“Beetlejuice 2” Is a Funny Mess

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Tim Burton, 2024) 3 out of 5 stars

Tim Burton and Michael Keaton, arguably Burton’s muse before Johnny Depp, reunite to take audiences back to the deranged, colorful and surprisingly corporate afterlife in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Keaton returns as the ghost with the most, Beetlejuice, and his undying love for Lydia Deetz, played again by Winona Ryder, has only grown since he tried to make her his child bride 36 years ago. With the death of Lydia’s father and the resurrection of Beetlejuice’s soul-sucking lover, played by Monica Bellucci (Memory), Beetlejuice sees this as the opportune moment to thrust himself onto Lydia and her family a second time.

There isn’t much of a defense for why this movie, legacy sequel #1238, needs to exist. It doesn’t. It falls into the same traps that other legacy sequels of the past 10 years have fallen into. The allusions to the first Beetlejuice film are never used in a way that deepens the new story, but instead serve as a surface-level opportunity for an audience member to lean over to their friend and give a quick bit of trivia. This is Beetlejuice Beetlejuice at its worst, but aside from an extremely muddled story, Tim Burton uses this film to remind us that blockbuster movies can have a distinct visual language, comedy that goes beyond quips, and weird and macabre vibes.

Catherine O’Hara (also returning) and Michael Keaton are absolute gems! If I could have that sentence be the entire review, I would, but alas, I continue. The love for O’Hara hit a new peak a few years ago as Moira Rose in the beloved sitcom Schitt’s Creek. Beetlejuice 2 fails to lock down an effective emotional core; therefore, it falls to O’Hara and her hilarious back-and-forths with Ryder and Jenna Ortega (Scream VI), playing her granddaughter, Astrid, to give the film a reliable core every 15 minutes of so. Keaton slips back into the cockroach-infested shoes of Beetlejuice as if the first Beetlejuice came out only two years ago. Sure, you can hear his age in his voice (I mean, that character’s voice would take a toll on anyone), but Keaton’s performance is positively dynamo. With every quip and ghostly break in reality, you simply cannot take your eyes off of him.

For most people, the humor provided by Keaton and O’Hara, along with Burton’s charming design of the afterlife, will distract them enough from the multiple plot threads that litter the narrative. The threads range from a mother and daughter’s estranged relationship to a blossoming romance between Astrid, and none of them congeal into an emotional payoff that works. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has a lot going for it, and that’s saying much in today’s blockbuster landscape, but it doesn’t know what it wants to say about death or the afterlife. I’m happy that Tim Burton finally has another hit on his hands, but by his own standards, it’s his safest one yet.

Patrick Howard

Patrick Howard has been a cinephile since age seven. Alongside 10 years of experience in film analysis and criticism, he is a staunch supporter of all art forms and believes their influence and legacy over human culture is vital. Mr. Howard takes the time to write his own narrative stories when he can.