Beetlejuice Beetlejuicecontinues to invite new interpretations, the latest one being that the horror movie has all the elements of a Hugh Grant romantic comedy. Tim Burton is no stranger to love stories, having createdCorpse Bride,Edward Scissorhands, andDark Shadows. Although the romance in theSleepy Hollowdirector’s movies can be said to be twisted — as it usually involves a pairing between the living and the dead — real love can often be just as twisted.Beetlejuice 2’s charactersare all involved in one or several romantic pairings, with some taking more center focus than others.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s reviewspraise the chemistry between the characters and the story’s focus on their emotional connections. The short romance between Astrid and the killer ghost, Jeremy, was the latest addition toBeetlejuice’s couples, hinting that no pairing will ever beat the Maitland’s perfect chemistry and relationship. However, asBeetlejuice 2’s endingreaffirms, the franchise is held together by Michael Keaton’s Betelgeuse pursuing Winona Ryder’s Lydia. Whether intentionally or not, Burton’sBeetlejuice Beetlejuicefollows the same formula as Hugh Grant’s Oscar-nominated rom-com,Four Weddings and a Funeral.
Like Hugh Grant’s 1994 Rom-Com, Beetlejuice 2 Has Four Weddings & A Funeral
Beetlejuice 2 Uses The Same Romantic Beats As Four Weddings & A Funeral
Beetlejuice 2uses the structure of Grant’s 1994 movie. The romantic comedy follows Grant’s character, Charles, and his group of single friends as they attend four weddings and a funeral over time. Throughout the events, Charles reunites with Carrie (Andie MacDowell), a woman he’d like to be with, but it’s never the right time. The same could be said about Betelgeuse and Lydia, as their meetings are echoed by their troubled history with these types of ceremonies.Beetlejuice 2has a lot of similarities withFour Weddings & A Funeral,starting with the big events suggested by the title.
Beetlejuice 2certainly is the horror movie with the most weddings, heavily hinting at the twisted love story underneath its surface.
Beetlejuice 2has four weddings and a funeral, albeit not in the same order as Grant’s movie. Burton’s film starts with Charles Deetz’s funeral, and is followed by Betelgeuse and Delores' wedding sequence; the Halloween wedding ceremony of Lydia and Rory; Betelgeuse and Lydia’s wacky wedding ceremony, and, finally, Astrid and Vlad’s dream wedding.Beetlejuice 2certainly is the horror movie with the most weddings, heavily hinting at the twisted love story underneath its surface — one that actress Winona Ryder was rooting for.Ryder’s wish that theBeetlejuicepair was endgameis telling of the film’s secret romantic core.
Beetlejuice 2 Really Is A Twisted Rom-Com For Michael Keaton’s Betelgeuse
Betelgeuse And Lydia’s Relationship Is A Star-Crossed Lovers Story In Beetlejuice 2
Not only doesBeetlejuice 2share romantic beats withFour Weddings and Funeral, but it does so with a myriad of rom-coms.Betelgeuse himself has a lot of characteristics of the romantic comedy protagonist, mainly that he wants to marry the woman he loves. Even if his intentions are tainted, as getting married will also free him from the Neitherworld, the fact is, he has been pinning for Lydia for 36 years. Additionally,Beetlejuice 2presents a star-crossed lover situation, withBeetlejuice and Lydia’s relationshipbeing impossible as one is alive and one is dead.
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Like other rom-com leads,Keaton’s character faces obstacles that further complicate his union with Lydia. Delores, the crazy ex-girlfriend, threatens to sabotage his endeavors to prove his love by all means necessary — in this case, saving Lydia’s daughter. On top of that, Betelgeuse must get Rory, Lydia’s manipulative new boyfriend, out of the way. Funnily enough, all of this is something that Grant’s Charles also faces, with him and Carrie being separated by her going to the U.S., her eventual marriage to another man, and his ex-girlfriend playing a key role when the pair gets one last chance.
What’s more, even if Burton has other films that willingly admit a romantic focus,Beetlejuice 2is, of his repertoire, the closest to a romantic comedy. Perhaps how similarBeetlejuice Beetlejuiceis toFour Weddings and a Funeralwas a coincidence, butBetelgeuse’s quest undoubtedly follows the rom-com formula.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Cast
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the sequel to the original Tim Burton classic that starred Michael Keaton and Wynona Rider in a horror-comedy that involved ghosts trying to scare off new homebuyers from taking their house. The sequel brings back Michael Keaton as the hilarious and sleazy ghost with selfish intentions, now joined by Jenna Ortega in a new role.
