Beetlejuice Beetlejuice - Is the Sequel as Good as the Original?

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) starring Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe. Directed by Tim Burton, Screenplay by Alfred Gough. Miles Millar. Based on Characters by Michael McDowell, Larry Wilson. Produced by Marc Toberoff, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Tommy Harper, Tim Burton Run time: 104 minutes, Color, USA Comedy, Horror

Note: This review contains spoilers for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Sequels seem to be taking longer and longer to get made. The original King Kong's sequel, Son of Kong, came out the same year, but the turnaround has only gotten longer since. Two years ago, Top Gun: Maverick came out 36 years after its predecessor, Top Gun, and this year, Beetlejuice follows suit with its sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. While Maverick was an improvement over the original, can the same be said for Beetlejuice x 2?

The original film was a mostly comedic take on the afterlife, following the recently deceased Maitlands (Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin) as they come to terms with the Deetz family (Jeffrey Jones, Catherine O'Hara, Winona Ryder) moving into and remodeling their old home and rescue the daughter, Lydia, from the clutches of a demon, Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), who wants to marry her so he can return to the living.

Delia Deetz (Catherine O'Hara), Astrid (Jenna Ortega), Lydia (Winona Ryder),
and Rory (Justin Theroux) in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

As one would expect after 36 years, some things would change, but the Maitlands are gone, Charles Deetz (Jones) is dead and Lydia is a somewhat unhappy paranormal with an unhappier daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega). Keaton is back as the still Lydia-obsessed Beetlejuice, with the addition of Justin Theroux as Rory, Lydia's current boyfriend and a television producer and Burton's current main squeeze Monica Bellucci as Delores LaVerge, Betelgeuse's ex-wife who, in life, was a mysterious woman and a soul-sucking witch.

The storyline is much more complicated this time around and maybe not to the benefit of the film. Everything comes to a head on Halloween night (of course it would) when Rory has proposed marrying Lydia, but those plans are fluid. Delia ends up dead when she gets scammed during some supposed Egyptian ritual to honor her newly buried Charles. Astrid gets into a relationship with a boy she almost literally runs into, Jeremy Frazier (Arthur Conti), who tricks her and forces Lydia to call upon Beetlejuice to help save her. Add to that Beetlejuice is trying to keep away from Delores and Wolf Jackson (Willem Dafoe), a former B-movie action star, who is spending eternity as a ghost detective.

Not everything pans out. We spend a good amount of the film watching Delores hunting Beetlejuice down, but there is really not a great payoff for our time. Bob, a shrunkenheaded hunter at the end of the last film, ends up one of several such victims who work for Beetlejuice's nebulous call-in center. Not really sure what he or they are supposed to be doing. The shrunkheads are sort of this film's minions, when the more the funnier is the rule of the day. When several of them escape into the human world, they're left out there without a second thought.

While the original was played against a soundtrack that featured Harry Belafonte's calypso music, this time around it's "MacArthur Park", a song made famous by actor Richard Harris, which took to Number 2 in the charts back in 1968, that gets the treatment. The sequence with the song goes on much too long and might even ruin the song for some in the audience old enough to remember it.

Some sequences, like "MacArthur Park" go on too long. The film also doesn't know when to end and some things that appear to be resolved aren't, which sort of takes away from what you've just watched.

Michael Keaton returns as Beetlejuice.

The acting is strong. Michael Keaton, as he does most times, shines as Beetlejuice. He is the right man for the part and is obviously up to whatever the role requires, even 36 years on. Winona Rider is also good as an older Lydia. Willem Dafoe is good, though he seems to suck down the backdrops when his character hams it up. I also thought Jenna Ortega gave a strong performance.

Wolf Jackson (Willem Dafoe) questions Bob about Beetlejuice's location.

There is some stunt casting with Danny Devito as a janitor in the dead realm and Delores' first victim.

There are some genuine funny moments, including the actual credits. And there is a recurring bit where every time Wolf Jackson starts acting, his beautiful assistant arrives with a cup of coffee, no matter where he happens to be.

The special effects are improved from the original, but have lost a little of their charms along the way. That said, the prosthetic head piece worn by Dafoe is not very convincing when this is a film that doesn't shy away from blood and drool.

To answer the question at the top of the review, no Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was not an improvement on the original. It's not as much fun or as enjoyable. Sometimes it might be best to leave well enough alone and not always make a sequel. We had managed 36 years without one and could have gone longer as well.