The Addams Family / Addams Family Values
by Barry Sonnenfeld
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DVD details
Actor: Anjelica Huston, Christopher Lloyd, Dan Hedaya, Elizabeth Wilson, Raul JuliaDirector: Barry Sonnenfeld
Brand: Paramount Pictures
Producer: Bonnie Arnold
Producer: David Nicksay
Producer: Graham Place
Writer: Caroline Thompson
Writer: Charles Addams
Writer: Larry Wilson
Writer: Paul Rudnick
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 193 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-08-08
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Paramount
DVD Reviews of The Addams Family / Addams Family Values
DVD Review: Not your Father's Addams Family-but beautifully done!
Summary: 4 Stars
If you had been expecting a revival or copy of the short lived original 1960s TV series,you would have been sadly mistaken.With all due homage to that show and using it as a springboard,director Barry Sonnenfeld breathed a breath of new life into the Addams Family concept,becoming the Dr.Frankenstein so to speak,to his monster.These are brilliant,fast paced black comedies with non-stop mile a minute jokes and funny situations(many throwaways)from beginning to frenetically paced end.The movies starred the same well cast actors,including the late Raul Julia(Gomez),Angela Huston(Morticia),a young Christina Ricci(Wednesday),Christopher Lloyd(Uncle Fester),Jimmy Workman(Pugsley),Christopher Hart(Thing),Carel Struycken(Lurch),John Franklin(Cousin Itt) and Judith Malina and Carol Kane swapping roles as Grandma between the first and second movies respectively.The vision presented here was somewhat closer to the vision of Charles Addams cartoons and Sonnenfeld approached the movies with this in mind.
The Addams Family (released Nov/91)opens with Gomez opining the 25 year rift between him and his brother Fester and his absence from their home since that time.Their lawyer(scrupulous & a shyster)and his wife attend a seance at the Addams house in an effort to establish contact.Later when the lawyer returns to his office he is accosted by a woman and a man who the lawyer sees as a dead ringer for long lost Uncle Fester.Just as things are getting hot for the lawyer for defaulting on repayment for money they loaned him,he concocts an idea to steal from the Addams.He suggests her son Gordon show up at the Addams as Uncle fester in order to locate the Addams Family fortune.
Gordon as Fester and his mother as a "doctor" from Florida come a knocking and at first it is a big happy reunion.The "doctor" explains that Fester was found in a fishing net and slowly regained his memory until he could finally tell her who he was and where he was from.The family for the short term buys into the story but as time progresses doubts are raised.Fester doesn't seem to remember the simplest things from his childhood or day to day life.Gomez becomes convinced at one point he isn't Fester but the doctor/mother persuades him it is he who has the problem and his jealousy is to blame.This assuages Gomez but later Wednesday overhears the mother talking to her son about getting the family gold and she has to hide to avoid capture by the two.In the meantime their lawyer has discovered Fester is technically the controller of the family fortune and develops a scheme to lock Gomez and the family out of the house leaving the ersatz Fester,his mother and the lawyer to try to discover the whereabouts of the treasure.The Addams are forced into a motel and Gomez loses his backbone.Morticia takes matters in hand and goes to the mansion for a showdown.They tie her up and are about to torture her when Gomez arrives in the nick of time to save the day.Gordon/Fester has slowly been having second thoughts about the entire scam and has even grown fond of the Addams.He finally turns the tables on the lawyer and his mother by opening a book of "Gone with the Wind" and the resulting storm and lightning that issues from it not only takes care of the fraudsters but causes his memory to return.It turns out it has been Fester all along and he was indeed caught by fishermen off the Florida coast suffering from amnesia.His so called mother pretended to be that so she could just use him as a pawn.The film ends with Morticia and Gomez kissing in their doorway with a newly knitted outfit for the baby she is expecting.
Addams Family Values(released Nov/93)starts off at full trot with Morticia being rushed to the hospital to have her baby.When asked what it is to the anticipating family in the waiting room,Gomez replies"It's an Addams".It's shortly after we see it's a boy complete with Gomez' moustache.Immediately jealousy rears its' ugly head as the kids continually try to do in the baby,by any means necessary.Gomez and Morticia,as they can't be around constantly,hire a nanny by the name of Debbie(played wonderfully by Joan Cusack).Unbeknownst to the family Debbie turns out to be a black widow;she is wanted by the cops for marrying and murdering her husbands for their money.Her hiring is no coincidence as her sights are set on Fester and the family fortune.When the kids get too suspicious of her motives she gets them sent off to the "hell" of summer camp.In the meantime Debbie manages to get a susceptible Uncle Fester to go for her hook,line and sinker.They marry under the condition the rest of the family are barred from their home.From the honeymoon onwards she tries to do Fester in by some nefarious means which never quite succeed.The final straw and awakening for Fester comes when she tries to blow him up.Fester returns to his family remorseful declaring he is first and foremost an Addams.Interrupting the family reunion Debbie ties up the entire family and tries to electrocute them but it back fires,thanks to baby Addams,frying her instead.The movie ends with Wednesday and summer camp friend/boyfriend Pubert in the family cemetery as Pubert gets a royal scaring when a hand comes out of a grave and grabs him.As he screams Wednesday looks on in contentment.
As I stated in one of my reviews of the original television series the whole concept of those shows and these movies is to challenge our definition of normal;i,e.what is normal? One could write an entire dissertation on societal norms and the Addams' place inside or outside those parameters.But since this is only a review suffice it to say what works for what many would consider "normal" doesn't work for them,and conversely what works for us does not work for the Addams.In the first movie there is a telling scene where Gomez is like a Zombie sitting in their motel watching television and eating a snack.When Morticia asks him to come with her he says"And miss Gilligan?".A telling commentary on "ordinary" people on its own but it doesn't fit the Addams life and who they are.In the second movie the kids are sent to summer camp where the councilors try time and again to "normalize" their behaviour,to conform, but we know again that that just isn't what The Addams are about.The Addams may seem odd to the rest of the world but they live,exist and flourish in their own environment.And above all,and most importantly as these two movies show,they LOVE each other dearly.And in the end that is all that really matters in anyone's world.
These films are absolute gems and firstly I applaud the makers and actors all around for their fine job in recreating and reviving,Charles Addams legacy.Secondly I simply admire their guts for taking it on in the first place.The reviews at the time were less than favourable to these films but the box office proved otherwise.In fact I don't doubt had the late talented actor Raul Julia not left us so early,there would have been another movie done.
Technically speaking both films have been transferred quite well and are crisp and clear throughout.Both are presented in their widescreen formats on ONE disc.The only special features to speak of are the trailers.But for the price these two are going for this is a definite bargain which deserves to be on everyone's DVD shelf.
Description of The Addams Family / Addams Family Values
Features include:
?MPAA Rating: PG-13
?Format: DVD
?Runtime: 193 minutes
The Addams Family
Director Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black) brings his distinctly cartoonish sensibility to this feature film version of the old Charles Addams comic strip. Anjelica Huston was born to play Morticia Addams, matriarch of the ghoulish Addams clan, while the late Raul Julia is a very agreeable, lusty Gomez. But it's Christina Ricci who arguably steals the show as their stone-faced daughter, Wednesday. As is often the problem with adaptations of comics or television shows, somehow an original story has to be implemented that doesn't clutter things up. But clutter is an issue here as the script gets tangled on a lame plot concerning efforts to steal the Addams' house and fortune. Still, it's fun to see an ideal cast reanimate an old favorite. --Tom Keogh
The Addams Family Values
This somewhat more cohesive follow-up to The Addams Family has the same director, Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black), but a better story line. Joan Cusack plays a busty gold digger who ingratiates herself into the Addams home and convinces Uncle Fester (Christopher Lloyd) that she wants to marry him. Besides Lloyd, the cast includes Anjelica Huston and Raul Julia, ideal as those Brontëan lovers, Morticia and Gomez. But Christina Ricci again walks away with the best moments as the chilly Wednesday Addams, making life miserable for two camp counselors (Peter MacNicol and Christine Baranski) who want her to fit in with other kids.--Tom Keogh
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