The plot: Three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River after an unexpected family tragedy. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life soon gets turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter discovers a mysterious portal to the afterlife. When someone says Beetlejuice’s name three times, the mischievous demon gleefully returns to unleash his very own brand of mayhem.
The Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Movie was fine.
Pros: All of the actors worked pretty well with the roles they were given. I give credit on the visuals and the models and practical designs. It doesn’t shy away showing off its supernatural high-jinx and I cant help but embraced the wackiness its given us.
Cons: All the plotlines were meaningless and not well thought out. That boyfriend Jeremy was a waste. I got lost with what’s happening in the main story & it did feel rushed sometimes.
Directed by Tim Burton
Produced by Marc Toberoff, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Tommy Harper, Tim Burton
Written by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar
Based on Characters by Michael McDowell, Larry Wilson
Starring: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega & Willem Dafoe.
Cinematography: Haris Zambarloukos
Edited by Jay Prychidny
Music by Danny Elfman
Production companies: Marc Toberoff, Tim Burton Productions, Plan B Entertainment, Tommy Harper
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
The Casts:
- Michael Keaton as Betelgeuse (pronounced “Beetlejuice”), an afterlife ghost and “bio-exorcist” who wants to marry someone from the realm of the living. Both Keaton and director Tim Burton opted to keep the character as politically incorrect as he was in the original film due to their love for that character trait, with Burton deeming Betelgeuse as a character whose whole point is that he does not undergo any character arc or development, never evolving.
- Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz, the former gothic teenager who was almost forced to marry Betelgeuse, now mother of Astrid Deetz and hostess of the Ghost House with Lydia Deetz show. Ryder initially imagined her character would live as a spinster in the Maitland residence’s attic, but appreciated the development of her character, particularly around her relationship with daughter Astrid.
- Catherine O’Hara as Delia Deetz, Lydia’s stepmother, Astrid’s stepgrandmother and Charles Deetz’s widow, now the hostess of a real art show located in a Soho gallery.
- Jenna Ortega as Astrid Deetz, Lydia’s teenage daughter and Delia’s step-granddaughter.
- Justin Theroux as Rory, Lydia’s current boyfriend and a television producer. Rory was inspired by Otho, Delia Deetz’s interior design and exorcist friend played by Glenn Shadix in the original film. Writers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar devised him as a character who everyone wanted to see getting his comeuppance like Otho, and enjoying the idea of Lydia being in a weird codependent relationship which everyone sees that way, herself included. Gough and Millar wanted the audience to understand why Rory is with Lydia and that he was a “schmuck”, but they felt that they needed to find Rory’s humanity without him being a mere punchline. Once Theroux was cast and connected with the writers over Zoom, he provided Gough and Millar with ideas they incorporated.
- Monica Bellucci as Delores, Betelgeuse’s ex-wife who, in life, was a mysterious soul-sucking witch who poisoned Betelgeuse several centuries earlier during the Black Plague before he killed her with an axe in retaliation.
- Willem Dafoe as Wolf Jackson, a ghost detective who, in life, was a B movie action star.
- Arthur Conti as Jeremy Frazier, a teenage murderer who is Astrid’s brief love interest.
- Burn Gorman as Father Damien, a reverend in Winter River.
- Amy Nuttall as local real estate agent Jane Butterfield Jr., the daughter of the first film’s Jane Butterfield Sr., portrayed in the previous film by Rachel Mittelman.
- Santiago Cabrera as Richard, Astrid’s late father and Lydia’s former husband who disappeared in South America.
- Danny DeVito as an afterlife janitor who died at the hands of Delores.
- Nick Kellington as Bob, a zombie considered a “shrinker” who resides in the Neitherland.
- Mark Heenhan (physical) and Charlie Hopkinson (voice) as Charles Deetz, Lydia’s father and Delia’s deceased husband who was decapitated by a shark, hence why he goes to the afterlife without his upper half. The character is depicted with the likeness of original actor Jeffrey Jones through various means, including archival photos, paintings and an animated stop-motion sequence that describes the character’s death. The character’s death was inspired by a nightmare of Burton’s about his own death.
Jane Leaney and David Ayres portray Mrs. and Mr. Frazier, Jeremy’s murdered parents. Georgina Beedle portrays Janet, Wolf Jackson’s secretary who “keeps him real”, while Filipe Cates portrays Vlad, a young man dressed as a vampire who marries Astrid in Lydia’s dream.
I worse skip this movie.
Rating: 1.6 out of 5 Stars
Ryan Balkwill:
Resident film reviewer,
Level Best Art Cafe