Jonathan Caro’s review published on Letterboxd:
Three generations of the Deetz family - matriarch Delia (Catherine O'Hara), step-daughter, Lydia (Winona Ryder) and Lydia's daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega) - return to their hometown of Winter House for the funeral of Lydia's father, Charles. Once entered back into the house, Astrid comes across the infamous book, the Handbook for the Recently Deceased and accidentally recites an incantation. Lydia discovers that she enters the Afterlife and because of an emergency, unfortunately and with no choice, she summons Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton) to help Astrid. He has a demand that Lydia marries him to allow him to stay in the mortal world, hiding from his murderous ex-wife from the afterlife, Delores (Monica Bellucci).
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a bit overstuffed yet darkly comical and gorgeously photographed from cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos' eye for lighting. I slowly grown to like Beetlejuice the first few times I watched it because of the atmosphere and I liked that I'm back into this world, treading on discussions between heaven and Hell, toxic relationships and evolutionary history on the Deetz family where it hones on Delia's and Lydia's relationship very well. And, I liked Astrid's sub-plot which director Tim Burton uses her in clever ways to navigate her way to the third act involving the wedding.
Michael Keaton fits this maniacal character like a glove again and is having a ball of a time like he did in the first movie. He's excellent. All the performances are good including newcomers Justin Theroux and Willem Dafoe. And, while Monica Bellucci is a welcomed presence, Burton did not fully or conceptually grasp this character too well.
Plot is all over the place like the first movie but I felt the first movie was less of a mess than this but the performances, the laughter, the surprisingly emotional stakes, the wild practical and CGI aesthetics are what gifted me this experience once again. It is a nice fun surprise from Tim Burton as he returns to his roots of his cacophony of crazed manic and originally visual aesthetics.
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