‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ Doesn’t Disappoint—But Should Be Way Wackier
VENICE, Italy—Set long after the events of the 1988 film, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice finds Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) now working as a television host of Ghost House, a paranormal home show that finds her helping couples rid their homes of ghosts. Her teenage daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) barely talks to her after the death of her father. But it’s not all bad: Lydia’s in a relationship with Rory (Justin Theroux), the show’s producer, and her life seems to be going smoothly.
That is until she starts to see visions of Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton) again. Things are complicated further when Lydia’s stepmother Delia (a delightful Catherine O’Hara) informs her that her father was killed in a plane crash.
This brings Lydia, Astrid, Rory, and Delia back to their family home on the hill in Wind River where much of the first Beetlejuice took place. The preceding events feel more like convenient narrative machinations to remind us that this is indeed a sequel than important details to the plot. Thankfully, after a clumsy first act, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice isn’t too invested in what came before, delivering enough respect for the OG to satisfy nostalgists while moving into its own world.