I recently revisited Beetlejuice and I don’t think it’s aged particularly well.  It was a nice-sized hit when released in 1988 (it snuck into the top 10 of the annual box-office in the United States) but looking back from today, I see it as a slight, cartoonish horror-comedy about ghosts and the afterlife.  There’s a handful of laughs and great make-up work (which won it an Academy Award) but I’d argue other supernatural comedies of that era, such as the original Ghostbusters, offer a more complete narrative (gotta save the world!) with better characters.

Director Tim Burton and the three-person writing team had an opportunity to rethink the material for the 21^st Century and create something fresh.  Instead, the film comes across a poorly conceived homage to the original with little else to offer.  There are several subplots but at its core, it’s about the now middle-aged Lydia Deetz (Ryder) who has problems to overcome after the ghost Beetlejuice (Keaton) re-surfaces for the first time in decades.

Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara are the three actors who reprise their roles from the original.  Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis don’t appear, and their absence is explained with a throw-away line.  Jeffrey Jones isn’t in the movie either but, for reasons I can’t understand, the writers decide to make him the focal “missing” character who is spoken about throughout the film.

Ryder goes too far with the “kookiness” but the interplay with Jenna Ortega (Scream), who plays her ashamed teenage daughter, is the film’s strongest attribute.  I’d argue it’s the only plot point worth following.  Justin Theroux (Mulholland Drive) plays a scummy TV producer and Monica Bellucci (The Passion of the Christ) plays a jilted lover, but their underdeveloped characters are so one-note that it’s impossible to take them seriously.  Why not given them more backstory and nuance?

Beetlejuice was just a supporting player in the 1988 movie and while he gets a more screen time here, it’s not to the film’s benefit.  We’ve just got Michael Keaton, his face smeared with make-up, acting quirky and making inappropriate comments.  Could he not have more to do?  In failing to advance his character in any meaningful way, it reinforces the view this a generic “cash grab” sequel where profit takes precedence over story.

Keep the expectations low for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.