Astrid Deetz (Jenna Ortega) has grown up in the shadow of her famous mother Lydia's (Winona Ryder) paranormal TV show and she hates it. For her part, Lydia is sick and tired of seeing dead people everywhere but her smarmy producer boyfriend (Justin Theroux) keeps pushing her to milk that cash cow. A family tragedy brings them all back to Winter River and Astrid accidentally gets trapped in the spirit world. Lydia has to broker a deal with her nemesis, Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), to get her daughter back. The Ghost with the Most demands Lydia marry him, both to fulfill his decades-long fantasy and to stop his vengeful ex-wife (Monica Belluci) from destroying his undead life.
Belluci, of course, filling the Barely Disguised Director's Fetish role previously occupied in Burton's films by his wives.
Look, no one needed this film to be made. It is shameless nostalgia-bait for people born in the 80s who are now having a mid-life crisis. That being said, it's not terrible. It's a comforting level of predictable plot, returning stars, and campy fun. Catherine O'Hara steals every scene she's in while newcomer (to me, at least) Arthur Conti was a fun surprise talent.
It's family friendly popcorn entertainment that is specifically designed to appeal to the most people. And it does. I went to the theater as part of a group and everybody (teenagers included) had a good time, whether or not they were familiar with the original. It's probably going to be on (sigh) Max and possibly Disney+ sometime this month. Keep an eye out.
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