Tim Burton’s artistry resurfaces with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the sequel I didn't realize I had been anticipating my entire life.  I can still recall dissecting the original Beetlejuice with my friends in a way that only a tween can.  Here I am 36 years later and just as giddy about Tim Burton’s newest work.

For two decades Tim Burton has been focusing his talent on lacklustre retellings, from Planet of the Apes and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to the nonsense that was Dark Shadows.  The imagination that transformed Beetlejuice, Batman and Edward Scissorhands from film to pure art seemed all but lost.  Heads up: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice begins in a disjointed manner as we quickly struggle to play catch up with the characters.  We learn ghost whisperer Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) is all grown up with a dissatisfied daughter of her own named Astrid, played by Jenna Ortega.  Beetlejuice meanwhile has expanded his Bio-Exorcist company and now has a call centre run by shrunken heads.  However, a clever claymation sequence and Monica Belucci entrance (stylishly backed to the Bee Gees song Tragedy,) create the perfect mood.  By the time Astrid arrives at the treehouse Burton is firing on all cylinders.

What I loved most about Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is that all the characters have a new level of depth.  Lydia’s rebellious goth girl has been replaced by an easily damaged woman.  While Delia’s (Catherine O’Hara) superficial veneer showcases a new found intensity.  Moreover, the notion of dying has been transformed from an endless purgatory to one of hope.  In Burton’s afterlife you can dance your way onto the ‘soul train’ or even find your dream job.  Death is no longer an ending but a journey that might be even more exciting then one’s time on earth.  Case in point Wolf Jackson’s (Willem Dafoe) clever turn from actor in life to detective in death.  Even Beetlejuice (played with exactness by Michael Keaton,) finally gets a Burtonesque backstory set in black and white complete with subtitles.  Burton’s creativity is abundant in this film while the costuming and makeup serve as a beautiful reprieve from a cgi saturated world.  Moreover, each costumed demise effectively serve up a backstory of what happened during their final moments.  Never feeling like a simple rehash, this new chapter continues to push the story forward while steering us toward a trilogy.

Once Beetlejuice Beetlejuice started and the classic Geffen logo disappeared I was nervous.  Would this newest incarnation be as fun as it was in the 80’s.  I am happy to report Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is original, exciting and smart.  The depiction of the living and dead, and how they intertwine, is not only amusing but also a beautiful metaphor.  Who would have thought that a movie with a main character called Beetlejuice could have such existential possibilities.