Paul Kydd
Available on Blu-ray Disc (Region B)USA 1991 English (Colour); Comedy/Horror/Fantasy (Paramount); 100 minutes (PG certificate)Crew includes: Barry Sonnenfeld (Director); Caroline Thompson, Larry Wilson (Screenwriters, from Characters created by Charles Addams); Scott Rudin (Producer); Graham Place (Executive Producer); Owen Roizman (Cinematographer); Richard MacDonald (Production Designer); Dede Allen, Jim Miller (Editors); Marc Shaiman (Composer)Cast includes: Anjelica Huston (Morticia Addams), Raul Julia (Gomez Addams), Christopher Lloyd (Uncle Fester Addams), Dan Hedaya (Tully Alford), Elizabeth Wilson (Abigail Craven), Judith Malina (Grandmama), Carel Struycken (Lurch), Dana Ivey (Margaret Alford), Paul Benedict (Judge Womack), Christina Ricci (Wednesday Addams), Jimmy Workman (Pugsley Addams), Christopher Hart (Thing)Academy Award nomination: Costume Design (Ruth Myers); BAFTA nominations (2): Production Design, Makeup; Golden Globe nomination: Actress - Musical/Comedy (Huston)"Weird is relative."A suitably freakish impostor (Lloyd) - or is he? - infiltrates the spooky residence of a ghoulish yet loving family, headed by an elegant, vampirish matriarch (Huston) and her debonair, devoted husband (Julia), in an attempt to get his hands on their substantial wealth.Spot-on costumes, sets and casting (precocious little horror Ricci is particularly memorable) are highlights of an extremely successful comic strip adaptation, but not for Orion Pictures, whose fiscal woes compelled them to sell off their anticipated triumph to a no doubt grateful Paramount.A just-as-enjoyable sequel, likewise helmed by noted cinematographer Sonnenfeld (this big-budget effort, though an exhausting experience, opportunely being his directorial début), appeared two years later.Blu-ray Extras: Trailers. *½ (3/10)
John Brooks
Well this film could've been better, then again could certainly have been worse.The whole point of the exercise here is to somehow make sure the plot holds up well enough for a full-length picture, all the while providing the adequate humor, enough laughs along the way that it's entertaining as the plot alone doesn't supply strong enough incentive.So it's all of the anti-clockwise mechanisms on all levels of a seemingly dysfunctional, but actually somehow functional loving family, that offers more warmth and love than the more casual, conventional household.It does well enough with the whole Uncle Fester shenanigans, which ultimately makes just about enough sense, as a moral.7/10
mellowd9
This isn't that great of a movie. The plot is incredibly disjointed, although in the end the movie is charming as all get out. Also, god-damn these characters are lovable! Especially our Queen and Princess of Darkness. Morticia and Wednesday. Anjelica and Christiana killed it. Looking forward to checking out the sequel! It looks like it focuses a bit more on the kids, specifically Wednesday. She's the most intriguing of the characters. At least, in my opinion.I think I'll have to check out Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands after Addams' Family Values! I'm a sucker for these ghoulish, darkly comedic characters. Can't get enough of them.
