Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a horror/comedy, a sequel to the to the 1988 cult hit. Thirty six years after the events of the first film Lydia(Winona Ryder) is a television medium with a sycophantic boyfriend Rory(Justin Theroux) also her producer. When her father passes they return to Winter River, her hometown, along with her estranged daughter Astrid(Jenna Ortega) and stepmother Delia(Catherine O'Hara). When Astrid is put in danger Lydia must enlist Beetlejuice(Michael Keaton) for help.
On paper, a fabulous cast, but there's just not much apparent gas in the tank. Ryder is seemingly unmoored, unable to really connect to her cult favorite character, and the script doesn't do her any favors making adult Lydia mostly a confused doormat. Theroux is insufferable both as a character(which is intentional) and as a plot device(which is not), his whole presence is so profoundly contrived and grating it unilaterally takes the movie down a notch. Ortega is OK but her storyline is set on top too many others and the movie is unsure who's it is, is this Lydia's story or Astrid's? It can't decide. Its wonderful to see Keaton again but there's only a scene or two where he's able to really recapture the magic, the problem is one- he's not in the movie enough and two- hate to say it but he's too old. You can just see he's slower off the blocks and for a character as iconic and manic as BJ it just doesn't have the same impact. O'Hara is the only one able to just slide perfectly back into the role but that ease almost sets her apart like she's acting in a different movie. Much of this incongruity though is a result of the direction but more so the bafflingly over plotted script, not the fault of the actors.
Burton returns to form a bit here with practical effects which are wonderful. The Elfman score isn't fresh but it is effective. The problem is the script, the focus is split to many directions, there are too many plot lines criss-crossing that none are fully realized. The screenwriting displays a clear lack of confidence in its ideas and seems intimidated by the IP as a result the overall feeling is tepid. There is one really phenomenal sequence when Lydia, as a result of Beetlejuice's magic, rapidly gives birth to a baby Beetlejuice. It is grotesque, funny, and provocative. But that singular scene is the only one where any of the real original magic is recaptured.
Not terrible but not particularly good. Something that seems tailor made for streaming.
Currently in theaters.
Stream It.
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