“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” the long-awaited sequel to the original 1988 film, will finally be released on Sept. 5 in all theaters. The PG-13 dark comedy pleased fans of the original movie by bringing back the leading stars, Michael Keaton (Beetlejuice), Winona Ryder (Lydia Deetz), and Catherine
O’Hara (Delia Deetz). Even though 36 years have passed, each returning cast member did a phenomenal job at embodying their old characters’ persona and humor.
In addition to new cast members, both the director, Tim Burton, and leading role, Winona Ryder, agreed on delaying the production of the sequel for the main purpose of finding an upcoming actress to fit perfectly into the role of Astrid Deetz; Lydia’s daughter.
Fans of the original “Beetlejuice” adored Lydia’s rebellious peculiarity and intrigue to the unknown, which is how her daughter was intended to be perceived as well. The team found Jenna Ortega to utilize as the most accurate depiction of Astrid after her successful reviews on Netflix’s series, “You,” and “Wednesday,” along with her supporting role in the latest “Scream” saga.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” kicks off with the infamous model of Winter River, CT, which created a lot of nostalgia for everyone in the audience. Shortly into the movie the film addresses a tragedy that subsequently forces the Deetz family to return home. During this time, Lydia is faced with hallucinations and terrors as Beetlejuice has yet to let her go. Ironic enough, as Beetlejuice was pining for Lydia, his ex wife had wreaked havoc in the underworld trying to find him as well.
Throughout both journeys to find their past love, the Deetz family is focused on funeral arrangements while Astrid explores her surroundings. While doing so she naively stumbles upon a romantic companion which leads the rest of the family to horrific consequences.
This film utilized numerous allusions to “Beetlejuice” along with Winona Ryder’s role as Veronica in the popular dark comedy, “Heathers.” I found these to be enlightening and also made the audience feel more intimate with the film as they spot the hidden mirrors. One of my favorite allusions were when the directors did a montage of Astrid’s private school and in the center was one of Delia’s unappealing sculptures from the original film. As a fan, this was humorous to see since she used to be shamed for her artwork. Another one of my favorites and the audience’s favorite allusion was Lydia’s infamous red wedding dress. The moment the dress was revealed on screen gasps and claps were heard all around as if we all just won the lottery.
When it came to Lydia’s daughter, Astrid, I was underwhelmed by her storyline considering the huge presence she had in the film. Astrid was defiant just like her mother but yet her stubbornness continued to get into the way of accepting her mother’s legacy and its truth. The love story that grew between her and her new companion was a little tiresome and almost typical for the “troubled teenager.” Fortunately though, the audience was shocked by the amount of plot twists this romance had led making it crucial to the storyline.
Along with this, I wish Lydia’s character was more evolved as there’s a lot of absent background context that could help viewers understand her decision making in a clearer way. But like always, Lydia values her loved ones more than herself, leading her to a desperate solution while having known the risks. This full circle effect was most heartwarming to witness, as the directors made sure to never have Lydia stray from her former instincts.
As for the cinematic elements, Tim Burton did an excellent job at making the dead seem so alive by using psychedelic elements, music, and unlocked underground locations. I personally loved the depiction of the “soul train” and the new “police station” run by deceased actors. These scenes truly showed the chaos underground and what the afterlife in the film fully entails, which was extremely intriguing to view. The writers of the film fortunately stayed with the original raunchy humor embedded in the characters furthering the movie to be a success. Along with the adult oriented humor, the incorporation of Beetlejuice’s assistants, specifically Bob (Beetlejuice’s skeleton doppelganger), was hysterical and remarkable.
Overall, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” was more than nostalgic, but also an extremely amusing film for new viewers to watch.