Beetlejuice Beetlejuice 2024 is NOT a sequel to the 1988 movie
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice 2024 is NOT a sequel to the 1988 movie
Earlier in the week I saw new cinema release Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. The film is expected to do… and I believe this is the preferred industry term… boffo box office across this opening weekend. Anywhere from $75 to $125m is mooted in North America alone.
A few thoughts on the movie before I offer my hottest of hot takes:
The film is perfectly okay. At no point was I bored by watching on screen. There was always a danger that this could be an embarrassing cringe fest for all involved and that didn’t happen.
The film is supposed to be a sequel to the 1988 film Beetlejuice (remember that hot take I had… hold tight… it’s coming…) and therefore it is perfectly reasonable to compare it to that film. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is simply not as edgy or creative as the first film.
The new cast members in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice aren’t as weird or as unexpected as those from the first film. Justin Theroux is a bit boring in the film as the “love interest” of Winona Ryder’s Lydia. Willem Dafoe is daffy, but in a seen-it-all-before manner. And Monica Bellucci feels like an iceberg heading for the ship, but with all the strength of character of a block of ice. There is nobody as captivating on screen as the first film’s Otho - the late, great Glenn Shadix.
There’s a cameo appearance early in the film (I won’t spoil who), but even that feels obvious and safe compared to Beetlejuice 1’s casting of Robert Goulet and Dick Cavett.
Yes, there’s a miming musical sequence in this one too. And no, it is nowhere near as bonkers or fun as Day-O (Banana Boat Song) or even Jump In The Line.
There’s a very big, broad joke regarding a 70s era variety show and a train station that won’t make sense to most viewers under 50 and will alienate most viewers outside of the US that is played as a major set piece in the film. And the problem with the joke is that it’s the only time in two movies now where a major pop culture gag like that is played. It just doesn’t fit the style of either movie at all.
Now here’s the thing about the movie. I don’t think it tonally makes a lick of sense as a direct sequel to the first Beetlejuice film (a movie that Tim Burton claims to have not rewatched in prep for the new one). But it does make for a direct sequel to the 1989 Beetlejuice cartoon TV show (which Tim Burton had an active role in developing).
The entire vibe of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the cartoon show, right down to Lydia and Beetlejuice teaming up together as they run through the _________. Like the sequel movie, the cartoon show also avoided using ghost couple Barbara and Adam Maitland, which makes me think Burton saw the characters as deadweight.
The sense of humour of the film is the same as the cartoon, with even Beetlejuice less gross and more a general prankster. Watch that first movie and he is a gross as heck, brothel visiting scumbag. That was never on display in the kids TV show, nor really in the sequel movie.
You can find more clips of the animated show on YouTube. If you’re in the US, you can watch all four seasons on Tubi. And that live action sequel is playing now in cinemas.
Community’s Danny Pudi is among the cast being added to the new Denis Leary Fox comedy. Read: Deadline
Disney+ has started to roll out live streaming channels, but doesn’t yet have a centralised place they can be viewed. Right now they just appear in the featured section. Read: TheStreamable
Melissa McCarthy & Clive Owen will play the parents of JonBenét Ramsey in an upcoming Paramount+ series. Read: Deadline
Keke Palmer will star in a remake of The Burbs for Peacock. Read: THR
Animated DC show Creature Commandos, which kicks off the new rebooted DC Universe that viewers will see across TV and movies, will debut on Max Dec 5. Read: Dark Horizons
There are people who claim broadcast TV has nothing to offer anymore. They are clearly wrong:
Spin-off series 9-1-1: Lone Star will end with it’s fifth season. Read: TV Line
New Taylor Sheridan drama Landman debuts on Paramount+ Nov 17. Billy Bob Thornton, Demi Moore, Ali Larter, and Jon Hamm star. Guest stars will include Andy Garcia and Michael Peña. Awesome cast. Maybe I’ll keep my Paramount+ subscription…(?)
One of my current favourites, The Diplomat returns for season 2 on Netflix Oct 31.
Caddo Lake debuts Oct 10 on Max.
The Penguin debuts on Max Sept 19.
Kemonito: The Last Fall debuts on Netflix Sept 19.
An intimate short film by Jesús Juárez Rosales, the person hiding behind the mask of Kemonito, a short wrestler who plays the famous official mascot of Consejo Mundial de la Lucha Libre (CMLL).
The Bad Guys: Haunted Heist debuts on Netflix Oct 3.
The crafty Bad Guys crew embarks on a high-stakes Halloween heist to swipe a priceless amulet from a spooky mansion.
Pimpinero Blood & Oil debuts Sept 9 on Prime Video.
Set in the desert bordering Colombia and Venezuela, where gasoline smugglers known as "pimpineros" risk their lives transporting illegal fuel from one country to another, the film follows Juan (Alejandro Speitzer).
En Fin debuts Sept 13 on Prime Video.
Has the apocalypse arrived? Despite his hangover, Tomás decides to give his wife and daughter the necessary explanations about the supposed end of the world.
Sector 36 debuts on Netflix Sept 13.
Vikrant Massey and Deepak Dobriyal star in a killer cat and mouse chase to the dark and unsettling truth.
Trouble debuts on Netflix Oct 3.
Wrongfully convicted of murder, a clumsy electronics salesman faces police corruption and criminal conspiracies in an attempt to prove his innocence.
That’s the newsletter for today.
Consider becoming a paid supporter of the Always Be Watching newsletter.
Follow Dan Barrett on Threads. Follow Dan on Bluesky. Follow Dan on Letterboxd. Connect with Dan on Linkedin.