Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Tim Burton's sequel arrives as a curious case study in contemporary entertainment that incorporates progressive sensibilities without shouting about them. The film centers on a multigenerational female family structure, with Winona Ryder reprising her role as Lydia Deetz opposite newcomer Jenna Ortega as her teenage daughter Astrid. The cast includes actors of various backgrounds, most notably Monica Bellucci and Ortega herself, though the film treats this diversity as simply the world it inhabits rather than a subject for celebration or commentary. Where the original 1988 film was a product of its era, this sequel reflects the visual and social landscape of 2024 without feeling compelled to lecture about it.

The film's modest progressive elements emerge organically from its narrative rather than being imposed upon it. The exploration of mother-daughter dynamics and female agency within a family structure reads as contemporary without becoming didactic. Ortega, known for her advocacy around feminist themes, brings that sensibility to her performance, yet the movie itself remains primarily committed to being a gothic comedy rather than a vehicle for progressive messaging. One might characterize this as restraint, though that would assume the filmmakers ever intended otherwise.

What prevents a higher score is the film's fundamental indifference to the markers of contemporary progressive consciousness. There is no evidence of LGBTQ+ representation, climate advocacy, anti-capitalist themes, or any engagement with neurodivergence or body positivity. The film simply exists as a commercial entertainment product that happens to reflect the demographic and aesthetic sensibilities of its release date. This is not necessarily criticism. It merely means that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice operates in a different register entirely from films that actively pursue social consciousness as narrative content.