A One Mann’s Movies review of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” (2024).
I have a confession. Until the other day, I had never watched Tim Burton’s original “Beetlejuice” film from 1988. It has always just passed me by. I did watch it though and I agree that it was good fun. But I wasn’t blown away with it as other people have stated… a solid 3.5/5 I think. Perhaps the impact of that original with many people came from the novelty of the material back in the 80’s, matched with a strong streak of nostalgia. However, it was now time to feast on the sequel, 36 years later!
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Plot Summary:
Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) is now grown up, with her own teenage daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega). She makes a living as a TV supernatural expert. But she is increasingly seeing visions of her old nemesis Beetlejuice (Micheal Keaton). When her grandfather Charles (Jeffrey Jones, seen only in pictures) dies, she returns to Winter River for the funeral only to be dragged into a desperate fight to save Astrid from boarding “the Soul train” to the great beyond!
Certification:
UK: 12A; US: PG-13. (From the BBFC web site: “Moderate horror, gore, violence, sex, drug references, language”.)
Talent:
Starring: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Jenna Ortega, Catherine O’Hara, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Willem Defoe, Danny DeVito, Burn Gorman, Arthur Conti.
Directed by: Tim Burton.
Written by: Alfred Gough & Miles Millar. (From a story by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar & Seth Grahame-Smith and based on characters created by Michael McDowell & Larry Wilson).
Running Time: 1h 45m.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” Summary:
Positives:
- Full of the fun, whimsy and practical effects of the original
- Catherine O’Hara steals every scene. Jenna Ortega is good too.
- Another fun soundtrack by Danny Elfman.
Negatives:
- Overstuffed with subplot after subplot…. it is a bit of a mess.
- Monica Bellucci and – to a lesser degree – Willem Defoe are wasted.
- I didn’t think Winona Ryder acted well in this at all.
Review of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”:
As a fun popcorn comedy/horror, it’s a fun trip…
Look, it’s a fun film and I had a good time and laughed way more than the 6 times required for a comedy. All of this is helped along by a suitably jaunty new soundtrack by Danny Elfman and some wonderfully chosen tracks: notably Richard Harris’s rendition of MacArthur Park, which is superb. I also loved The Soul Train – a disco-tastic blast of fun. British stand-up Stephen K. Amos cameos as the train conductor.
…but you can have too much of a good thing
But this is a perfect example of where less would be more. The film is so stuffed full of sub-plots that it just comes over as a complete mess. There is a good core story in there already…. Astrid (Jenna Ortega) falling for a cute local boy (Arthur Conti) with a dodgy past and her mother’s quest to save her at any cost. But on top of that we have Lydia’s relationship with her seedy producer (Justin Theroux), that doesn’t really work, and Beetlejuice’s ex-wife (Monica Bellucci) out for revenge. This latter subplot provides some funny sight-gags, as she despatches her victims Dementer-style, but wastes Bellucci’s talents and could have been excised completely from the film imho.
Acting
Stealing every scene is Catherine O’Hara as Lydia’s step-mother Delia. Does this woman have a picture in her attic? She is 70 years old, but doesn’t look that much different from the first film! It’s seriously spooky!
Michael Keaton clearly has a blast in the title role. Indeed he’s commented that he had more fun making this film than any in a long time. Beetlejuice (or as it should have been before the studio meddlers got involved, Betelguese) is, if anything, even more outrageous in this film than the first film. Keaton, in his full make up, really doesn’t look much different from the first film either!
Jenna Ortega, Tara Carpenter in Scream and Scream VI and of course Wednesday Addams on TV, makes a fine impression as the wayward daughter.
Fairing less well with me was Winona Ryder as Lydia. Her acting style seemed to consist largely of ludicrous amounts of eye-rolling. Not her best work.
Making nice cameo appearances are Danny DeVito and Burn Gorman. Willem Defoe is having fun as a dead actor cum TV detective, but , like Monica Bellucci, he’s rather under-used.
Monkey?
Note that there is NO monkey at the end of the end-credits. (You’re welcome.)
Summary Thoughts on “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”
It’s a fun film to see at the cinema. I was seeing another film (“The Widow Cliquot”) today and arrived just as “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” ended. A lad, probably of about 11 or 12, came out with his mum and was just buzzing with delight at the film. And this early/sub-teen audience is probably a good target audience for this one and will enjoy it greatly. For me though, this felt like a bit of a missed opportunity.
Where to Watch it (Powered by Justwatch)
Trailer for “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxLBJjclzLE.
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Yes, your review was spot on. I left before the end of the end credits. Was there a monkey I missed?
Ooh – thanks for the comment… no, there was no monkey, but the young lad’s mum coming out of the cinema the other day asked the same question of the cinema manager. As a service to others, I will add a “Monkey” section! –