Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” which came out last month, is enjoyable insane and outrageous in a lot of ways, making it a nice sequel to the 1988 cult classic. Even though the original film was enjoyment, the sequel works hard to match its energy and greatly succeeds with a new story and standout performances. It manages to maintain the silly spirit of the original and, at around 100 minutes, gives so much entertainment, proving the 36-year wait was worth it. This time, the protagonist is Lydia and her daughter Astrid, and with funny dialogue, it keeps you laughing the entire time.

After Lydia’s father, Charles, passes away, the Deetz family moves back to Winter River. Now a widow, Lydia, reprised by Winona Ryder, has become a small celebrity as the host of a paranormal TV show. Life has changed so much. She now enjoys a friendly relationship with her stepmother, Delia, reprised by Catherine O’Hara. However, the memories of Beetlejuice, reprised by Michael Keaton, try to forcefully marry her still haunts her. Everything comes around for Lydia, and just like her own experience with her stepmother, it’s her turn to deal with her complicated relationship with her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid, played by Jenna Ortega. Lydia’s worries increase when Astrid finds the model of the town in the attic and accidentally opens the afterlife portal with her boyfriend’s (Justin Theroux) help.

Michael Keaton is great once again, flawlessly reprising his famous role with remarkable spark. Like in the first film, he makes a late appearance, but his silliness and swagger are very captivating. It’s clear that he’s fully in control of the character. Winona Ryder and Jenns Ortega give strong performances as mother and daughter, but it’s Catherine O’Hara as Delia who has the spotlight. Abhishek Srivastava credited in his review, “Her self-obsession remains, but she has evolved with age.” Willem Dafoe as Wolf Jackson and Monica Bellucci as Dolores are perfectly cast in their roles.

Srivastava said, “Tim Burton’s film is skilfully designed to pull both die-hard fans of the original and a new millennial audience.” It stands strong enough to be enjoyed as a standalone movie. Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder reprise their roles with the same energy as before, adding depth with new characters like Lydia’s husband, Richard, played by Santiago Cabrera, and Beetlejuice’s former wife, Dolores. The film has all the classic elements – black-and-white striped suits, stop-motion sandworms, and scary ghosts. Mirroring the famous Harry Belafonte’s Day-O dinner scene from the original, there’s a similarly enjoyable scene inside a church. The film doesn’t only give laughs but also proves that even after all these years, Burton’s formula is still enjoyable.

After talks of this movie for years, we get a sequel that is heavy on nostalgia. If you were a fan of the original, then you should definitely see this sequel in theaters. You will enjoy it a lot. It’s not as good as the original, but that is to be expected with a majority of sequels. However, this fits in with the Halloween time, so check it out.

Stay tuned later in the week for more reviews in “Halloween Month 2024.”