Legacy sequels are a difficult nut to crack. The vast majority of these films (and occasional shows) are for Gen X franchises. That’s my generation, so I’ll give you my bias up front for that. For a legacy sequel to work it has to appeal to the franchises existing fan base. But Gen X is aging (Believe me, I’m all too aware), so you need to bring in younger generations too. The important thing is you don’t bring them in at the expense of the built in fandom. Indeed the entire point of using these old franchises is that the enthusiasm and love of the existing fans helps to encourage in new ones. Ideally you want parents to introduce the kids, but as long as the general reaction is positive you get a nice momentum boost.
The problem is that quite often these sequels are created by people that either don’t care for the franchise or have a very fringe take and as a result they garner a huge backlash from the original fans and new fans are put off. This is true of remakes/reboots too, but the potential for both success and failure is that much higher with a continuation. The success rate for legacy sequels is marginally better than that for remakes, but still lands under 50%. What tends to weigh things more to the positive is the inclusion of legacy cast members and creatives, so the fact that the new Beetlejuice sequel sees Tim Burton, Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder return had me hopeful this one would join Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop and Karate Kid in the win list.
Showtime!
Tim Burton returns to the directors chair, with Danny Elfman once again providing the score. Script duties though have been passed to “Wednesday” writers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (Original writer Michael McDowell died in 1999 and his collaborator Larry Wilson is absent). Keaton and Ryder of course return as the titular character and franchise lead “Lydia Deets” respectively. Catherine O’Hara, returns in her role as “Delia Deetz” (Lydia’s step-mother) and while her husband “Charles” is somewhat present as a character, actor Jeffrey Jones did not return. Ghost couple “Adam” and “Barbara” (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) are entirely absent. The primary addition to the cast comes from Jenna Ortega (Fresh off “Wednedsay”) as Lydia’s estranged daughter “Astrid”. She is joined by Willem Dafoe as ghost detective “Wolf Jackson”, Justin Theroux as manipulative douche bag “Rory” and Monica Bellucci as soul sucking seductress “Delores”.
Many years after the events of “Beetlejuice” (1988), Lydia has made a career for herself as a TV Medium, utilizing her ability to see the dead. She is however haunted by visions of Beetlejuice and the events of the first movie has left her somewhat fragile. That didn’t stop her marrying and having a daughter, but after the death of her husband, her relationship with her daughter has become strained and she has found it increasingly difficult to cope. After her father also dies during a tragic plane crash, Lydia, her daughter Astrid and step-mother Deelia return to “Winter River” (Site of the first movie) for the funeral. While there, a series of events unfold that leaves Lydia with only one person to whom she can turn, the devious and outrageous Beetlejuice.
Stitched Together
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a bit of a mixed bag and that is a shame because the ingredients are all here for what could have been a fantastic legacy sequel. The returning cast settle into their roles as if it was still the 1980’s, Tim Burton is able to indulge in all that quirky gothicness that we love about his style and the film provides what is effectively a female-centric story while avoiding all those modern cliches that tend to ruin that kind of thing. All the characters have their flaws, the heroic ones learn to overcome them and everyone else milks their flaws for entertainment value. They even dealt with controversies with the original cast (The ones that didn’t return) in a manner that fed into the story instead of derailing it. These elements, while good come up against the films big problem: The Plot.
The main issue here is that there are effectively three main stories, that should all intertwine in a way where each one enhances the other, but instead the three threads feel separate and get in each others way. Astrid’s plot provides the opening for the Lydia/Beetlejuice story but in no way intersects with the Delores story and is confined almost entirely to the middle act. It’s hinted that the Delores story factors in to Beetlejuices motivation with Lydia but this is never really explained and ultimately doesn’t change his intentions (He always wanted his wedding). Ultimately, the Delores plot feels entirely detached and just an excuse to place additional disconnected scenes and characters momentarily into the story. Her actual engagement with the rest of the cast is very brief and highly anti-climactic.
Happy Families
Conceptually speaking the Astrid and Delores plots should have had a movie each for it to work, with the Beetlejuice/Lydia story being the focus for a trilogy. Perhaps this was the original plan, but at some point that was abanoned and both plots were squeezed into the one movie. A side effect of this is that Beetlejuice really doesn’t get enough screen time and that is a shame because Keaton was truly on form. It takes about half the movie before he gets properly involved. He’s not alone though in providing a good performance and one surprising highlight is Catherine O’Hara who gains extra screen time largely due to the exclusion of her onscreen husband. Meanwhile, Willem Dafoe’s reminds us that he can do comedy just as well as he does everything else and while his character is sort of pointless, you are glad he is there.
The movies leads though are Winona Ryder and new addition Jenna Ortega. Winona continues her Hollywood comeback she started when she landed her role in Netflix “Stranger Things” and long may it continue. Lydia has changed since she was a child, and is somewhat neurotic, but throughout the film you still feel the young Lydia inside and waiting to come back out. Jenna was an obvious choice for the daughter, since she did so well as Wednesday Addams for the Burton directed Netflix series. While Astrid isn’t a million miles removed from Wednesday, the differences are clear. Astrid has a layer of innocence and naivety that Wednesday does not and Astrid is actually interested in hooking up with boys. She does however have Wednesday’s goth girl sarcasm, but that fits considering how her mother was at her age. The pairing was perfect.
Final Judgement
In conclusion: This is a film that will very likely be both disappointing and enjoyable. It’s an odd combination and almost certainly your mileage will vary. It’s no surprise that reviews of the film have been somewhat split and I am going to land somewhat in the middle. As legacy sequels go, this is more of a win than a loss. This is a film that you want to be fun and it delivers that. That said, a Beetlejuice film can’t just coast by on the humour alone, it needs a solid plot too. The weaknesses with that plot are a lot more noticeable here than with something like Deadpool and Wolverine. On a positive note though, the film doesn’t damage the franchise or any of it’s characters and I don’t think anyone will regret watching.
The original movie is a strong 8.5/10. An all time classic. This sequel just about hits 6/10. That’s a recommend, but not an earth shattering one. Set your expectations accordingly and you will have a good time.
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