Directors: Tim Burton
Writers: Alfred Gough, Miles Millar
Stars: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Jenna Ortega
Synopsis: After a 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 teenage daughter, Astrid, accidentally opens the portal to the Afterlife.
You might expect the follow-up to the beloved (or, as I would put it, overly romanticized) Beetlejuice, aptly titled Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, to find an interesting angle, exploring familiar characters through a new lens. After all, we are living in a time shaped by Black Lives Matter (BLM), the #MeToo Movement, climate activism, and LGBTQ+ rights. Lenses such as trauma-informed care, socially conscious intersectionality, and cultural competency frameworks enriched the original’s themes and highlighted the classic subject matter.
However, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a scattershot tribute to the original, lacking the originality that could have set it apart. Instead of forging its own path, it relies heavily on the advancements of modern special effects. Yes, movies are a visual medium, and we can all appreciate that, but Tim Burton’s follow-up feels more like a remake, rehashing an updated new chapter in an attempt to recapture the magic—like telling the great Michael Keaton to perform for the masses without a well-thought-out plan.
It’s an utter disappointment.
Yes, most will give a pass because Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a legacy sequel many have been craving for decades. That makes the film’s apparent mistakes and lack of attention to detail easy to ignore. Many of us have done the same with films that aren’t even legacy attempts, like M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap. However, films like that don’t promise you something and then fail to deliver on the fulfillment they strive for. The issue seems to be that a once-starved artist with a unique vision is now spoiled by the riches studios offer.
Take, for example, the master of juxtaposition with unlimited resources in a remake of the classic Disney film Dumbo. That film was mundane, tepid, and monotonously dull. In the Beetlejuice follow-up, the visuals are certainly not mundane or tepid. However, the story is a monotonous rehashing of Burton’s ’80s filmography. The screenplay, written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar—the writing partners responsible for a couple of disappointing Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson franchises, a Mummy movie, a Lindsay Lohan disaster, and a Hannah Montana entry—feels like taking a bunch of mismatched cats, throwing them in a bag, shaking them up, and letting a pack of furious felines run free. What happens next will look crazy, dark, and frighteningly comical.
That’s the chaotic Burton experience right now—it looks dangerously beautiful and ominously evocative. However, in reality, the film’s characters and subplots are thrown at the screen, seemingly scattering away from each other intentionally. Nothing connects or develops into anything cinematically coherent. All of this feels bloated, which I can only guess is due to studio directives aiming to meet the demands of a big-budget hit and the pursuit of the almighty dollar. This is strange, considering Gough and Millar were responsible for the innovative rebranding of The Addams Family update, Wednesday, which is a Netflix streaming hit with critics and audiences alike.
Now, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is not a total dud. The movie is a feast for the eyes, with stellar art direction from Mark Scruton and Colleen Atwood’s costume designs. Then, of course, you have a “legacy” cast reveling in their roles, bringing a particular joy to the experience for those familiar with the sequel. While Burton’s return to exploring the demon lacks impact, Michael Keaton’s return as the titular character nearly saves the film, making death a delightful possibility. There is simply nothing like the character Keaton easily slips back into. He recaptures the morbidly charming appeal that made him a superstar and the character a Hollywood classic.
I do not doubt that Burton’s follow-up will attract new fans and appease old ones. However, at some point, legacy films blur the lines between professionalism and fandom. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is an example of lowering the standards for the allure of the latter.
