Review: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Review: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
The Ghost With The Most Is Back.
INTRODUCTION
This is a quick review of the newly released film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Keep in mind this is but one of the many movies I watch every year, and that whatever initial grade I come up for this film could change for better or worse with time. To better keep up to date with both my thoughts on other movies and if my feelings on this film changed, follow me on Letterboxd.
I’d also appreciate it greatly if you spread the word about the newsletter to any family or friends who would love to have film reviews, classic movie lists, and Oscars projections delivered straight to their inbox.
THE PLOT
Via Letterboxd: The Deetz family returns home to Winter River following Charles Deetz’s unexpected death. 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, releasing Betelgeuse.
QUICK REVIEW
With awards season looming, 2024 has been dominated by the big, fun, popcorn flicks that have been IP blockbusters this year. And in an interesting twist, almost all of them haven’t been superhero fare! That’s not to say we haven’t gotten smaller, more original, films championed by critics and cinephiles either. But for me, it’s been the IP films picking up the slack for what has been an overall lackluster year so far.
Dune: Part Two is still my personal number one of the year, Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire is still the most fun i’ve had at the movies this year, Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes is still the best adventure film of the year, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is still a visual spectacle, Alien: Romulus remains the best horror film I’ve seen this year, and, while I didn’t love it to levels others did, I did have a ton of fun with Deadpool & Wolverine. So now it’s Bettlejuice Bettlejuice’s turn to try and join their ranks.
I hadn’t watched the original 1988 film in ages, so I popped it in via the Max streaming service last weekend. While the film has major hurried pacing issues, I enjoyed it a lot more than I remembered and walked away logging it as an A-tier film on my Letterboxd. That’s a high bar for a sequel produced more than three decades later to meet. So did it? Well yes and no.
This is going to be one of those movies that has some divided reviews. One of the biggest reasons for that being that, unlike the first which has hurried pacing, this film has arguably a little too many subplots and a little too long runtime. This is going to create a feeling of bloat for some viewers and if not enough subplots hit, I can see the movie falling flat for some. It also leans heavily on the grotesque and gore, to points that even the first one didn’t achieve, and I can see it perhaps being a little too much for some. And frankly, I can’t say the movie ever truly justified its existence; I never came away convinced we NEEDED this sequel.
All those gripes acknowledged, I still had so much more fun with this than I expected to.
While there are arguably too many subplots and side characters, I really enjoyed all the ideas this explored with them. It gives us a chance to expand the ensemble with Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, a scene-stealing Willem Dafoe (who is clearly having the time of his life), and Jenna Ortega - who actually plays more against type than I thought she would. The movie also brings back Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, and Michael Keaton, who slips back into the role of the trickster demon with ease - he has not lost a step.
The film’s leaning into the gross and grotesque visuals and themes came off to me like Tim Burton being let loose a little more than he was in 88. It makes for scenes that kind of come off more like horror than gothic comedy, but I enjoyed that aspect to it. This sets the stage for some great crafts with its atmospheric production design, awesome makeup, impressive hairstyling, fun score, memorable soundtrack, and old school visual effects that bring practical elements. It really helps enhance this movie to come together as what came off to me like almost the ultimate Halloween movie watch.
While the movie could be overstuffed and overlong, I did appreciate the pacing wasn’t as hurried as the original. It allowed me to keep up better with what the characters’ motivations were, and where their arcs would ultimately take them.
One last note, there is the massive elephant in the room for this movie in that Jeffrey Jones, a literal child predator who was part of the original ensemble, could obviously not come back for this one. To Burton’s credit, I thought the way he handled the situation and addressed the character was clever, but it does create this strange awkwardness whenever that character becomes a focus.
Does Beetlejuice Bettlejuice justify its existence as a sequel. Not entirely. Is it arguably a bit overstuffed and overlong? Yes, and I think those are fair gripes. But did I still have an absolute blast and thought it was a good enough companion to the original film? Yes and yes. Did I come away thinking it was damn-near the perfect Halloween season film? Also yes.
I’ve gone back-and-forth on whether to give this a very strong B+ or a softer A-. As I write this review I’m leaning on the latter. Its by no means an A-tier film from an objective, filmmaking standpoint. But for me, personally, it continues the hot streak of incredibly fun IP popcorn flicks for the year that are going to get more rewatches from me than all the many other films I’ve seen. In a time where we’ve been getting fatigued with superhero fare, we should appreciate the fact this year has been filled with all kinds of different populist fare - including a gothic comedy legacy sequel like this one. A soft A- for BeetleJuice Beetlejuice. Tim Burton has made his best film in what feels like ages.
INITIAL GRADING
