Director Tim Burton (Dumbo, 2019) is back to his roots, and movie lovers are finished waiting, for the long-anticipated sequel to the classic 1988 comedy, Beetlejuice. This sequel is named, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice with Michael Keaton (Dopesick, 2021) reprising his title role as the naughty, duplicitous ghost sneaking his way back into the world of the living causing trouble. Tim Burton vividly recreates his unique, spooky style in this sequel while teetering on the edge of overzealous excess.
Actress Winona Ryder (Stranger Things, 2016-2025) is also back as a frustrated single mother with a teenage daughter who hates everything. This daughter is played by Jenna Ortega (Wednesday, 2022) who is starting to carve a very goth/horror niche for herself. This daughter gets lured into the afterlife by a handsome boy, requiring her mother to summon Beetlejuice and help her navigate the underworld of the dead to rescue her daughter.
What makes Tim Burton's most memorable films such fun is their expressionist, surreal design in the art direction, costumes, makeup, and practical visual effects. His great films are dark, strange, and violent but shown through a whimsical lens making them funny, captivating stories of outsiders reaching for acceptance or victory. Examples of these films are Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Big Fish (2003), and Frankenweenie (2012). (There's a few more examples I could add to this list, but let's get to the heart of this review, shall we?) Beetlejuice Beetlejuice happily revives this surrealism and whimsy in both the look and attitude. But something it lacks is simplicity.
Most of Tim Burton's films have comparatively simple stories allowing viewers to spend most of their attention on the singular designs, campy performances, and crafty inventive settings. This sequel doesn't have that simplicity. The longer I watched Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the more I kept thinking, "There's an awful lot of characters to keep track of here, and there's an awful lot of plot points to follow too."
Six new characters are introduced in this film, some who exist to move the story forward and some who exist to look cool and add some visual flair. With so many new faces, and the story taking viewers in so many directions, this film quickly starts to feel like it has too many ideas all coming from a restless grasp to be creative. Why does Tim Burton and the team of three screenwriters have to try so hard?!
The sequel isn't all overstuffed though. All the actors give energetic, wacky performances, and some moments are funny especially when they give little winks to the nostalgia of the original Beetlejuice film and to the Gen X viewers who made the film a hit. Michael Keaton is, of course, the best part of this sequel. His line deliveries are so dead on (I made a ghost joke!), and his face is still wildly expressive. One of the best winks of nostalgia is when a children's choir sings the famous Harry Belafonte song, "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" with zero joy. There's even a short musical number of a disco party in a subway station. So there's some good stuff to enjoy in this PG-13 comedy.
It's just okay for an anticipated sequel, but it could have been outstanding. At least Tim Burton is starting to get his quirky mojo back.
