'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' review: Tim Burton, stars deliver enough laughs to cast a spell

This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Michael Keaton in a scene from "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

Betelgeuse, the bio-exorcist made famous by Michael Keaton in the 1988 film of (almost) the same name, thinks of himself as “nightmare material.”

But for fans of the much-loved original movie, his reunion with director Tim Burton is a dream.

This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Jenna Ortega, left, and Winona Ryder in a scene from 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.' (Parisa Taghizadeh/Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

The new film, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” returns to Winter River, along with three generations of the Deetz family. They are: wacky artist Delia (Catherine O’Hara), mother of goth TV personality Lydia (Winona Ryder)—"The Living. The Dead. Can they coexist? That's what we're here to find out,” she says— and grandmother of the rebellious Astrid (Jenna Ortega), who thinks her mother’s clairvoyance is a sham.

Brought together by the passing of Deetz family patriarch Charles (originally played by Jeffrey Jones), the trio becomes a quartet when Astrid opens a portal to the afterlife, releasing the ghostly presence of Betelgeuse (Keaton). “The juice is loose!”

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Lydia, now engaged to greasy television producer Rory (Justin Theroux), must reckon with her past betrothal to Betelgeuse.

“When I was a teenager, a trickster demon terrorized our entire family and tried to force me to marry him,” says Lydia, while the rambunctious spirit has marital troubles of his own. His ex-wife, the soul-sucking Delores (Monica Belucci), has pulled herself together—when we first see her, she’s reassembling her dismembered body—and is looking for revenge.

This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Monica Bellucci in a scene from 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.' (Parisa Taghizadeh/Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

Flip flopping between past and present, our world and the otherworld, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” explores Astrid’s crush on emo local boy Jeremy (Arthur Conti), the adventures of B-movie-action-star-turned-ghost-detective Wolf Jackson (Willem Dafoe), and the power of the “Handbook for the Recently Deceased.”

A sequel to a movie released when Ronald Reagan was the president of the United States, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is in some ways a back-to-basics Tim Burton movie.

A return to the pop pastiche style that made his name, it’s an eye-popping collection of influences. From the German Expressionism of “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” and classic 50s kitsch to exaggerated dreamscapes and the gothic “Gashlycrumb Tinies," his energized visuals will make your eyeballs dance. It’s a welcome return to the marvellously macabre window dressing that defined the original and made it so much fun.

But sequel culture, being what it is, means that the follow-up to a beloved hit must be bigger than what came before. So, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is longer, louder and unrulier than the original. In its attempt to recreate the magic of the first film, it tries too hard, stuffing the story with side-stories, new characters and callbacks to 1988. It’s a new “Day-O” for Betelgeuse, and the effort is evident, but the extra stuff doesn’t do much in terms of freshening up Mr. Juice’s mouldy corpse.

Still, although bigger is not better, it brims with humour and heart, courtesy of a handpicked cast of Burton regulars. Keaton has an expanded role—he only appears for 17.5 minutes in the original—and goes for it. The character isn’t exactly subtle, but both Burton and Keaton use restraint, so the wild-and-wacky "ghost with the most" doesn’t overstay his welcome.

Catherine O'Hara, left, a cast member in 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,' discusses the film alongside fellow actors Justin Theroux and Monica Belluci during the Warner Bros. Pictures presentation at CinemaCon 2024, April 9, 2024, in Las Vegas (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

The Deetz family dynamic, the film’s beating heart, is well represented in the relationship between Ryder, O’Hara and Ortega. Canadian national treasure O’Hara is reliably hilarious, stealing every scene she’s in, while Ryder and Ortega do the dramatic heavy lifting.

You may not have the time of your afterlife at “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” but it’s far from a dead end for Burton and company. It doesn’t have the charm of the first film, but does deliver enough laughs, fan service and new ideas to cast its spell.

3 ½ OUT OF 5 STARS