That Nobody Asked For...
Like a cup of warm vomit books by Richard Madeley, or that time that U2 gave away a free album to hapless *insert branded device here* owners , a sequel to Beetlejuice is finally upon us, apparently. Yay. Hold me back.
O yes, it would appear that Tim Burton is releasing Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in September. And Michael Keaton is back in the titular role, along with original cast members Winona Ryder and Catherine O’ Hara. Monica Bellucci is also on board, which likely means Burton is banging her (see also Lisa Marie and Helena Bonham – Carter) it’s akin to Woody Allen, who always cast ladies from his private life, except…ahem.. Soon-Yi.
How are we all feeling about this sequel? On the strength of the trailer, which seems to reprise some old visual gags, I’m pretty underwhelmed. That’s often par for the course when it comes to this auld grump anyway, but when it seems to be trading on celluloid nostalgia, it looks like film directors are simply running out of ideas.
For the record, I like the first film a lot. It fused the macabre with the witty in an inventive way, and I related to Lydia more than any other teenager on the silver screen up until that point. It was as if Edward Gorey was being channelled via Looney Tunes. I even liked recent fare like Big Eyes. It really felt like he’d found his groove again, with a gentle dismantling of the American Dream.
But this is the world we’re living in, and such is Hollywood. We must make of it what we will. For me, I remain unconvinced. I’m going to retreat into my dark room to write ghoulish, existential poetry.
Hit The North 