La dolce vita Venice and Beetlejuice 2 World Premier!
On Wednesday, 28th August, Venice got the first dibs to this classic update of the Deetz family. Tim Burton is once again at the helm, with Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder reprising their iconic roles. Catherine O’Hara is back as well.
Missing from the returnees is Jeffrey Jones, who had a spectacular fall from grace. As spoilers go, the audience does ‘see him’ but in photos and animation. Tim Burton managed to ‘kill’ him off in Beetlejuice fashion, and forever banished to the afterlife. And good riddance at that. Can you imagine reworking the plot line as not to show Jeffrey Jones in the flesh?
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
The weird little ‘goth’ girl is all grown up. Lydia is a now a mum to a teenager daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega). Moreover, Lydia found fame and fortune communing with the dead. Moreover, she actually sees ‘dead people’. Astrid is a smart but rebellious teen, who believes her mum is a hoax. A twist of fate proves otherwise. It is tempting to reveal the plot twist here. But we won’t. It will spoil the movie too much for ‘die hard’ fans who have yet to see it.
After the death of Mr. Deetz, the family returns to the Maitland house in Winter River, Connecticut. Adam and Barbara Maitland had since moved on, with the help of Lydia. However, Adam’s hometown model is still in the attic. Other familiar props includes Lydia’s high school checkered uniform and the red wedding dress.
By this update, Beetlejuice is ‘riding a desk’ in the afterlife. He works along side the ‘shrunken heads.’ We were first introduced to ‘shrunken head’ Bob in 1988, sitting along side Beetlejuice in the ‘waiting room’. The updated plot also includes a ‘soul-sucking demon’ wife (Monica Bellucci). Additionally, the janitor (Danny DeVito) becomes the ‘soul-suckers’ first victim after her return. And she is looking for Beetlejuice with a vengeance. Afterlife security, ‘action star’, Wolf Jackson (Willem Dafoe) is hot on the trail. Justin Theroux rounds out the cast of newbies as Lydia’s boyfriend. Astrid’s father ‘disappeared’ whilst trying to save the rain forest.
Astrid becomes the focal point of the film, as Lydia risks everything to bring her daughter back from the afterlife. Whilst the plot took a while to get to that point, the film did not disappoint.
Beetlejuice 2 World Premier in Venice
Beetlejuice 2 World Premier on 28th August started the audience screening calendar. Warner Bros. Studios had their own audience screenings on Wednesday, September 4th, along with American Express Centurion/Platinum members. However, the opportunity to see a world premier was a better option for us.
The 1988 film that started it all is a cult favourite. With the audience screenings wrapping up today, the film is due for release in the UK and US on Friday, 6th September. A Halloween release date would have been better. After all, Tim Burton is the master of spooks and ghouls.
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