Over the past few years, we’ve seen the movie industry lean hard on nostalgia. Anything old is new again; studios are banking on that nostalgic pull that will fill audiences. And while some of these sequels have done well, they all seem to stick to the same formula as the original movies. Maybe it’s a nod to the fandom that brought these stories back, perhaps it’s just banking on what works, or maybe it’s laziness. Just look how movies like Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and even Twisters seem to have copied off the older movie’s format completely. This doesn’t mean the movies aren’t fun, or enjoyable to watch. But maybe after all of these years, writers could have come up with something a bit different.
This is one of the ways that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice enters the scene ahead of the game. Sure we have (almost) the exact same cast and styling. The movie even takes us back to the Winter River, CT and to the home still owned by the Deetz family. But it doesn’t just rely on the same format, the same story, and the same gags in a higher resolution. There’s enough styling and nods to the original movie that will keep fans from thinking that someone just rehashed the same script thirty-six years later. Instead, the story is updated, different and breaks away from the sequel trap we’ve seen play out over and over again.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice brings the Deetz women back to the family home after the loss of Lydia’s father Charles. Since she left Winter River her ability to see ghosts has never left, and she’s now channeled that into a money-making opportunity and a television show. Her stepmother Delia is now a renowned artist and runs gallery shows in the city. The two women, Lydia’s daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) and Lydia’s boyfriend Rory (Justin Theroux) head back to give Charles the send-off he deserves.
The family home has been updated inside to a much more modern style (and obviously not by Delia), sometime after the Maitland’s crossed over. But up in the attic the memories and the model remain. Creating a perfect place for Beetlejuice to make his entrance back into their lives. He’s been pining away for Lydia all of these years, but when an ex from his past is out to reconnect no matter what he has to say, he once again tries to get Lydia to marry him for his own selfish reasons.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice brings back most of the original cast from the 1988 Beetlejuice film. The only original cast members who don’t reprise their roles have either passed on since the original film or have legal issues (or scandals) that it was better they stayed dead. But what do you do when a main character can’t reprise their role and dies in a movie where even the dead have a role? The answer seems a bit silly, you animated the backstory versions where you’d need to see their face (in stop motion no less), and when they are on screen and talking, you make sure there is a way that they don’t have a face so anyone can pick up the role. We don’t want to have any Back to the Future style law suites and masks on our hands with this one.
The movie is also peak Tim Burton in style and actors. We know that once the director has an actor he likes working with he will bring them back over and over again. And not only do we see that happening with the main cast but we see others of his favorites in smaller roles like Danny DeVito as well.
It may have been thirty-six years since the first movie, but the original cast and even the new additions don’t seem to have any issue finding their characters again. Catherine O’Hara leans hard into Delia and there are even moments that remind you of her fake role in The Crows Have Eyes done by Moira Rose in Schitt’s Creek. It may make you wonder if Delia is the origin of Moira or the perfection of that acting and character in general. Either way, it’s enjoyable and satisfying to watch her have fun with this role as well.
The majority of the original sets were rebuilt, the actors came back and Burton seems to brought back his favorite composer Danny Elfman. The soundtrack for the movie is solid and definitely reminds you of the original in some ways. There is even a random dance scene caused by possession – this time to MacArthur Park by Jimmy Webb. One song did take us by surprise though, the use of the Carrie theme song towards the end of the film. In context it makes sense, and a nod to horror movie fans as well. But compared to the other Elfman songs and the musical style of other Burton movies, it seemed a bit out of place.
Overall, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a lot of fun. It takes you back but doesn’t want to rely on it’s past work to entertain you. Yes, there are plenty of jokes and bits in the film that will remind you of the original film, and even a moment that seems ripped right out of the 1995 Casper film (if you know you know), but it stands on its own and is a nice sequel after all these years.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is in theaters everywhere this weekend.
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About Beetlejuice Beetlejuice:
After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid, discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic and the portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened. With trouble brewing in both realms, it’s only a matter of time until someone says Beetlejuice’s name three times and the mischievous demon returns to unleash his very own brand of mayhem.
Starring Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Arthur Conti, with Jenna Ortega, and Willem Dafoe.
Directed by Tim Burton.