Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, 2024.
Directed by Tim Burton.
Starring Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Justin Theroux, Arthur Conti, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega, and Willem Dafoe.
SYNOPSIS:
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which I thought was a solid sequel to the 1988 original, arrives on 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. There’s no Blu-ray found here, but you get a code for a digital copy as well as a nice batch of bonus features.
Sure, it’s debatable whether Tim Burton’s 1988 hit Beetlejuice really needed a sequel, but I didn’t mind. At the very least, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice gives us much more of Michael Keaton’s character than the first movie did, and that’s okay with me.
Given how much time has gone by since the first movie, and the fact that Winona Ryder literally grew into a middle-aged adult since then, this sequel jumps ahead to the present day. Lydia Deetz (Ryder) now hosts a talk show about supernatural occurrences, and she’s had a frosty relationship with her daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega), ever since her ex-husband died.
When Lydia learns that her father Charles has died, she returns to Winter River with her daughter, where she reconnects with her stepmother, Lydia. (Catherine O’Hara). Given Jeffrey Jones’ criminal history, it’s not a surprise that his character was killed, although he does show up, without his shoulders and head, in the afterlife.
Justin Theroux joins the cast as Rory, Lydia’s TV show producer and boyfriend who’s pretty much a bad guy but in a hapless kind of way. The truth that’s revealed about him in the end isn’t much of a surprise, though.
Meanwhile, Astrid meets a teenage boy, Jeremy (Arthur Conti), who she soon discovers is actually a ghost with a murderous history as a human, and he tricks her in the afterlife to be able to rejoin the real world.
Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) has his own afterlife-related issues to deal with: his ex-wife Delores (Monica Bellucci) wants to reunite with him and is killing dead souls in her search for him, which catches the attention of detective Wolf Jackson (Willem Dafoe), who played a private eye on a TV show and has now assumed the role in the afterlife.
All of this brings Beetlejuice back in contact with Lydia, much to her chagrin, and she reluctantly agrees to marry him this time in exchange for his help saving Lydia. That sets in motion a series of events that also include Delia getting pulled into the situation, and all of it wraps up in a satisfactory way that leaves the possibility of a third movie.
Given this movie’s very recent vintage, it looks great on 4K Ultra HD, of course, and Warner Bros. also tossed in a code for a digital copy. There’s no Blu-ray included, though, which continues a trend from that studio. That’s not a big loss for me, though, since I find the video quality of the digital version just fine, even on my TV.
In terms of bonus features, you get quite a bit here, which is nice:
• Audio commentary: Burton is the only one on this track, but he leaves no stone unturned as he talks about everything from the reasons why it took so long for a sequel to get made to how he handled post-production.
• The Juice is Loose: The Making of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (27:37): Burton, members of the cast, and co-screenwriters Alfred Gough and Miles Millar join this making-of that also spends some time on the first movie too. (I have mixed feelings about the OJ Simpson reference in the title of this featurette.)
• The Ghost with the Most: Beetlejuice Returns (8:34): This featurette dives into the title character, who was never meant to have any kind of character arc in either movie, which is fine with me.
• Meet the Deetz (6:52): A look at three generations of Deetz women. Seems like there was a missed opportunity for a punny title: The Deets on the Deetz.
• Shrinkers, Shrinkers Everywhere! (6:26): The shrunken-head guy was just a joke the first time around, but this time he’s been cloned and serves as Beetlejuice’s office workers.
• An Animated Afterlife: The Stop-Motion Art of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (9:14): I’ll always have a place in my heart for stop-motion animation, so I was happy to see it used a couple times in this movie, including the depiction of Charles being killed by a
• The Handbook for the Recently Deceased (12:07): A look at the afterlife. Danny DeVito, who plays a small role as an undead character, joins other members of the cast and crew to talk about the afterlife.
• ’Til Death Do We Park: Beetlejuice and Lydia’s First Dance (7:54): The song “MacArthur Park” plays a prominent role in the film’s climax, so that part of the movie gets some love here.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Brad Cook
