Daisy
Tim Burton returns for the next dose of the juice.
After 36 years, the iconic cast make a comeback to reanimate a cult classic with Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice.
We are living in a ‘remake, reboot, recycle I.P.’ cinema frenzy, so I wasn’t surprised to see Burton return to these much-loved characters.
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice sees a now-professional medium, and TV personality Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) returns to Winter River with her step-mother, Delia (Catherine O’Hara) and moody daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega). When Astrid accidentally opens a portal to the afterlife, Lydia is forced to face Beetlejuice once again.
A lot of time was spent setting up the story. A host of new characters and motivations are introduced through an over-convoluted yet undercooked script. It was made even more tedious by the lack-lustre ‘real world’ – which felt stripped of any visual interest.
By juxtaposition, the afterlife felt way more – alive. When we finally get into the action, and get to truly see Burton show off his Burton-ness we’re already an hour into the film. But the playful set-design and visual gags breathe life into the film, and make you forget how lifeless it felt moments before. Willem Dafoe takes on the role of film noir detective caricature, stealing the spotlight of the film with his antics. And Beetlejuice’s shrunken-head employees are thoroughly entertaining.
The dark humour of the first film remains, perhaps a bit more -savoury- this time around. Michael Keaton dons his stripes and brings his same sleazy presence, but this time with slightly less predatory vibes. A disgraced cast-member’s absence is evaded with special effects. And Burton responds to the backlash for lack of representation in his films with an on-the-nose soul train joke.
The juice may be loose, but so was the plot. Despite the time spent setting everything up, there were simply too many threads to tie together in the end. Delores, Beetlejuice’s ex-wife (played by Tim Burton’s real-life partner Monica Belluci) has no real storyline or impact on the plot. It felt more like a drawn-out cameo. As for Astrid, her character and story simply felt like an episode of Wednesday.
Perhaps my scepticism of this film comes from the fact that I am not a die-hard Burton fan. His stop-motion projects have a special place in my heart, but I’ve found most of his recent live-action work sub-par.
However, this film will appeal to the Betelgeuse fanatics. It’s rife with nostalgia bait and doesn’t take itself too seriously. While it may not be the brilliant comeback for this auteur some may have hoped for, it was rather entertaining.
Year: 2024
Rating: M15+
Running Time: 104 MIN
Genre: Dark Comedy
Director: Tim Burton
Starring: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe
Production Studio: Plan B Entertainment, Tim Burton Productions
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures