bust out to enjoy now that Halloween season is here.
3 Stars out of 5
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Movie Trailer
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