Movie Review: The Addams Family (1991)
Synopsis: Gomez Addams and his family are eccentric but wealthy and their lawyer, Tully Alford, in debt to a loan shark, tries to take advantage of this only to have Gomez turn him down on his investment idea. Angry and needing the money, Alford partners with Abigail Craven and her adopted son, Gordon, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Gomez's long-lost older brother, Fester. Their goal is to con the Addams family into believing Gordon is Gomez so they can gain access to a vault containing millions in gold.
Who's in it? The movie stars Raul Julia, Anjelica Huston, Christopher Lloyd, Christina Ricci and Dan Hendaya.
Review: My wife and youngest daughter are on a mini vacation with friends and, after introducing my oldest daughter to the movie Clue earlier in the evening, I looked for a movie to watch while waiting to go to bed. It had been years since I last watched The Addams Family, so I gave it a re-watch. I did not regret the choice.
There have been more recent films based on this classic television series. None of them are as good as this movie made 34 years ago (really? It's that old?). And that's not even the nostalgia talking.
To start, this film has a great cast. Lloyd makes an excellent Gordon/Fester while Julia and Huston could be a prime example of a relationship goal with their portrayal of Gomez and Morticia Addams. They were great characters on their own, but their on-screen chemistry was very believable. It was hilarious how they got turned on outbidding each other at an auction, watching each other be tortured, etc. but they also seemed very much in love.
Oh, and I could write an entire review just on Ricci's scene-stealing performance as Wednesday Addams. She was both adorable and more than a little bit scary, though I did think she deserved much more screen time.
As far as the plot goes, it's solid. It's a comedy, so there was no need for the plot to be overly complicated. Yet, despite the story being fairly simple there were just enough twists and nuances that kept it from becoming predictable. Plus, there were some scenes, like the Dance of the Mamushka, that are so visually stunning, it didn't matter if they were just in the movie to pad the 93-minute runtime.
If I had any complaints about the film (and I'm stretching a bit on this), it would be how other people seemed to be surprisingly accepting of the Addams' quirks, especially when Gomez and his family are kicked out of their house. I mean, I could probably see some of it because they were extremely wealthy and people tend to overlook things when there's money involved. However, if I saw Thing (Christopher Hart), a disembodied hand, applying for a job, I think it would freak me out a bit.
Final Opinion: This movie may be 34 years old (that still doesn't seem right) but has withstood the test of time. It's worth taking the time to watch or re-watch if you get a chance to.
My Grade: A
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Here are some reviews of other 1990s comedy movies:
Movie Review: Stay Tuned (1992)
Movie Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)
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