Synopsis:
Beetlejuice is back! Oscar-nominated, singular creative visionary Tim Burton and Oscar nominee and star Michael Keaton reunite for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel to Burton’s award-winning Beetlejuice.
Keaton returns to his iconic role alongside Oscar nominee Winona Ryder (Stranger Things, Little Women) as Lydia Deetz and two-time Emmy winner Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek, The Nightmare Before Christmas) as Delia Deetz, with new cast members Justin Theroux (Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, The Leftovers), Monica Bellucci (Spectre, The Matrix films), Arthur Conti (House of the Dragon) in his feature film debut, with Emmy nominee Jenna Ortega (Wednesday, Scream VI) as Lydia’s daughter, Astrid, and Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe (Poor Things, At Eternity’s Gate).
Beetlejuice is back! 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.
Burton, a genre unto himself, directs from a screenplay by Alfred Gough & Miles Millar (Wednesday), story by Gough & Millar and Seth Grahame-Smith (The LEGO® Batman Movie), based on characters created by Michael McDowell & Larry Wilson. The film’s producers are Marc Toberoff, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Tommy Harper and Burton, with Sara Desmond, Katterli Frauenfelder, Gough, Millar, Brad Pitt, Larry Wilson, Laurence Senelick, Pete Chiappetta, Andrew Lary, Anthony Tittanegro, Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg executive producing.
Burton’s creatives behind the scenes includes director of photography Haris Zambarloukos (Meg 2: The Trench, Murder on the Orient Express); such previous and frequent collaborators as production designer Mark Scruton (Wednesday), editor Jay Prychidny (Wednesday), Oscar-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood (Alice in Wonderland, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Sleepy Hollow), Oscar-winning creature effects and special makeup FX creative supervisor Neal Scanlan (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and Oscar-nominated composer Danny Elfman (Big Fish, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Batman); and Oscar-winning hair and makeup designer Christine Blundell (Topsy-Turvy).
A Warner Bros. Pictures presentation, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will be released only in theaters and IMAX on September 6, 2024 nationwide, and internationally beginning 4 September 2024. It will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Written by: Alfred Gough, Michael McDowell, Larry Wilson
Directed by: Tim Burton
Starring: Catherine O’Hara, Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder
Edition:
Theater
My Thoughts:
To me, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a prime example of a sequel that really didn’t need to be made. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it well enough, but it felt supremely pointless. 36 years later is TOO LATE for sequeling. Please stop. I beg you.
With that being said, here’s what I liked about it:
- Michael Keaton’s Beetlejuice is always a good time
- Jenna Ortega did a great and thoroughly believable job as Astrid, Lydia’s daughter
- Winona Ryder’s Lydia Deetz continues to be a fashion icon
- Delia Deetz continues to steal the whole thing
- Monica Bellucci is distractingly gorgeous
- Good practical effects
- The whole ‘origin of Beetlejuice/his relationship to Delores’ in Italian bit – it was pretty perfect
- Charles is dead (may Jeffrey Jones eventually rot in whatever hell is reserved for monsters like him – can you believe that guy has continued to get work??)
And here’s what I didn’t like:
- The movie didn’t do anything to really justify its own existence – did we need this story? No. Was anybody really asking for it? Also no (I know we were all excited when we heard about it, but I think we would have been equally happy to still have only the original).
- Despite Charles being dead, this movie featured a fuck-ton of Charles. He was there in animated representation, as a corpse, and in actual human likeness to Human Dumpster JJ. He was talked about incessantly. In fact, the story kind of hinges upon him. I hate.
- This was a boringly blatant cash-grab
While Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was certainly fun enough, it definitely doesn’t have anywhere near the watchability of its predecessor. I feel like seeing it the one time was plenty. Nothing there worth revisiting. Ultimately, if you’re a fan of the original, I think you should see Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, but frankly I’d be shocked if you had any desire to ever watch it again. It’s overall a pretty forgettable film.
Rating:
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Directed by: Tim Burton
US Release Date: September 6, 2024
Warner Bros.
PG-13
105 Minutes
