Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – Review

I’ve stuck with Tim Burton a long time, often to my own detriment. The director seemed to run out of steam after 2007’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. He’s flailed around with some projects that on-paper seem coded to him but you can feel how out of it he is just by watching them. Alice in Wonderland, Dark Shadows, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, they all feel hollow and exhausted in a way that even some of his other, lesser work did not. 2019’s Dumbo was sort of an interesting step in a better direction, allowing him a moment to make a movie about big business taking advantage of creative talent for profit and sort of mirrors his own relationship with Disney.

Some version of this film has existed for a while, with various ideas and scripts thrown around. Initially it was to be titled Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian and, as the title indicates, would send the trickster demon (Winona’s words, not mine) to the sunny beaches. Hilarious as that concept is, I’m glad Burton has made something far more grounded and kept it to some of his original characters.

Winona Ryder returns to play Lydia Deetz, the almost-child-bride of the titular Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton returning to have the time of his life). She’s famous now, using her ability to talk to ghosts as a way to make money on a talk show. The show is produced by her douchy boyfriend, Rory (Justin Theroux), and has driven a wedge between herself and her daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega). When her father dies (confirmed pedophile Jeffrey Jones, who does not return for this picture) the whole family trots back to Winter River, the setting of the original movie, and through multiple different forms of hijinks the titular -Juice is loosed.

This very much could have been an obnoxious, cloying, overtly reverent film. Ghostbusters: Afterlife made this mistake, taking a very funny comedy about bustin’ ghosts and making it into something almost sacred. Burton isn’t that stupid, instead remembering that he’s funny for the first time in years and creating a film that left me guffawing in my seat even though there was more true humanity than in the previous installment. Lydia and Astrid’s relationship is the fundamental fulcrum point which the entire film turns around. Sure, this could have been just the laugh-a-minute comedy sequel, but Burton has picked up some things throughout his life and chose to incorporate them. Hell, the way he even takes Jeffrey Jones off the board is based on a dream he’s had about his own death.

Burton has always loved casting his girlfriends in his movies (and seems to meet some of them on set), from Lisa Marie Presley to Helena Bonham Carter and later Eva Green. Now he’s dating Monica Bellucci, a legend from films like Shoot ‘Em Up and Brotherhood of the Wolf, and he’s cast her as Beetlejuice’s ex-wife, Delores (the revelation that Beetlejuice is Italian is nuts). She stalks through this film in a plot that could easily be lifted out of the movie but…why not, let’s have fun with this soul-sucking ghost! Monica Bellucci is another one of the older women that this film treats like the badass goddesses they are. That’s right, Catherine O’Hara is back and she’s just as maniacal as you’d want her to be. These two women tend to dominate the screen whenever they’re on it and can steal the show from anyone. Loved having Delia Deetz back and happy to see her artsy nonsense has made it to the internet era.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice smartly brings back a key element of the original film – costumer designer Colleen Atwood. She’s long been one of Burton’s go-to crew members and her work here is absolutely stunning. The Juice looks good, but keeping Lydia Deetz’s goth exterior intact and looking this good is a feat unto itself. All of this pairs wonderfully with the set decoration of Lori Mazuer and David Morison, who have created an atmosphere so gleeful and gloomy and wondrous that it’s hilarious.

I can never tell if Danny Elfman and Tim Burton are on speaking terms or not but they must be right now because Elfman brought the good stuff this time around. His work is unhinged, thrilling, and a larger version of what the previous film established as the aesthetic that would define the careers of both men. Elfman is used minimally but he brought opening and closing credits to the table and they’re hands-down the best music he’s done in ages (although the boy’s choir singing “Day-O” is pretty damn funny).

Your Tim Burton exhaustion can be considered over. He’s found his joy again and I’m pleased to report that it involves weird sets, Elfman music, practical effects, and a lot of gross-out humor. The final gag in the film is so insane that I busted up in my seat. Just a great movie, often touching, that pulls no punches and only wants the viewer to have a great time.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is currently in theatres.