I've found my old review. I wrote right after I left the cinema. So βdisclaimerβThe description below is my impressions of the film 2 years ago, immediately after watching it. If you're interested in what I think now, I'll have to rewatch the film.
Let's discuss
πͺ²BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICπͺ²
The film has no overarching concept. It's just a collection of chaotic sketches set in old sets, completely unrelated to each other. We're shown three antagonists: a dead guy who picked up Lydia's daughter; Beetlejuice's ex-wife (who also happens to be the director's current girlfriend); and the incomparable Beetlejuice. He's the star of the show, so his motives are clear, but weakly portrayed.
In the first film, he needed to marry Lydia to come back to life. Just like the guy who picked up Lydia's daughter. He wanted to come back to life with Astrid's help, but without a wedding. Inconsistencies.
Barbara and Adam weren't even in the sequel. Even though the first film said they'd stay in the house for 125 years, they only got 36!
By the way, Beetlejuice mentioned in the first film that he's been sitting and waiting for about 600 years. That's his minimum age. Why would his wife decide to take revenge now? Plus, I don't understand the point of Dolores's character. She doesn't move the plot forward, has no impact. She's just there to show off, that's all.
I understand that the film was made after Tim Burton's depressive period. Only after the success of the Wednesday series was Tim finally given the go-ahead to make whatever he wanted. But it seems he still hasn't recovered and forgot to add a utter triviality to the sequel, like "what is this movie about?"
Whether it's about the mother-daughter relationship, or about Beetlejuice going crazy, or Lydia's tragedy with her husband, it's unclear. There's no central story here. And I can't forget that kid who picked up Astrid. What do we know about him? That he killed his parents with kitchen utensils and that he's creepy. That's all! Why did he kill his parents? I really want to know.
Oh, I didn't want to...but Okay, when a movie is good in some way, I'll admit it. The jokey-jokes are funny. The sets are awesome. The acting is good.
As you can see, I'm a realist. I see both the good and the bad:D
