BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE – Review by T.J. Callahan
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: “The Afterlife is so random.”
Hey all you ghouls and flesh bags, welcome to Nostalgia Theatre. It’s been 36 years since The Juice was loose and he’s finally ready to reanimate to save himself and the Netherworld in the sequel to Beetlejuice. It’s called Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, you know, for Beetlejuice 2. Are ya hip? Or is your’s missing?
Body parts are skewered, shrunken and stapled back together as life and death have truly left their mark on the Deetz family since we last saw them. Lydia is the mother to a teenager and hosts a ghost hunter talk show, Delia is a successful avant garde artist and Charles is a world
traveling birdwatcher, but when tragedy strikes, everyone’s existence is turned upside down as they return to their old haunts and accidentally open the portal to the Afterlife.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is totally chaotic. Fans of the original expect that, but In B2 there are almost as many storylines as there are characters. Fortunately the strong actors who embody these characters make this long awaited second serving of humorous horror worth watching. Director Tim Burton said he wouldn’t make this movie without Michael Keaton reprising his role as the title spirit and that was a good decision. Keaton IS Beetlejuice and he doesn’t miss a beat. He’s still just as decadently delightful as the dead guy that drives a hard bargain.
Winona Ryder and the always hysterical Catherine O’Hara are back as Lydia and Delia. Joining them are Justin Theroux as Lydia’s boyfriend, Willem Dafoe as an expired TV cop who thinks he’s still on the job, Monica Bellucci as a soul sucking Morticia Addams look alike, and the new reigning screen scream queen, Jenna Ortega is Lydia’s skeptical daughter.
The costumes, the makeup and the music are stellar. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice looks great, but it’s still less filling. While there are some good gags, with the best being as the credits roll, it can’t compare to its classic counterpart, which, by the way, if you haven’t seen you’ll be lost in the new one. Did we even need a sequel? No, but sentimentality sells. My husband Ricky gives Beetlejuice 2 one and a 1⁄2 👀’s open. It rates a 6 on the TeejFlixometer.
