Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

After languishing in development hell for three decades, a sequel to 1988's Beetlejuice finally makes it to theaters (sadly without any references to the previous failed sequel plans such as Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian). Bringing back some of the original cast (with notable exceptions of Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) while mixing in a few new faces such as Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci, and Justin Theroux, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice captures the same zany energy of the first film if not quite the same magic. Lacking the boldness of Beetlejuice, the sequel feels very much the compromise of a movie just happy to have finally gotten made.

I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who has never seen Beetlejuice, but for fans, whose viewing is going to be fueled in part by nostalgia, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice provides a fun 104-minutes experience reminiscent of the original which doesn't overstay its welcome (even if certain gags are stretched a bit too thin).

Picking up years after the original film, we get reintroduced to Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) who has been working as a ghost whisperer for a cable show to the disappointment of her daughter Astrid (Ortega) who doubts her mother's ability to communicate with ghosts. The death of Lydia's father (Jeffrey Jones, who does not return) brings the family back together to the country house where, eventually, the plot will merge with the underworld story of Beetlejuice's wife (Bellucci) looking for her hubby with murderous intent. There's also a thread of Astrid getting involved with a local boy (Arthur Conti) and Lydia's manager's (Theroux) attempts to woo her.

When the new story plays out, wacky moments ensue, but when the script attempts to recreate moments from the original (such as a new lip-syncing scene or attempts to recreate some of the practical effects) the drop in quality becomes hard to ignore. Of the new characters, Belluci's Delores has a terrific introductory scene where she literally pieces her life back together (although, sadly, no other scene of hers in nearly as good) and Ortega's Astrid stands out (even if she feels a bit pat and focus-group friendly). Much like Astrid, the film is largely fine with most of the harsher edges rubbed down for easy consumption.

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• Title: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
• IMDb: link