After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetljuice (Michael Keaton), Lydia's (Winona Ryder) life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid (Jenny Ortega) discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic and the portal to the afterlife is accidentally opened. With trouble brewing in both realms, it's only a matter of time until someone says Beetlejuice's name three times and the mischievous demon returns to unleash his very own brand of mayhem.
Others to round out the cast are Catherine O'Hara as Delia Deetz, Justin Theroux as Rory, Willem Dafoe as Wolf Jackson, Monica Bellucci as Delores, Arthur Conti as Jeremy Fraser and Amy Nuttall as Jane Butterfield.
This was brilliantly directed as well as its predecessor by the odd and weird Tim Burton ("Pee-wee's Big Adventure" '85, "Beetlejuice" '88, "Batman" '89, "Edward Scissorhands" '90, "Ed Wood" '94, "Planet of the Apes" '01, "Big Fish" '03, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" '05, "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" '07, "Alice in Wonderland" '10, "Dark Shadows" '12, "Frankenweenie" '12, "Dumbo" '19) plus other films, a TV movie, TV, shorts and videos. The best thing about Burton is his ability to give his audience a sense of oddity and originality that is increasingly absent from an abundance of films today. He typically gives you what one wouldn't expect--just look at his resume and you'll see my point. Whether the production is live or animated, there is an element of surprise in his films, and this film is no exception. It was executed well by writers Alfred Gough ("Double Tap" '97, "Made Men" '99, "Shanghai Noon" 2000, "Showtime" '02, "Shanghai Knights" '03, "Herbie Fully Loaded" '05, "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" '08, "I Am Number Four" '11) plus other films, TV and TV movies, and Miles Millar (see resume above), based on a story by Alfed Gough, Miles Millar and Seth Grahame-Smith, which is based on characters created by Michael McDowell and Larry Wilson. Obviously, by their very resumes, these two writers are a team which certainly helps in the creation of a tight screenplay, however, this rendition of this sequel, albiet was delineated well, seemingly came across with the belief that they were attempting to top the original, so it was written with a bit too much going on which created some complexity. The premise was interesting, but they needed to keep it as simple as its predecessor. But even with this, the music by Danny Elfman who reprised his music from the original as did costume designer Colleen Atwood were familiar as they were refreshing. Of course, the film was Michael Keaton who reprised his role as Beetlejuice and others from the original--Winona Ryder as Lydia, Catherine O'Hara as Delia and Amy Nuttall as Jane Butterfield as the realtor were nice to see so as to have that connection with the original.
The film leaves us open-ended--will there be a "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice"? Certainly if this makes a truck load of money we could see a part 3 in our future. Hey, after all, Hollywood is a business, but suffice it to say, it seems like they've squeezed as much out of this story as they could outlay. Certainly, if you do see this, it is presented in an IMAX format, but definitely see it on the large screen. Direction by Burton, Keaton as Beetlejuice and Elfman's music is well worth the price of admission.
Out of 4 Stars: 3 Rated: PG-13 104mins.
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