Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Starring: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Jenna Ortega, Catherine O'Hara, Justin Theroux, Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci, Arthur Conti

Director: Tim Burton

Thanks to her childhood experiences, Lydia Deetz (Ryder) has now grown up to become a famous television paranormal expert. After the sudden death of her father, Lydia, her daughter Astrid (Ortega) her step-mother Delia (O'Hara) and her producer boyfriend Rory (Theroux) must return home to Winter River for the funeral, Meanwhile in the Afterlife, Beetlejuice learns that his ex-wife Delores (Bellucci) has returned and is leaving a trail of bodies in her wake as she searches for him. After Astrid ended up in the Afterlife, Lydia must enlist Beetlejuice's help to bring her back into the real world.

Sequels are a tricky thing, especially sequels to a beloved classic like 1988's Beetlejuice, which is also responsible for launching Director Tim Burton's career. I am embarrassed to say I hadn't seen the original, save for a couple scenes whenever it was on TV, until a few days ago. I wasn't allowed to watch it when I was younger and then as I grew up it got lost in the shuffle. So, I don't feel as precious about this sequel as many of the people who will flock to see it.

Much like the original, this is an often creative but scattershot affair. There are parts of this that I really enjoyed, mostly when Keaton was on screen. His back story with Bellucci is revealed in a humorous and fun way and he nails a lengthy lip sync scene that arrives late in the film. It's callbacks like this to the 1988 film that really work. I also appreciated Burton relying on mostly practical effects to bring the Afterlife to life. It's here where Burton's imagination really gets to run wild and the film comes alive.

Whenever Keaton isn't on screen, it becomes noticeable how all-over-the-place this movie actually is. In fact, there are two characters that could have been cut entirely from the film and we still would have gotten to the same place plot wise. I get why Burton didn't want to cut Dafoe and Bellucci out of the film, but they leave no impact on the final film at all. Bellucci is set up to have more of an impact on the plot than she ultimately does. Similarly, the subplot that brings Astrid to the Afterlife takes too long to be established even though it ultimately becomes the focal point of the story.

Like I said though, the star of the show is Keaton. With a genuinely hilarious Catherine O' Hara, they help elevate the material. Those expecting Keaton to get more screen time will be disappointed. Despite now receiving top billing, he is on screen about as long as he was in the original film. While he didn't need to be in the film any longer than he is, it still makes you miss him when he is gone for extended chunks of the film.

While it isn't the worst sequel to grace the big screen after a lengthy amount of time, Burton isn't able to quite capture the magic of the original. Despite a very game and fun performance from Keaton, the film's lack of focus only makes its shortcomings more obvious.

Grade; C+