(Photo Credit: Alon Amir)
(“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” trailer courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)
Sometimes, it takes decades for fans of a movie to get the sequel treatment.
That creates a problem because many films succeed because of the era that the original came from.
“Coming 2 America” dropped 33 years after “Coming to America” and it did not connect with the fans like the 1988 version, which became a pop culture phenomenon.
Many children of the 1980s have waited 36 years for a sequel to “Beetlejuice.”
And while many fans came away dissatisfied after the sequel to the Eddie Murphy classic, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” will prove worth the wait as the sequel will satisfy old fans while bringing new fans into the fold.
Many in the world have always been fascinated with ghosts and the afterworld.
People will pay money to visit haunted homes.
Folks will pay mediums for seances to hopefully talk to their deceased loved-ones.
And others will hold on to superstitions because they believe saying the wrong things will trigger demons to descend on them.
In “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) has turned her past experiences with ghosts into a lucrative and fame-creating career as a television personality who counsels people who have come in contact with ghosts.
Though she has dealt with her past demons, evil and darkness has a way of never going away totally.
Lydia’s fame has turned her daughter away from her because her strange television show has made her daughter Astrid Deetz (Jenna Ortega) a constant punching bag for her classmates at her prestigious high school.
Astrid is so upset with Lydia that she never answers the phone for her.
And instead of saving her mother’s phone number under Mom, Mama or Lydia, Astrid save’s her mother’s phone number as Alleged Mom in her cell phone.
Astrid always had a better relationship with her father.
But as a teenager, she has no relationship at all with her famous mother.
Unfortunately, her beloved father is now deceased and all she has is memories of their time together and their special bond.
What really makes Astrid upset is the fact that her mother can allegedly see and communicate with ghosts or the deceased.
Therefore, why has she not been able to contact Astrid’s father so that her daughter can at least say goodbye to her dad?
Although Astrid gives her mother the silent treatment, the silent treatment will not work when a parent or “grandparent” shows up to your campus and embarrasses you.
In “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” Lydia and Lydia’s stepmother Deelia Deetz (Catherine O’Hara) arrive on Astrid’s campus to loudly inform her that her grandfather had just passed away.
Although Lydia wants to remain on campus to participate in some environmental projects that she has been working on, her family needs her to leave home to prepare for her grandfather’s funeral and wake, which will take place at the old ghost house.
To put it mildly, Astrid does not want to be there.
She misses her grandfather.
However, she does not want to be around his wife, her mother and her mother’s new fiancée Rory (Justin Theroux) who pops the big question at his soon-to-be dead father-in-law’s wake.
Yes, nothing says romance like a wedding proposal at a funeral.
The only saving grace of Astrid’s forced trip to the ghost house is that she meets a local boy named Jeremy (Arthur Conti), which gives her some much-needed breaks from her crazy kinfolks and their weird friends.
Unfortunately, coming back to the old house might unleash the ghosts of the past like Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton).
And on top of that, other ghosts might exist that pose more of a risk to the Deetz family than Beetlejuice ever did.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” represents a conundrum of sorts.
Many that were alive when the original “Beetlejuice” came out might have outgrown the childishness of the titular character.
However, many adults have not truly grown up at heart.
Therefore, some of the sophomoric humor of Beetlejuice will connect.
And although “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” will gain more young fans who were only twinkles in their parents’ eyes back in the 1980s, some of the jokes contain enough innuendo that will entertain adults without being age inappropriate.
A perfect example is when Beetlejuice agrees that his ex-wife Delores (Monica Belluci) is a soul sucker.
And the other jokes like Lydia’s breathing exercise scene will connect with moviegoers, regardless of age.
However, some of the montages might fly over the heads of youngsters, like the soul train scene that takes people to the great beyond after their time on Earth has concluded.
Only people of a certain age will understand the role of the emcee and the groovy dancers that the dead do before they hop aboard for their final train ride.
But “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” does contain its heartfelt moments thanks to a mother-daughter relationship that many parents and teenagers will relate to.
When Astrid said she only believes in things that she can see and facts like science, it should cause moviegoers to think because people should realize that one can see with more than their eyes.
And just because others cannot see what they see does not mean it is not there.
Sometimes seeing comes from wisdom, experience and belief.
And not believing does not make something go away.
But people should believe in the revived “Beetlejuice” franchise.
Furthermore, whoever came up with the title “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is genius.
And obviously, fans should expect the third installment “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” and not 36 years from now, hopefully.
Dang, I said it three times.
Therefore, if the Regal Family does not hear from me again, Beetlejuice did it.
REGAL RATINGS
FOUR CROWNS=EXCELLENT
THREE CROWNS=GOOD
TWO CROWNS=AVERAGE
ONE CROWN=POOR
