If Beetlejuice Beetlejuice ( now streaming on VOD services like Amazon Prime Video ) has a single reason to exist, it’s to assert that anyone in their right mind would still want to marry Winona Ryder. Beyond class-A Gen X crushes, though? It’s tougher sledding, because a 36-years-in-the-making sequel – note: we don’t use the word “legacyquel” around here, under penalty of flogging with uncooked pasta – has to overcome so many things in order to be merely acceptable: Is it just a cynical cash-in? Will it be more than just a nostalgia trip? Should they have left well-enough alone, and avoid the risk of tarnishing the memory of the original film? Speaking of, 1988’s Beetlejuice is beloved by many, and helped establish Tim Burton as both an A-list director (his follow-up was something called Batman ) and the King of All Goths. He returns for BJX2 , alongside Ryder, Michael Keaton and Catherine O’Hara, with newcomer/ Wednesday star Jenna Ortega as some Gen-Z bait.
And while the sequel was a hit, clocking $400 million worldwide, the question as to whether it’s a creative return-to-form for Burton hangs in the air like, well, either the scent of those cinnamon almonds at the mall kiosk, or an old stale fart. Now let’s find out which. BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT? The Gist: I’m “happy” to report that Danny Elfman’s circusy original Beetlejuice musical score remains intact here, and still makes me feel somewhere between heavily agitated.
