Lydia, oh, Lydia, darling of media, do you still see dead folks?
Review © 2024 by Flytrap
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Written by: Alfred Gough, Miles Millar,
Directed by: Tim Burton
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Catherine O’Hara, Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci, Justin Theroux, Arthur Conti
Complete cast and crew are HERE
Rated PG-13
Running time: 104 mins
Lydia is all grown up and hosting a TV show centered on psychic/ghostly phenomena. But when she learns that her father has died, she reunites with her step-mother and her daughter, Astrid, and they all travel back to THAT HOUSE to hold a memorial — right before Halloween. Portentous much?
As with the first film, this is a goofy glob of grins, without much logic or structure; mostly, Burton just throws everything at us to see what will stick. Luckily, there is a lot of stickiness to be had. Ryder has grown her character, retaining a bit of the goth girl, but adding some wisdom. O’Hara is as goofy as ever and Ortega is perfect as her mother’s daughter. And, of course, there’s Keaton as the malevolent but unlucky demon.
My one complaint is that it took too long to get going; the first thirty minutes or so had me tapping my foot, waiting. But once it took off, it didn’t relent and the ride was non-stop. I like that Burton didn’t rely on too much nostalgia from the original, but I did miss the Maitlands.
MacArthur Park was brilliant!
I’ll recommend this one; it was great fun. The kids will probably be fine, as it was more silly than scary. There are some scenes with the credits worth watching, but after those you can scoot.
Flytrap rating: 7.5/10
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