The ghost with the most is back on screen 36 years later.
Who doesn’t like to dive into Tim Burton’s universe? Without a doubt, I do! Burton is one of my all-time favorite directors with his unique vision and sense of humor. He is timeless, never failing to entice the audience with his creations – and with this new release, Burton brings back nostalgia with the guilty pleasure of a wacky world we all love so much.
I’m a devotee of “The Corpse Bride,” “Big Fish” or even “Edward Scissorhands.” However, I would be lying if I said I had been a fan of the 1988 original “Beetlejuice” before hearing the sequel would be released on Sept. 6. Knowing the second round was just around the corner, I finally took the leap and Henry Belafonte’s “Day-O” dinner scene caught me straight away.
Heads up: This is a spoiler-free review. I consider the best part of watching a movie to be going into the theater blind, not knowing what to expect.
Cinematography
Eccentricity is the best word to describe Burton’s aesthetic. Nowadays, it’s hard to find a contemporary director whose visual style and ambiance have become so universal that his movies are recognizable from the very first frame.
What makes this movie so captivating is Burton’s use of color contrast, with the dark palette of the living world meeting the vibrant colors of the underworld. This polarity is seen through the iconic Afterlife Waiting Room – “take a number, take a seat” – with its haunted rainbow hues of blue, green, pink, purple and yellow. When it comes to makeup or decor, the striking colors make the universe feel surreal. The fact that they don’t look real plays a big part of his universe’s distinctiveness. From the makeup of Willem Dafoe’s character, Wolf Jackson, with its open brain, to the special effects of falling that are made to look staged: “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is self aware of its place as entertainment.
I really appreciate Burton’s distinguished way of always combining repulsive shot elements with a good soundtrack. My favorite scene, and probably the most popular, is the wedding scene. Not very original, I know, but it mixes perfectly chaos to a musical dance on “MacArthur Park.” Its choreography combined with the music and the visuals are spellbinding, surpassing expectations and holding its own against the original dinner scene.
I can’t conclude this section without mentioning the brilliant incorporation of his unique trademark: animation. Of course, there is the emblematic sandworm, but the segment that fascinated me was the one about the character of Charles Deetz, Lydia’s father and Delia’s husband. As the actor Jeffrey Jones was convicted of sexual assault in 2003, Burton managed to fulfill his absence in a very original and smooth way, using a sequence with a segment of clay animation to tell the story of Charles’ death – and we fell for it.
Burton more than deserves his brand-new Hollywood star on the Walk of Fame.
The Cast
In addition to his usual high-caliber casting, Burton has brought back several characters and cast members from “Beetlejuice.”
I am so pleased to see Michael Keaton put back on his iconic black and white striped suit. I’m not going to deny it, I was a little apprehensive that he might be rusty after the gap between the two films, but that’s not the case at all. He managed to keep the coarse, chattering and feral aspects of Beetlejuice’s personality – which, in the end, give him his charm.
As for the famous spiky bangs and icy black stare, Winona Ryder was stunning as ever. But it was the relationship between her character Lydia Deetz and her stepmother Delia Deetz (Catherine O’Hara) that particularly caught my attention. In “Beetlejuice,” they were like cats and dogs, not getting along at all, but not anymore. Even if Delia kept her absorbing eccentricity, the evolution of their relationship between the first and second part depicts something real, a relationship that people can identify with.
Alongside the original cast, Jenna Ortega made her entrance as Lydia’s daughter, Astrid Deetz. She has already proven herself in Burton’s universe as Wednesday Addams, but she is such a perfect fit for this film. She reminds us of her mom as a teenager, feeling nothing but contempt and boredom, like life is not worth living.
Justin Theroux has also been added to the cast as Lydia’s drama queen boyfriend. Theroux is splendid in his role as an intense and annoyingly ludicrous douchebag. Whatever situation he finds himself in, the scenes immediately turn so awkward, much to our delight.
Prior to this release, I wouldn’t have envisioned Dafoe in a Burton movie, but he pleasantly surprised me. Playing a deceased actor, he finds himself portraying a parody of a hard-boiled cop who gets involved in rule-breaking investigations in the underworld. He brings levity to the film with his hilariousness through his frequent one liners.
Unfortunately, there is always a but. The one snag I can find is Monica Bellucci’s character Dolores. I don’t think she added anything to the story and it feels like it was more about adding a big name to the poster. Although she sticks out like a sore thumb, I can give her credit for the fantastic scene when she literally staples her body parts together to the tune of “Tragedy” by the Bee Gees.
The script
I am so glad Burton was able to make his own sequel, which is not often the case in the world of Hollywood.
For those who wonder, Burton’s distinctive dark humor is still here, and better than ever. In the movie theater, people were engaged with “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” laughing their heads off and enjoying themselves. I don’t often find myself laughing at American movies because of cultural differences, and more simply language barriers. But during this screening, I was cackling as much as anyone else.
Unlike most sequels, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” has not been transformed to please the market, favoring the quirkiness of its predecessor. Indeed, the story not only continues but adds to the legacy of Beetlejuice. Burton also incorporated a lot of winks that only viewers who watched the first movie would get – and that is what makes this movie defy expectations. Even the final scene wraps the movie up in the best way we could hope for.
Obviously, a second movie is rarely as tremendous as a first release, but this duology is hilariously absurd and worth watching. I give “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” a four and a half out of five goats – and remember, don’t ever say that name!
