I saw Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was on Netflix so I watched it for the first time since I saw it in the theatre last year. It's good for a second viewing in how it successfully conjures a sense of place and an ensemble of characters. I maintain my opinions from my original review though the flaws seem less important.
Monica Bellucci's character still seems superfluous. She looks so much like Morticia Addams I wonder if Burton originally wanted her for Wednesday. She would've been a lot better than Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Justin Theroux's character is the funniest in the movie. I'm impressed how consistently the screenwriters make him credibly say exactly the wrong thing. I'm not a fan of excessive exposition but I'd kind of like to know why Lydia became such a pushover. It's not that I don't believe it and certainly people can change a lot between adolescence and middle age but the difference here is so extreme I'd like some kind of insight into it.
The "MacArthur Park" sequence falls completely flat. It really feels like a studio note insisting Burton repeat one of the most memorable aspects of the original film. It doesn't help that I keep being reminded of "Weird Al" Yankovic's funnier version, which isn't even among Yankovic's best parodies.
I am kind of hoping Winona Ryder gets her wish for a romance between Lydia and Beetlejuice in the third film, especially if the writers are bold enough to make it deeply wrong at every turn.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is available on Netflix in Japan, I'm assuming on HBOMax in the U.S.