Went to Beetlejuice-Beetlejuice Friday and loved it. If you expected it to be more than a well-crafted nostalgia ride with some fun performances, you were at the wrong kind of movie IMO.
I went, I laughed, I had a great time. Seriously, can no one just enjoy it? 🙄 The folks, 10 I think, who were with us in the theater also enjoyed it. (Mid-day matinee for the win) To each their own I guess.
reading sonnys views about the new movie as against the old, i am kinda reminded about my old field of structural engineering, and perhaps more about architecture......Most houses/structures designed by architects, are usually on general techniques and old plans[we did a joke poster in the engineering office of a architect driving away yelling at the engineer saying"get it built and we will do the plans after-its a engineering joke,as we always have to make whatever art the architects design actually standup and carry the loads to work-winks] , that have a fixed history of working, and generally the architects just tweak the old design, replacing old fixtures with the new, and run them out[its also a cost saving feature,saving time,hours of a redesign], but every now and then architects are given free reign to make something new , and its usually here the time , effort and hours[and cost] escalate, when the project becomes more "art" and less "work" or using sometime tried and tested....the project then becomes a hit or miss affair as the architect is trying to make a name for himself, as something new is created, sometimes it hits and their name[and design] are escalated into the architectural heights and other times[most times-engineers often sneer] it doesnt, causing unforeseen problems by trying something new.
Like the film here, it seems sonny is saying they should have kept the original design that worked, tweaked it, and sent it out to the fans who would be expecting more of the same...it seems that this was a new attempt to make something new for themselfs , and less about giving the fans what they wanted :(
It is simply a terrible movie on any level. It’s even more of a flop because the original was so well done, but I think this new installment exists on its own aside from trying to artistically lean on the original for support.
There is just nothing to like about it. Keaton seemed lazy, almost as if he was being held against his will. The reprised leading ladies were caricatures of caricatures and appeared as if they were AI generated as they lack human spark. The kids were off from the start due to the all too often the case flaw of being too polished in manners, words, and maturity that they are completely inauthentic and un-dimensional (yes, Hollywood is capable of getting the human condition so wrong that a character exists as a vacuum-less void).
The only redeeming thing was I saw this yesterday with my 5 year daughter and wife, directly after picking the kid up from school, and the Movie Tavern we went to had very good chicken fingers that they delivered to our seats (along with just edible pizza and quesadillas, and very grest fries). So we got to, as a family, bond in waking out of the movie early and playing some video games in the theater’s arcade. We did our part to support the economy by wasting more money than intended and still got to be home before 6PM. We had the invigorating experience of realizing that pouring millions and millions of dollars into a product does not automatically net an outcome that is better than my daughter’s imagination and her unrehearsed ad hoc shows. This flop was successful in providing an escape from reality but only because it defies reality that it could be so scarily bad.
I rewatched the original last night for fun, not intending to see the sequel. I still don’t.
I’ve probably seen the original two dozen times over 36 years and a cute concept was made fabulous by the controlled insanity of Michael Keaton (also, the hottest and most mesmerizing Batman ever). Everything he does—screams, whispers, physical comedy, malice, lust—is perfect. My favorite line remains, “Nice fucking model” as he grabs his crotch.
Davis and Baldwin are adorable but they’re just there to pin the plot on.
Sylvia Sidney and Catharine O’Hara are both brilliant, and I remain convinced that Sidney was really playing Selma Diamond.
Thank you for this review. As someone recently pointed out, the sequels are usually worse than the original (notable exceptions being “Star Wars: A New Hope” and “Alien”). As a fan of the original “Beetlejuice”, I’ve been tempted to go see it, but you’ve saved me from that. It sounds like this sequel has thrown so many new people into the mix that there’s no one to really care much about. If I get to feeling nostalgic, instead of waiting for the occasional sop to me in this one, I’ll just watch the original.
Beetlejuice is firmly in my top-10 all-time favorite films; I must've seen it three times in the theater when I was a kid. I'll catch the sequel on a streaming service in a few months, with the mindset that it won't be as good as the first in order to minimize disappointment.
Went to Beetlejuice-Beetlejuice Friday and loved it. If you expected it to be more than a well-crafted nostalgia ride with some fun performances, you were at the wrong kind of movie IMO.
I went, I laughed, I had a great time. Seriously, can no one just enjoy it? 🙄 The folks, 10 I think, who were with us in the theater also enjoyed it. (Mid-day matinee for the win) To each their own I guess.
Good review. Now I'll know to:
- Re-watch the original first.
- Wait to stream the new one.
The original Beetlejuice was Tim Burton's last decent film. Fight me.
Unpopular opinion: I thought the original movie wasn't very good, either. 90 minutes of Michael Keaton chewing the scenery.
Pretty much, but I was there for Wynona at the height of her powers. Also, it was 1988, ffs! Lol
reading sonnys views about the new movie as against the old, i am kinda reminded about my old field of structural engineering, and perhaps more about architecture......Most houses/structures designed by architects, are usually on general techniques and old plans[we did a joke poster in the engineering office of a architect driving away yelling at the engineer saying"get it built and we will do the plans after-its a engineering joke,as we always have to make whatever art the architects design actually standup and carry the loads to work-winks] , that have a fixed history of working, and generally the architects just tweak the old design, replacing old fixtures with the new, and run them out[its also a cost saving feature,saving time,hours of a redesign], but every now and then architects are given free reign to make something new , and its usually here the time , effort and hours[and cost] escalate, when the project becomes more "art" and less "work" or using sometime tried and tested....the project then becomes a hit or miss affair as the architect is trying to make a name for himself, as something new is created, sometimes it hits and their name[and design] are escalated into the architectural heights and other times[most times-engineers often sneer] it doesnt, causing unforeseen problems by trying something new.
Like the film here, it seems sonny is saying they should have kept the original design that worked, tweaked it, and sent it out to the fans who would be expecting more of the same...it seems that this was a new attempt to make something new for themselfs , and less about giving the fans what they wanted :(
It is simply a terrible movie on any level. It’s even more of a flop because the original was so well done, but I think this new installment exists on its own aside from trying to artistically lean on the original for support.
There is just nothing to like about it. Keaton seemed lazy, almost as if he was being held against his will. The reprised leading ladies were caricatures of caricatures and appeared as if they were AI generated as they lack human spark. The kids were off from the start due to the all too often the case flaw of being too polished in manners, words, and maturity that they are completely inauthentic and un-dimensional (yes, Hollywood is capable of getting the human condition so wrong that a character exists as a vacuum-less void).
The only redeeming thing was I saw this yesterday with my 5 year daughter and wife, directly after picking the kid up from school, and the Movie Tavern we went to had very good chicken fingers that they delivered to our seats (along with just edible pizza and quesadillas, and very grest fries). So we got to, as a family, bond in waking out of the movie early and playing some video games in the theater’s arcade. We did our part to support the economy by wasting more money than intended and still got to be home before 6PM. We had the invigorating experience of realizing that pouring millions and millions of dollars into a product does not automatically net an outcome that is better than my daughter’s imagination and her unrehearsed ad hoc shows. This flop was successful in providing an escape from reality but only because it defies reality that it could be so scarily bad.
I rewatched the original last night for fun, not intending to see the sequel. I still don’t.
I’ve probably seen the original two dozen times over 36 years and a cute concept was made fabulous by the controlled insanity of Michael Keaton (also, the hottest and most mesmerizing Batman ever). Everything he does—screams, whispers, physical comedy, malice, lust—is perfect. My favorite line remains, “Nice fucking model” as he grabs his crotch.
Davis and Baldwin are adorable but they’re just there to pin the plot on.
Sylvia Sidney and Catharine O’Hara are both brilliant, and I remain convinced that Sidney was really playing Selma Diamond.
Thank you for this review. As someone recently pointed out, the sequels are usually worse than the original (notable exceptions being “Star Wars: A New Hope” and “Alien”). As a fan of the original “Beetlejuice”, I’ve been tempted to go see it, but you’ve saved me from that. It sounds like this sequel has thrown so many new people into the mix that there’s no one to really care much about. If I get to feeling nostalgic, instead of waiting for the occasional sop to me in this one, I’ll just watch the original.
Beetlejuice is firmly in my top-10 all-time favorite films; I must've seen it three times in the theater when I was a kid. I'll catch the sequel on a streaming service in a few months, with the mindset that it won't be as good as the first in order to minimize disappointment.
And “Godfather II.” Brilliant in every way and superior to the excellent first movie, which was really a sequel. It’s a mobius.