Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

This film is why theatres exist for movie lovers.                                                                     

Let me begin by saying that I didn’t remotely care that this wonderful film had a few shortcomings, and most of you won’t either. Aside from the joy of Michael Keaton returning from the dead are some great special effects and an inspiring soundtrack.

 It was great to see Director Tim Burton use many of the characters from the first film released in 1988. Lydia Deetz, a delightful Winona Ryder, is seen at the beginning of the film as the host of a TV show, “Ghost House”. She is a widow and is haunted by the memories of Beetlejuice. After her father’s death, Lydia, her eccentric mother Delia (Catherine O’Hara) and her daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) return to the family’s hillside fun house and all hell breaks loose.

Beetlejuice returns and wants to marry Lydia. Monica Bellucci appears as Beetlejuice’s soul sucking ex-wife and she melts any human in her way. Watch for Danny DeVito’s quick exit from the film.

Without giving anything else away, Astrid falls in love with a guy from the dark side (Arthur Conti) who tricks her so he can return as a human and leave her on the train heading for hell. While she dodges Roy (Justin Theroux), an insufferable boyfriend, Lydia agrees to marry Beetlejuice if he can save Astrid.

And there you have the plot. There is a reason that this film is such a big hit at the box office. Buy a ticket and you will leave with a smile.