McDaniel
Everyone’s favorite grotesque demon is back.
But it’s clear that a lot has changed in 36 years. Through the first half of the sequel “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” I worried that the character hadn’t aged well — both literally and figuratively. His tone was noticeably lighter, without the physicality and edginess of his original delivery.
No, nearly four decades since debuting the iconic titular role, national treasure Michael Keaton did not burst onto the screen to the delighted applause of theatergoers. Instead, the character emerged as though tamed by time, and I worried.
The story follows Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder), now a famous medium with a TV show. She still sees ghosts wherever she goes. After her father is eaten by a shark (… yep), her stepmom Delia (Catherine O’Hara) asks her to come back home for the funeral. But first, they’ve got to grab Lydia’s daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) from art school.
Jenna Ortega was born to be in a Tim Burton movie (he also directed her in several episodes of “Wednesday”), and casting her as the offspring of the original gangster, Winona Ryder, makes too much sense. Ortega inhabits the role of a judgmental child who hates her mom to a tee.
It’s when Astrid falls into some supernatural trouble that Lydia is forced to cry out the unthinkable to help her daughter.
“Beetlejuice.
Beetlejuice.
Beetlejuice.”
After that, whatever feeling of disappointment I had early on vanished for the remainder of the movie. The energy of the original rekindled, both in the land of the living and when venturing to the great beyond, as Beetlejuice showed he still has his twisted charms. (And it’s not a Beetlejuice movie without an odd, yet memorable, musical sequence.)
It’s a shame the other notable additions — Monica Bellucci and Willem Dafoe — are written into side roles that ultimately don’t really do much, their talents feeling wasted. The exception is the sleazy, cheesy Rory (Justin Theroux), cringeworthy in all the best ways as Lydia’s TV producer/kinda-sorta love interest.
Keaton may not match the kinetic verve of 1988, but his mischievous antihero earns our laughter and adoration once more.
Say his name again, it’ll be worth your while.
3.5/5
Scott McDaniel is an assistant professor of journalism at Franklin College. He lives in Bargersville with his wife and three kids.
