Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Ok, I’m not saying that they need to make another Beetlejuice sequel after this one, but I’m not saying they shouldn’t make another Beetlejuice sequel after this one.

Taking place over thirty years after Beetlejuice sent the titular ghoul back to the Netherworld, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice follows an older Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder), now the host of a fringe paranormal talk show, as she returns to Winter River, Connecticut, for the funeral of her late stepfather. Accompanied by her teenaged daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) and her weirdly overbearing boyfriend Rory (Justin Theroux), it isn’t long before Lydia is caught up in a ghostly mess eerily similar to the one she experienced decades ago, with the return of the obsessive prankster known as Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) throwing her life into disarray as he once again plots to break free from his supernatural shackles and return to the land of the living, preferably at the cost of Lydia — and her daughter’s — lives.

Immediately feeling more Tim Burton-y than the more neutered version paid to helm Disney’s recent live-action Alice in Wonderland and Dumbo remakes, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice admittedly takes a while to find its groove but when it does, there are more than a few moments that I can honestly say made the almost four-decade-long wait worthwhile. Bringing back the most important players both in front of and behind the camera, this legacy sequel dials up the weirdness by implementing some choice practical effects and production design while bringing fans on a wild ride through the Netherworld and beyond, bolstered by the anticipated return of the film’s titular “ghost with the most.” Initially feeling like he couldn’t slip back into the shoes of the character that helped put him on Hollywood’s A-list, it only took about a scene or two for Keaton to get back into it, with Burton’s signature gothic style, Winona Ryder’s turn as an out-of-touch mother to a rebellious daughter, and the exploration of new and exciting Beetlejuice lore making me appreciate this one more than I probably should have.

But for as fun as this movie can be at times, there are a lot of not-so-great elements that almost tank it outright, with parts of the film nearly proving why this sequel didn’t need to be made in the first place. At first, telling a somewhat similar story compared to the original, it’s not until well into this sequel’s too-long runtime that things begin to feel different and become more interesting (anything relating to the Netherworld gets a pass from me), with the movie’s biggest problems stemming from how much time it dedicates to other characters outside of Lydia’s immediate relationship with her daughter, stepmother, and Beetlejuice himself. Constantly cutting to any number of forgettable and almost entirely inconsequential characters that ultimately act as unneeded window dressing to the film’s main plot line, Monica Bellucci’s villainous Delores LaFerve, Willem Dafoe’s wacky Netherworld detective, and a predictable subplot featuring Lydia’s boyfriend all work against the script in ways that dilute what we as fans came to the theater to see — Beetlejuice making the Deetz’s family a living hell in the most entertaining way possible.

I won’t say this film is a return to form for the creatives involved nor a follow-up that’s anywhere close to as good as the original, but Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a totally acceptable sequel that doesn’t ruin what came before while managing to do some fun stuff with the franchise that helps this entry stand out in ways that your average legacy sequel doesn’t — a feat unto itself, especially considering how all the studios are trying (and mostly failing) at revitalizing old properties for the next generation as of late. Though it’s true it can be a bloated mess at times, Tim Burton’s more confident direction and a performance by Michael Keaton that eventually matches his old zany energy ultimately ensures that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice succeeds as an enjoyable foray back into the twisted world of the undead and those among the living who are forced to deal with them.