Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a treat - movie review

It took awhile, but Tim Burton has finally brought movie audiences back to the world of Beetlejuice. This sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, has a number of entertaining subplots that converge.

Let's start with Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder), who is using her paranormal abilities as the star of a television show in which she helps people connect with ghosts. Unfortunately, her daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) thinks Lydia is a fraud, because although she helps other people contact their loved ones who have passed away, she has never seen her husband -- Astrid's father -- since he died in an accident.

When Lydia's stepmother Delia (Catherine O'Hara) calls to tell her that Charles -- Lydia's father -- has just died, Lydia leaves the set of her show with her producer Rory (Justin Theroux) in tow. They pick up Astrid from boarding school so they can arrange the funeral and pack up the house in Winter River where Charles was still living.

Astrid goes up to the attic of the house, where the model of Winter River is still in the attic. She picks up a flyer that says Beetlejuice's name and when she shows it to her mother, Lydia warns her never to say it three times, because it will open up the gates to the underworld, where the demon Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) lives.

Meanwhile, Beetlejuice's late wife, the soul-sucking Delores (Monica Bellucci), has returned to seek revenge on her husband. In order to avoid her, he desperately wants to get out of the underworld to return to the living. He's never forgotten about Lydia and has been haunting her, still hoping to marry her. He's not the only one -- Rory has designs on Lydia as well.

Disgusted by Rory and her mother, Astrid runs off during her grandfather's funeral and meets a boy named Jeremy, who brings further complications into her life.

It was such a treat to see the original characters from the original movie, especially the first time we see Michael Keaton light up the screen again as Beetlejuice. Each of the subplots is brimming with intrigue and as we jump from the real world to the underworld and back, and as the plot speeds up with various characters in possible danger, the audience is taken on a joy-filled ride. A musical scene at the church in which the cast lip syncs to a song is incredibly entertaining and the highlight of the movie. There were numerous fans in the audience who dressed up as characters from the first movie and along with the rest of the crowd, enjoyed the many laughs in the film, as well as the suspenseful moments that had all eyes glued to the screen.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is as much of a delight for moviegoers as the first film, and makes for an incredibly fun time out.

5 out of 5 stars

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