I am very fond of the iconic Addams Family premise and characters, but had never seen the 90s movies before. I'm glad I fixed that.
These films inherit most of the traits of the classic TV show that cemented the characters as a loving, functional family that's also creepy, unsettling, and fairly inhuman. The films move forward with the times and back more to Chas Addams himself by injecting a bit more edge, with sexuality and brutality having a stronger presence while not falling outside of the scope of the characters we know. The two films also focus less on an "us vs. them" dynamic by showing that not all normals fear the Addamses and by making the antagonists psychos on par with them—with the distinction being that the bad guys are morally evil. They both focus a lot on Fester too, oddly.
The films couldn't be better-cast. Anjelica Huston was born to play Morticia and does it with cool creepy beauty while saying some of the most hilariously, unexpectedly grim lines. Christina Ricci gives Wednesday a new personality as a deadpan intimidating child that rightly reshaped the character going forward. Christopher Lloyd is very fun as Fester, and Raul Julia is a great Gomez. Thing also performs well as itself, though it's also overtly supernatural now as a free-walking hand with no arm.
The films are best for their character vignettes, as it's the smaller moments I adore rather than the overarching plots. Each film has brilliant gags as we see the Addamses' twisted norms, with a common setup of them talking about something before turning it morbid out of left field—or vice-versa. It's always surprising and always funny. There are other scenes where we get to see Gomez and Morticia's love and passion as the music does a pitch-perfect fusion of swelling romance and dramatic horror, and scenes where we see Wednesday and Pugsley playing dangerously...the gags are charming and well-executed and it's fun seeing a slightly darker and more mature spin. The actual stories aren't quite as important, but they're still nice as we see the villains flustered by their failure to intimidate, harm or torture the Addamses. The second film's narrative is stronger, featuring Joan Cusack as a hilarious black widow trying to inherit from Fester, and a compelling satire of white privilege through a summer camp where the cheery counselors are more psychotic than the Addamses. The resolution to that plot also makes a nice stand against whitewashed American history through a Thanksgiving play derailed by Wednesday.
These films dig up the Addamses with a wonderful cast, perfect gags, and some darker thrills. Go see 'em. They're a screa'm.
Film Stages for delightful characters.
I am very fond of the iconic Addams Family premise and characters, but had never seen the 90s movies before. I'm glad I fixed that.
These films inherit most of the traits of the classic TV show that cemented the characters as a loving, functional family that's also creepy, unsettling, and fairly inhuman. The films move forward with the times and back more to Chas Addams himself by injecting a bit more edge, with sexuality and brutality having a stronger presence while not falling outside of the scope of the characters we know. The two films also focus less on an "us vs. them" dynamic by showing that not all normals fear the Addamses and by making the antagonists psychos on par with them—with the distinction being that the bad guys are morally evil. They both focus a lot on Fester too, oddly.
The films couldn't be better-cast. Anjelica Huston was born to play Morticia and does it with cool creepy beauty while saying some of the most hilariously, unexpectedly grim lines. Christina Ricci gives Wednesday a new personality as a deadpan intimidating child that rightly reshaped the character going forward. Christopher Lloyd is very fun as Fester, and Raul Julia is a great Gomez. Thing also performs well as itself, though it's also overtly supernatural now as a free-walking hand with no arm.
The films are best for their character vignettes, as it's the smaller moments I adore rather than the overarching plots. Each film has brilliant gags as we see the Addamses' twisted norms, with a common setup of them talking about something before turning it morbid out of left field—or vice-versa. It's always surprising and always funny. There are other scenes where we get to see Gomez and Morticia's love and passion as the music does a pitch-perfect fusion of swelling romance and dramatic horror, and scenes where we see Wednesday and Pugsley playing dangerously...the gags are charming and well-executed and it's fun seeing a slightly darker and more mature spin. The actual stories aren't quite as important, but they're still nice as we see the villains flustered by their failure to intimidate, harm or torture the Addamses. The second film's narrative is stronger, featuring Joan Cusack as a hilarious black widow trying to inherit from Fester, and a compelling satire of white privilege through a summer camp where the cheery counselors are more psychotic than the Addamses. The resolution to that plot also makes a nice stand against whitewashed American history through a Thanksgiving play derailed by Wednesday.
These films dig up the Addamses with a wonderful cast, perfect gags, and some darker thrills. Go see 'em. They're a screa'm.