The Addams Family [1991]

What's so lovable about these characters, is that they don't KNOW they're weird. To them burying a cat alive is perfectly normal. The reactions of those around them is hilarious and you can't help but wonder why someone wouldn't be impressed by the blood soaked Shakespere performance of Wednesday and Pugsley. Beautifully gothic sets suit the Addams perfectly.

Anyone watching this however should not expect a deep a meaningfull plot. That's not what these films are about. Funny, beautiful and an absolute delight. A great film for you to just sit and watch over and over again, each time noticing more and more things about not only the characters but everything around.

(A special note on the lighting which I always loved. The subtle effect of Mortisha's eyes always being highlighted while the rest of her face is shadowed.)

So if you like a good fun film to watch, a fan of mad outrageous sets and characters, then this is a film for you.


Great entertainment for all the family   June 3, 2001
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

This film has an uncanny knack for making the unnatural seem normal, and for making normality appear offensive. It is delightful in its absurdity and very cleverly put together as no detail was too small for notice. The actors were well chosen, as demonstrated by the electric vibe between Raul Julia and Angelica Huston, and by Christina Ricci (Wednesday), who dominates scenes on many occasions due to the superb dialogue (and her inimitable glare). In my opinion, this film is the best of the trilogy, although Addams Family Values is still well worth watching. (If watching both, note the return of the girl scout from the 'Addams Family' in the sequel.) This film is truly a family movie as it can appeal to both children and adults.


Magnificent!   August 27, 2002
Pieter (Johannesburg)
5 out of 7 found this review helpful

This is an absolutely brilliant camp classic. The characters are charming and memorable, especially the understated Morticia, the swashbuckling Gomez, the stone-faced Wednesday and the villain, Dr Greta Penterschloss. The double entendres and ironic lines have since become part of the vocab of lovers of the Addams Family movies. Other interesting characters include the helpful "Thing," the weird butler and Fester, of course, while at the family ball Cousin It and the twins Flora and Fauna really impressed. The funniest scenes include the school play, the seance, the first visit of Fester to the vaults (where they watch an old home movie) and the psychotherapy session: "love, hate, hate, love - ze thoughts they bubble und collide." I have made a habit of watching this one at least once a year. It's a timeless classic, with great gags, excellent acting and a culture of its own. No wonder it has become a cult classic.


"Screams in the night - it can only mean one thing"   October 22, 2002
Jennifer Litchfield (Auckland, New Zealand)
5 out of 7 found this review helpful

The Addams Family begins with a hearty chuckle, as a group of nauseatingly cheery carol singers are treated to a dose of Addams hospitality. The film is of course a 1990s revamp of the 1960s television series with the catchy refrain: "They're creepy and they're kooky, mysterious and spooky, they're altogether ooky." However, the film lacks the delicate balance between finesse and crudity that marked the original; perhaps this is the result when a cult show is turned into movie fodder for the masses.

The Addams' live in a decaying mansion that boasts such attractions as a graveyard, a swamp and a vault full of money. It is this last which attracts the attention of a crooked accountant and his unscrupulous client Mrs. Craven. Their plan is to install Mrs. Craven's son Gordon in the house as 'long-lost' Uncle Fester Addams, with the purpose of gaining access to the vault. Initially Gordon is all for this plan, but once he gets to know and like the family, he undergoes a crisis of confidence and must decide where his loyalties lie.

The plot may be depressingly formulaic, but fortunately it is in the Addams' nature to be quirky. The humour is generally quite fresh and clever - who would have picked the villain's ultra-conventional wife pairing off with hirsute (and definitely unconventional) Cousin Itt? But along with the hits, there are some equally spectacular misses, including almost everything involving Grandma Addams. The other female Addams' are excellent, especially young Christina Ricci as the perpetually sullen Wednesday. Ultimately though, you have to wonder if the mysterious and macabre charm of the Addams has lost something in its modernisation, and if perhaps they should have been left to rest in peace.


death, coffin, black rose and humour - perfect   August 3, 2007
Svetlana Lensselink (NL)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Just amazing movie for all the times. Can watch for many times and still you wanna watch more and more of it.

Anjelica Huston and Paul Julia are pale example of perfect eternal unusual, amazing, inimitable love. Christina Ricci is a perfect daughter - cold-livered deadly beauty. All actors match perfect and create "one big happy family"

Everything that have to be dead - will be alive in this movie, everything that have to be alive will be dead with a smile on it's face.