By Linda and Al Lerner
Tim Burton has found his funny bone again. He’s not asking the audience to invest much in the story or the hi-jinx, but just let’s us roll along with the outrageous effects and off-kilter characters.
Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara are all back from the original. Wisely, Burton didn’t mainly use de-aging effects because of the cost and believability. That’s why you won’t see the ghosts of Adam and Barbara (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) in this film. This sequel to the 1989 classic liberally uses the look and story of the original to propel this new chapter. Wisecracking, self-centered trickster-demon (Keaton) inserts himself in the rather whacky Deetz family, again, through the passage of time, but with a new generation in the form of Astrid (Jenny Ortega) as the daughter of Lydia (Wynona Ryder).
The story begins with Lydia, who has grown from the goth girl who could see ghosts into the TV host of a ghost hunting show. Astrid can’t bear her mother’s career and doesn’t even believe in ghosts. The family all goes back to the original family “Ghost House” to mourn the death of Charles Deetz (originally played by Jeffrey Jones) back to the world of the dead and, of course, the jovial yet malevolent Beetlejuice.
All who are back from the family retain their zeitgeist and energy, especially O’Hara who is hilarious and a scene stealer. Not a step is lost with her comedic timing and delivery, tongue-in-cheek phrasing, glowing red lipstick and open-wide, blue eyes. Add cool and calm Jenna Ortega, who already knows the Burton playbook from her starring role in Burton’s Wednesday and the Deetz family is more than ready to take on the Afterlife again.
Burton also cast his real-life partner Monica Bellucci as Delores, a jilted lover who is out for revenge. She has an all-powerful soul sucking demonic power that scares the you-know-what out of Beetlejuice himself. She’s given an usual way to get herself together. Justin Theroux, as Rory, is given little to work with as the frantic, scheming man-bunned, boyfriend to Ryder’s Lydia, but he’s so good looking. Willem Dafoe, as Wolf Jackson, gleefully overplays his Detective in the Afterlife role, “keeping it real” by consistently crushing paper coffee cups. Then there’s the love interest for Astrid, Jeremy (Arthur Conti), who appears perfect…but wait.
Burton follows his game plan from the original and stages a few spectacular musical set pieces.Cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos, the special effects team and especially the music team (Danny Elfman) let it all come out. Burton and his crew take full rein to fill the screen with imaginative sets, macabre, gross visuals and some dynamic, extended musical numbers.
The script is scattershot with too many threads and plot lines that barely fit together. The story and screenplay by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar cowritten with Seth Grahame-Smith is, at times, problematic, shuffling from sketch to sketch with little rhyme or reason, but a few quips cracked us up.
While the plot meanders, the pace of the gags and set pieces never slow down. There’s little emotional pull between the audience and these characters, but who cares? Michael Keaton once again infuses Beetlejuice with all the happy manic depravity that made this character an icon. This comedy bursts from the screen with a smirk and a wink embellished with quirky, ghoulish effects for a haunting good ride.
Warner Bros 1 Hour 44 Minutes PG-13
