"Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" and the Month in Movie Reviews

[I review the new movie "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" as well as "Woman of the Hour" and "Jackpot!"]

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)

After 36 years, Beetlejuice and Lydia Deetz are back!

I don't know why I keep doing this to myself. Einstein supposedly said "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."  I guess I am insane because I keep watching movie sequels thinking they will be good and they never are.  And this one is no exception.

Yes, it's fun to see Michael Keaton chewing the scenery again, and yes, Tim Burton is a fine director, and yes, Winona Ryder is aging well, and yes, the production values are first rate as is Danny Elfman's music. You would think all of that would make for a fine movie, right? Wrong.  Even though I saw the first film, it's been 36 years, and with little exposition to remind me what went on that long ago, I didn't know what the hell was going on most of the time. It was a mess.

But here is what I think was going on.

Michael Keaton is back as Beetlejuice, Winona Ryder is back as Lydia Deetz and Catherine O'Hara is back as Delia Deetz, Lydia's stepmother. Winona is no longer the goth teen that the demon, Beetlejuice (Keaton), was obsessed with.

Lydia now hosts a supernatural TV talk show called Ghost House. While taping an episode, Lydia hallucinates seeing Beetlejuice in the audience.  He was not just obsessed with her 36 years ago, he tried to marry her and it looks like he is back. (If I have already lost you, best to see the first Beetlejuice movie).

Then Lydia's stepmother, Delia, informs Lydia that her father, Charles, has died in a gruesome accident. They and Lydia's daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega), return to Winter River, Connecticut, the site of the first film, to attend the funeral. Sadly, Astrid and Lydia are not getting along, reprising the same mother/daughter theme in the first film. At the wake, Rory (Justin Theroux), Lydia's boyfriend and producer, pressures her to marry him on Halloween and she reluctantly agrees. Meanwhile, Astrid meets a local boy named Jeremy Frazier (Arthur Conti), who invites her to spend Halloween with him but Jeremy is not all he seems.

Meanwhile, Beetlejuice is still obsessed with Lydia.  He currently runs an office filled with shrunken-headed ghosts, most particularly his assistant, the overworked and disrespected, Bob (one of my favorite characters, by the way).

Then there is a murderous woman on the loose who turns out to be Delores (Monica Bellucci), Beetlejuice's former wife, who sucks the souls of the dead as she searches for Beetlejuice for revenge.  She supposedly tried to kill him back in the day, but he killed her first, but if that was ever explained in the film, I certainly missed it.  I didn't know what that was all about and her character seemed an unnecessary distraction. Willem Dafoe is also on hand as Wolf Jackson, a ghost detective who is another character trying to track down Beetlejuice and was also an unnecessary distraction.

But then Astrid becomes endangered and Lydia must summon Beetlejuice to help her save Astrid. There is an ascent into the Afterlife with a funny bit regarding "The Soul Train" - get it?  In the Afterlife you get on the Soul Train?  Yuck, yuck.  (but does anyone remember that show?), but that was actually a highlight.  But then it all went to hell, literally. 

Still with me?

Rory also turns out to be something other than what we thought; Beetlejuice coerces Lydia into a marriage ceremony; Delores arrives to seek revenge and, then, what? A huge sandworm shows up. Sigh. And there is a sort of a cliffhanger at the end of the film, which could spell another sequel?  Please stop.

Like I said, Tim Burton is a wonderful director and the film has great special effects and a wonderful fantasy look to it. Keaton is fun to watch but he doesn't appear as much in the film as you think he would since it's Beetlejuice times two (though he is in it more than he was in the first one). But the screenplay by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar is a chaotic mish-mash that is often hard to follow, even if you could remember the first film. Remember, it's been 36 years since the first film, and for those who missed that one (some potential viewers weren't even born yet), there was really little explanation about who Beetlejuice actually was and why he was obsessed with Lydia. Add to that all kinds of plot elements, there was so much going on, I found myself saying "Huh?" a lot. 

Here is my final word on sequels (or let's hope it's my final word. You never know).  

For a sequel to work, the audience needs some exposition about what happened before, if necessary, and then the story should be able to stand on its own. I should be able to enjoy the film and know what is going on even if I had not seen the earlier film(s)?  But that said, god save me from the insanity of watching another sequel expecting it to work!

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you are a huge Michael Keaton fan or you need a Halloween distraction, you might enjoy this, but better yet, save your money, skip this one and watch the first one again. (For rent or purchase on Amazon Prime and Apple+)

Woman of the Hour (2023)

Who knew you could meet a serial killer on a dating show?

This may come as a shock to you but many of the contestants on dating shows and other "reality" TV shows are often aspiring actors.  Duh.  I am being sarcastic.  Of course you know that.

Well, Cheryl Bradshaw (Anna Kendrick) was just such a woman, living in L.A. in the 1970's trying to make it as an actress but with little success. She could barely pay her rent and had a creepy neighbor, her only friend in L.A., sniffing around. So when her agent booked her to make a little money and get some exposure on "The Dating Game," she jumped at the chance. 

Now you young-uns out there have probably never heard of that show but during the 60's and 70's it was a big prime time hit. It was the first of many shows created by Chuck Barris (who was probably more famous for "The Gong Show") and possibly the beginning of the wave of dating shows we now have such as "Love is Blind" and "Love Island (I could go on and on because I watch them all)." 

On "The Dating Game," a young attractive woman would question three eligible bachelors who were hidden from her view.  She would ask silly questions like "If I were a flavor of ice cream, what flavor would I be?" -  and the guys would answer provocatively. At the end of the questioning period, she would choose one to accompany her on an all expenses paid date. Occasionally, the roles would be reversed with a guy questioning three women.  Believe it or not, Sally Field, Farrah Fawcett, Burt Reynolds and many other famous folks appeared on the show before they became famous.

And then along came Rodney Alcala, a real life serial killer.

In 1978, Alcala, played here by Daniel Zovatto, was a contestant on "The Dating Game" and host Jim Lange introduced him as a "successful photographer...Between takes you might find him skydiving or motorcycling." No mention that he had already murdered a couple of women. He was Bachelor #3. Little did Lange know that Alcala used his photography persona to lure young women and kill them. Alcala was already on the road to become one of our most famous serial killers, eventually convicted of seven murders but believed to have been responsible for the deaths of over 100 women. Guess game shows didn't do background checks in those days.

During the show, Cheryl isn't taken seriously and encouraged to be sexy and brainless.  In the audience is Laura (Nicolette Robinson) who recognizes Alcala as the last man to see her friend alive before she was murdered.  She tries to report Alcala but, like Cheryl, isn't taken seriously.

And wouldn't you know.  Alcala wins the date with Cheryl and the date is a visit to Carmel (my local friends will appreciate that). So does Cheryl go on the date?  Was she Alcala's next victim?

Written by Ian McDonald, in addition to starring in the film, this is Anna Kendrick's directorial debut, and it is Cheryl Bradshaw's true story. The film begins with Alcala's murderous path before making it on the show and then the aftermath. There is some scary insight as to how these serial killers lure young women. They can appear normal, charming even. 

Kendrick is a wonderful actress, but she also shows promise as a director. Her directorial choices were very interesting with dramatically framed close-ups and interspersing Cheryl's journey with Alcala's until they connected on the show produced a taut, engrossing drama. Other performances were also great, especially Daniel Zovatto creepily perfect as Alcala, showing that serial killers often have a certain charm that allows them to lure their victims. And the 70's retro vibe will bring back memories to Baby Boomers. 

Where most true crime thrillers focus on the killer, and we learn little about his victims, this film focuses on some of the women.  It is a comment on how young women, especially back in the day, were/are often discounted, surrounded by misogyny, even potential violence and made to shut-up and play nice.

Rosy the Reviewer says...the dark side of a game show and here it's a metaphor for the often scary world women have to "play nice" in. True crime aficionados and those who just like good movies will enjoy this fast-moving inside look into the mind of a real-life serial killer. Recommended. (Netflix)

Jackpot (2024)

It's 2030 and California is having money problems so the government initiates a "Grand Lottery" that allows losing ticket holders to go after the winner and if they kill the winner before sundown they get the jackpot!

So this is a sort of comedy version of "The Purge," but I wish it had been more of a comedy.  You know, a comedy is supposed to be funny.  But to be fair, after the first hour, it got better. Not really funnier, but better. 

So like I said, it's 2030, California is in financial trouble so the government creates the Grand Lottery, where each Lottery Day, the winner must survive until sundown to win the prize while anyone with a losing ticket can kill that person to claim the prize.  But no guns!

Former child actor Katie Kim (Awkwafina) is not doing well making it in show biz and inadvertently enters and wins the lottery. Suddenly she is being attacked everywhere she goes until she meets Noel Cassidy (John Cena), a freelance Lottery protection agent, who offers his services in exchange for ten percent of her winnings. Noel is actually a good guy.  He gives what he earns away to victims. This is how Katie describes him: "He looks like a bulldog a witch put a spell on and turned him into a human against his will." Okay, that was kind of funny. Cena does kind of look like that.

But then Noel and Katie run into some problems, so Noel calls a fellow lottery winner protector, Louis Lewis (Simu Liu), who has a very big company and who agrees to protect Katie in exchange for him and Noel each receiving 30% of Katie's winnings.

But as happens in these kinds of films, Lewis is not what he appears.  He is a bad guy and the rest of the movie involves Katie and Noel trying to extricate themselves from Lewis while at the same time keeping Katie alive from the hoards of people trying to kill her for her prize money. 

Written by Rob Yescombe and directed by Paul Feig ("Bridesmaids"), what I thought was a funny premise proved to be a one note idea that was too weak to carry a 103 minute film, but because I was an Awkwafina fan ever since she made a big splash in "Crazy Rich Asians," and I was happy she got a starring gig, I decided to suspend disbelief and go with it. The film meant well, and even though the first hour was non-stop violence, mayhem and wisecracks (and did I say, not funny?), the second part of the film got better and there was actually a bit of character development, but not enough to save this movie. And I got weary of the butt jokes. Likewise, if you hang for the credits, there are bloopers that also get wearying.

Rosy the Reviewer says...there is a moral here: there are good people in the world who don't just care about money (good to know in this divisive era), but there is also a moral here when it comes to comedies.  They should be funny. I was disappointed, but if you like silly violence, this is for you, but otherwise, make a run for it! (Amazon Prime)

Thanks for reading!

See you next time!

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