36 years after the original “Beetlejuice,” the sequel, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” was released starring many of the same characters and actors. Both of these films were directed by Tim Burton, starring Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz, Catherine O’Hara as Delia Deetz, and Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice. The time skip between movies coincides with the time in the actual world, with the events of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice coming 36 years after the events of Beetlejuice.
The original “Beetlejuice” is a 1988 dark comedy film about a dead couple, Barbara and Adam Maitland, who passed after a bridge broke beneath their vehicle and they plummeted to their deaths. They became ghosts, forced to haunt their old house. When the house was sold and the Deetz family moved in, the Maitlands were enraged and wanted to drive the family out by any means necessary. They attempted to hire the bio-exorcist (exorcizing living people) Beetlejuice to scare the Deetzes out, but they found him rude and refused to hire him. They instead decided to scare the Deetzes off themselves. Lydia is disappointed about the move to the new house in the movie and can see ghosts, so she starts to talk with the Maitlands. Chaos ensues, Lydia ends up saving the Maitlands and Beetlejuice is sent back to the afterlife.
At the beginning of the sequel, the daughter, Lydia Deetz is an adult working as a medium on television. She travels to haunted houses, showing the hauntings she sees and exorcizing ghosts. Her daughter, Astrid, played by Jenna Ortega, is a skeptic and despises her mom for moving on after her dad’s death. Lydia’s father dies early on in the film and Lydia’s family must return to her childhood home to plan the funeral.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice earned $337 million in the first month of its run and cost just under $100 million to make compared to the original Beetlejuice made, adjusted for inflation, $200 million in the box office, according to Screenrant. The film is shot in Tim Burton’s classic style, mainly featuring muted colors and longer shots. The acting is compelling and draws viewers into the world of the characters. Near the beginning of the film, when Delia tells Lydia her father is dead, Ryder portrays her denial and grief in a realistic way. It has a good message about the importance of family and familial love.
Despite having a good message, the movie has major issues with pacing. The main conflict begins more than halfway into the film, leaving the resolution to be rushed. The first hour of the film drags on without much clear direction, despite the film only being around an hour and 45 minutes long. Also, a lot of the scenes do little to develop the characters’ personalities or relationships with each other. The style is compelling, but most scenes do not have the information to make them worth inclusion in the final film. Even though Beetlejuice is the eponymous character of the movie, he does not appear until around halfway through the film and is not as heavily involved in the action as would be expected. This could be disappointing to audiences coming in expecting a story centered around Beetlejuice and Lydia, only to be met with a plot that barely included him.
Overall, the film had good characteristics like the style and the message, but it took too long to get to the point of the film. It is worth watching for fans of the original Beetlejuice, but this sequel proves that some series shouldn’t be resurrected.