Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Starring Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Jenna Ortega
Directed by Tim Burton

The 80s was a great decade for movies, including many notable standouts that have withstood the test of time and ones that people still hold fondly in their hearts. One of them is 1988's "Beetlejuice," directed by the great and eccentric Tim Burton and stars Michael Keaton as the trickster demon Betelgeuse who tries to trick young Lydia Deetz into marriage. It seemed like a one-and-done film (although an animated series followed, and if you can find it I highly suggest watching it, it's a darn good time), but now we get a gift from Burton and company: "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice," the long-awaited sequel. While it's not as memorable as the first, it's a decent addition to the franchise and brings back not just Keaton and Burton, but Winona Ryder and Catherine O'Hara as well. After watching this film three times in three days (sadly Beetlejuice never came to me), I was able to take the nostalgia glasses off and see it more clearly.

Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) is a successful host of the paranormal reality show "Ghost House with Lydia Deetz" and is estranged from her teenage daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) who despises her for thinking she can communicate with ghosts, and for seemingly abandoning her after her father's death. Lydia is still haunted by visions of Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) and seemingly can't escape him, even as she begins a new relationship with her producer Rory (Justin Theroux). When she's informed by her stepmother Delia (Catherine O'Hara) that her father has passed, she brings Astrid back to her childhood home that still houses the model that Beetlejuice lives in.

Meanwhile, in the afterlife, Delores LaVerge (Monica Bellucci) resurrects herself and searches for her ex-husband, Beetlejuice himself, to suck his soul and send him to a death that no one can return from. Wolf Jackson (Willem Dafoe) - a deceased former B-movie action star-turned ghost detective - is investigating the case. The worlds collide when Astrid is taken to the afterlife, and Lydia has to turn to Beetlejuice to help find and free her - but at a great cost.

"Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" is an odd movie to say the least, a concept that seemed to incorporate several other movie ideas Tim Burton has been jostling in his mind about for the last thirty-odd years. Much like how Dolores staples herself together, so too does the film staple together numerous stories and plots that all-too-often come to no conclusion or a rushed one, which is the film's greatest fault: but in a way, it also showcases the sheer absurdness that the film (now) franchise has. Much like its titular antihero, the movie is a hodgepodge of insanity, flowing from one event to another with whiplash speed, never really landing but always soaring to new heights. It's like Burton was about to finish a story and then suddenly had an idea to incorporate something else into it, leaving one story unfinished to start another.

That's the main gripe that people have about the film, but again I don't see it as an absolute negative (although it is a negative nonetheless). Instead I see it as a personification of the film itself: crazy, insane, and not desiring any well thought-out story structure. While technically you get a beginning, a middle, and an end, the path it takes to get there is winding, chaotic, and utter insanity.

Also in a way, this story concept shows how much Burton just wanted to accomplish something he wanted to do himself, without the worries of how others would see it. He's not someone who is confined to the cinematic norms, as proven in his eclectic filmography (the original, "Edward Scissorhands," "Mars Attacks!" and even his first two "Batman" films), but someone who takes bold risks and while it sometimes doesn't land at all ("Dark Shadows"), it's still something you've never seen before, and his sheer audacity to stretch outside the regular is something to be appreciated.

So too is the fact that he didn't take the lazy route and went all CGI heavy on his sequel, but instead - getting back to his original roots as an animator - made everything practical (with some few CGI moments probably thrown in, but honestly I didn't see it). It's a rich, wonderful world we see that only Burton could come up with, and it was great seeing it back on the big screen. The afterlife is a puzzling world of fascinating characters and off-kilter set designs that make for a wonderful viewing experience. The music is once again supplied by Burton's bro Danny Elfman, and from the opening credits to the end you know it's Elfman's note with each frame.

The new actors to the franchise all deliver great performances, even as some don't get the screen time they deserve. Jenna Ortega is this generation's Scream Queen, and fits in like a glove in Burton's world (no surprise as she's the star of his show "Wednesday"). She takes on the role of Astrid who's vastly different than young Lydia in that she doesn't believe in the afterlife or ghosts, but is angsty about her father's death and living in Lydia's shadow. Justin Theroux's Rory is an obvious creep but not-so-obvious to the characters and yet there's an endearing quality about him.

In the afterlife, Willem Dafoe is having the time of his life as the eccentric B-list actor-turned ghost detective and absolutely chews the scenery every time he's there (along with a great continual coffee gag). Monica Bellucci (who's now dating Burton) is the film's major misses. Delores was a powerful cult leader in life that sucked the souls of the the living, and in the afterlife she's able to suck their souls into a sort of death-death where no one can return, but she exists merely as a device to get to Beetlejuice and doesn't really do anything else.

Then there's the returnees, who show their love and passion for the original. Catherine O'Hara steals the show as Delia, who's now an accomplished "real art show" and totally steals the show. Winona Ryder shows Lydia as a woman who's still haunted by her past, and is completely subdued by it. Long gone is her childlike wonder and rebellion, and now she seems to sleepwalk through life with a continual fear she'll see Beetlejuice wherever she goes. This shows in her strained relationship with Astrid yet also shows her deep, undying love for her as well - she just doesn't know how to adult.

Then there's Michael Keaton, who fits into Beetlejuice's striped suit like no time has passed. Much like the first film, Keaton ad-libs many of his lines and he relishes his role with reckless abandon (even though he's somewhat more subdued now, but that's probably due to his age as opposed to anything else). Beetlejuice is just as witty and unapologetically crude as ever, learning nothing and we're all thankful for it. His love for Lydia has never wavered, and when he finally gets his second shot, he takes it, resulting in another fantastic musical number like the original and totally bonkers ending that's utter hilarity.

Setting out to do something he wanted to do, Tim Burton's "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" is something totally his own, not confining to the cinematic norms of modern society and allowing the great Michael Keaton to once again play one of his (and our) favorite characters.

The Score: A-