Addams Family Values (1993) User Reviews

No longer rehashing old material, they're even funnier this time.

[Andy Willett · 8/10 · 18 November 1999]

One of my favorite films. Paul Rudnick clearly had a field day writing this screenplay.

As odd as it may seem, this sequel is in many ways superior to its predecessor. The first had to spend much of its time introducing the Family--and, just as importantly, paying (totally justified) homage to Charles Addams' brilliant cartoons and to the old television series. As a result, the plot felt forced, as if it had been the best way the writers could think of to showcase all the source material. In the end, one left the theater feeling that the movie had been 'about' the old sight gags. And then there was the totally shameless product placement...but I digress.

Addams Family Values, on the other hand, gets to be more playful. Because we all know who we're dealing with by now, we don't have to spend nearly so much time introducing the family and their skewed universe. Instead, the characters get more of a chance to develop as they glide blithely through a fuller, more cohesive story.

Paul Rudnick's screenplay is masterful--you'll be quoting from it for weeks. Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston are particularly marvelous as one of the most genuinely loving, passionate couples you've seen in ages. In a weird sort of way.

That dance number! Morticia's ever-present shaft of light! Christina Ricci as the sublime Wednesday! Joan Cusack, unhinged! A split-second cameo by Charles Busch! Oh, rapture. I could go on and on, but I'm running out of superlatives. Suffice it to say that this movie is well worth your time.

Better than the original ? I think so.

[Bing-18 · 8/10 · 6 May 1999]

This film is one of those rare gems, a sequel that is as good as, or even better than the original.

Christina Ricci fulfills all the promise that she showed in the first film, as she really steals the film from her more established co-stars.

The scenes at camp produce some of the best one-liners, and it is great to see an American film that is self-mocking about its image concious rich societies. Lines from Ricci like " Is that your overbite?" and "When they woke up all their old noses had grown back!" are superb and will be much loved in the UK, as it is how much of the States is perceived over here.

Also, Amanda in this movie, is also played by the same girl who played the Girl Scout in the first movie.

Add a little bit of romance between Wednesday and another kid at the camp and you have something for everyone in this wonderfully funny and worryingly endearing movie.

Hilarious, still holds up well.

[mooveephantom · 8/10 · 17 November 2021]

Loved this movie as a kid and I love it years later. For being a PG-13 rating in 1993, this dark comedy really pushed the boundaries for a family film. It mostly succeeds because of the direction, writing and fantastic acting. The whole main cast is great. But let's be real, it's Joan Cusack's show. She steals every scene and is so damn good as the devilish, sexy serial killer. Her facial muscles/expressions alone sell the scenes to sidesplittingly funny results. Christina Ricci is definitely in need of some recognition as well. She "murders" every scene and line.

Death of course being the main motif in the film, I was even surprised a kid how far it went to hilarious effect. Serial killers, witchcraft, fraud, S&M, bullying, racism, arson, mass murder/slaughter, scalping, underage smoking/drinking, even several attempts of the murder of a baby: yay let's make a family comedy film about that! But the film works because of the smart and lighthearted script and Barry's direction.

Even as a young child I picked up on the not so subtle implications of bullying and racism in the summer camp scenes. Even before the big rebellion showdown of the "camp outcasts" during Gary's thanksgiving play, it's quite clear that the camp doesn't welcome people of different color, culture or handicap status. Christine Barinski shines hilariously as the wolf in sheep's clothing camp manager. The tongue in cheek social commentary works because it stays irreverent and funny.

I still find myself laughing out loud to this movie 28 years later. Definitely a gem.

Ricci rules

[leif.hellstrom · 3 November 2001]

This is a film with several excellent performances, but that of Christina "Wednesday" Ricci is near perfect. The reluctant smile outside the "harmony hut" is Oscar material. And Christina as Pocahantas is the very definition of "cute".

Of the others, Joan Cusack also stands out. I doubt anyone else could play the part of "the black widow" quite as well, with just the right mix of sleaze and slapstick. Her deranged laughter alone is worth half the rental fee.

It may not be a classic but it is solid entertainment, with few if any weak passages. Go and see it!

Great performances, especially Christina Ricci

[snoozejonc · 7/10 · 16 October 2020]

Wednesday and Pugsley go to summer camp whilst Uncle Fester falls in love with the babysitter.

This is a movie carried by the performances of the actors who do an exceptionally good job of delivering all the macabre one-liners and embody their characters perfectly.

The plot is pretty uninspired with Fester yet again under the influence of another female villain looking to rob him blind of his share of the Addams fortune. It gets us from start to finish but is largely forgettable, particularly towards the end. That being said, there is a strong level of satire in the writing, particularly towards the values middle-class, white America, which was quite a prominent topic at the time it was made.

All actors are fabulous. Raul Julia oozes charisma and comic timing. He and Angelica Huston have great chemistry as Gomez and Morticia. Christopher Lloyd can do Fester is his sleep and puts all of his usual mad energy into the role. Carole Kane is obviously having fun as Grandmamma Addams. Joan Cusack is almost scenery chewing as Debbie but does superbly well with the material she has to work with.

For me the real stars are the children. Jimmy Workman is wonderfully deadpan as Pugsley. Mercedes McNab is perfect as snobby Amanda Buckman. David Krumholtz does a Woody Allen turn as the hypochondriac kid in love with Wednesday Addams.

Saving the very best performance till last. Christina Ricci is absolutely brilliant as Wednesday and walks away with the movie. Her quick, dry delivery and mannerisms make the character a classic of modern comedies. If you only watch her scenes alone there is enough entertainment to justify the price of a month's subscription to Netflix. There is a brilliant moment when she lights a match and the Addams theme music plays; I never get tired of watching that.

I watched it with my four year old daughter who enjoyed it but had difficulty with the dark humour. Not as much difficulty as I had explaining it though.

Addams Family Value has a lot of value to me. I love it!

[ironhorse_iv · 7/10 · 31 October 2014]

They're creepy and they're kooky, Mysterious and spooky, they're all together ooky, the Addams Family. Directed by Barry Sonnenfled, the Addams Family Values is the sequel to the 1991 American dark comedy film, The Addams Family. The success of the first movie was what inspired a trend of film adaptations of TV series throughout The Nineties. So, it was no surprise that a sequel was greenlighted. Based on the characters from the cartoon of the same name created by cartoonist Charles Addams. 'The Addams Family' film series paint their characters as much more macabre than the 1960 TV show sitcom, playing off as light dark humor. Often a nostalgia cult follow brand, the movie saw the return of many of the cast members from the original 1991 film. The movie has the same plot of the first movie. Instead, of a gold digger mother trying to manipulate Uncle Fester (Christopher Lloyd) to get to the family money, we get a gold digger murderous wife, Debbie Jellinsky (Joan Cusack) trying to do the same. The movie tends to focus more on Uncle Fester than ever in this film, as characters like Gomez (Raúl Juliá) and Morticia Addams (Anjelica Huston) are given, nothing much to do. Raul Julia really gives some good hammy one-liners to make up for that time. I love how they shot Morticia on the camera. Her lighting always consists of one beam of light across her eyes that gradually fades outward to add to her grim look. She is so beautiful in the film. She is equaling as funny as Raul Julia. I love the oddly place dance number. It made the little amount of scenes between them, so memorable for me. Still, I'm not really complaining, about how much Gomez and Morticia lack screen time. Seeing the serial killer, Debbie try to attempt to kill Uncle Fester are pretty funny and most of their scenes, together are well acted. Joan Cusack is great as Debbie. Not only that, she make an unlikeable character, into a likable character. She also gave the film, some really needed sex appeal. I have a crush on her character when I was a kid. I love the fact, how clueless and lovable, Christopher Lloyd makes Fester to be. It's one of his best roles, besides Doc Brown of the Back to the Future series. As humor goes, the best parts of this film are the Wednesday Addams (Christina Ricci) & Pugsley (Jimmy Workman) going to a pretentious summer camp subplot by Debbie. Christina Ricci is great as Wednesday Addams, and I wouldn't see anybody else in that role. She delivers nothing, but deadpan snark, which only serves to make her all the more hilarious. The whole Thanksgiving play/raid was such a memorable scene that every time, I re watch this film, I looked forward to seeing this sequence. I have no idea; why a Thanksgiving play is being perform in the middle of the summer, but I love it. I love the conflict between the over the top snobby living in a fantasy world, rich kids, played well to the realist grim Addams kids. The sub-plot is so much better than the main plot in some ways. If anything, the fault of the film could be, the main plot offered nothing new; while the sub-plot should had more focus. Even the sub-plot of Gomez & Morticia looking after newborn Pubert wasn't really needed. The movie is pretty smart for a kid's movie, bringing social satire commentary to a lot of adult themes such as criticize of consumerism, the mistreatment of Native Americans, realism vs idealism and others. This movie doesn't treat kids as babies. There are tons of things in the film that might be view as today as not suitable for children. It really depends on the parent, if this movie is worth your children watching it. There are lot of dark humor, such as trying to kill a baby joke, sexual innuendos, and lots of foul language. There are a lot of things that kids might not get. The movie is also really shot, well. Lots of fantastic scenery and special effects. The theme song is really catchy. Still, the Addams-themed remake of "Whoomp! (There It Is) by Tag Team" was a bit cheeky. Kinda made me wish for the days of McHammer rap from the first film. Michael Jackson was signed on to write and perform a song for the film's soundtrack and to promote it with a music video. Although he was able to finish the song, contractual difficulties coupled with the child molestation allegations made against Jackson resulted in the song being dropped from the soundtrack, and the video was never filmed. The song, "Is It Scary," was later included on Jackson's 1997 'Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix' album and was also used in his short film, Ghosts (1997). Overall: The movie is not to be taken too serious in a logic sense, it is a tongue-in-cheek comedy that work so well in its own world. It's worth the watch on Halloween or any good day, when a good laugh is needed.

Fantastic Family Comedy

[sarthakjaiswaloo · 7/10 · 19 September 2021]

Addams movies are dark yet very comedic this movie is also very good comedy. It lightens your mood and Indulges you in laughter. Acting is Good and direction is also good. Screenplay is engaging.

Funny as hell!

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 10/10 · 29 October 2001]

Usually I don't like horror comedies and I hate mainstream movies,but "Addams Family Values" completely cracked me up.It was so immensely enjoyable and funny as hell!Especially the first Thanksgiving Day performance,where Wednesday Addams(Christina Ricci)as a Pocahontas,and other Indians took a revenge on American colonists-I almost cried with laughter during that scene!I wonder what Americans think about it?As for Christina Ricci,she simply steals the show in this one!I'm looking forward to see this talented,young actress in more movies.The other actors are also excellent,and the film is filled with wonderful touches of black humour.Highly recommended.

The Extraordinary Family II

[jack_o_hasanov_imdb · 7/10 · 11 December 2022]

It's just as good, funny and cool as the first movie. The first movie was a bit more fun, but this movie was also very good. I loved all the characters again. I wish I had watched it when I was a kid. All the actors and actresses suited their roles very well. As in the first movie, there is a magnificent dance scene in this movie as well. I would love to have the 3rd movie, but as you know, Raul Julia passed away. The Addams family has become one of my favourites. I will probably watch other related works as well. But I don't know if I will like it as much as these two movies. As always the music is great. But as always, the rap at the end of the movie awful. Rap doesn't suit this movie. Come on !

Very funny, possibly better than the first!

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 22 February 2009]

I absolutely loved the first movie. I bought this two days ago, and I was really impressed, because this is a really funny movie. it is possibly better than the first but only just. If there are any flaws, they are minor, but why is the rating for this movie so low? 6.2? It is much better than that! I can name other great movies that have fallen victim to low ratings. The humour was wonderful. Black humour suits the Addams Family perfectly. As for the acting, it was superb. Christina Ricci tops them all as Wednesday, but that doesn't mean that the others weren't good either. Raul Julia and Angelica Huston are note perfect as Gomez and Morticia. To be honest, I think that Gomez is Julia's best role. Christopher Lloyd was born to play Fester, just as entertaining as he was in Back To The Future and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Jimmy Workman was also really good, and the underrated actress Joan Cusack took me completely by surprise as Debbie. That baby was cute too. If there was one minor flaw, it would be that you don't see much of Cousin It and Margaret. As I'm probably not able to write a review for the first film, what I've said for this film, applies pretty much also for that too. I give this a 9/10, same with the first, but avoid the New Addams Family and unless you're a Tim Curry fan, avoid Addams Family Reunion also. 9/10. Bethany Cox

A sequel that doesn't let you down

[Just_Keato · 7/10 · 8 January 2023]

I'm a big fan of the Addams family franchise and I thought they sequel was fun and quirky. While not as great as the original it's got the same feel and has all the things that you love about the Addams family. The cast makes all the difference. No one could play the parts better than the actors/actresses. Morticia and Gomez's romance is epic and never has there ever been a better actress to play Wednesday. This film may be from the 90's but it holds up over time. No remakes are needed when a movie is already a classic. If you are new to watching the Addams family movies from the 90's, you should definitely give them a shot. You won't be disappointed.

Wednesday the 13th.

[dimadick · 9/10 · 28 August 2001]

This movie is a quit nice comedy but the reason I realy like it is the portrayal of Wednesday Addams by Christina Ricci.The Addams are usualy seen as a foolish monster-like family.Here Wednesday is seen as melancholyc teenager,inteligent,dark,cynic,sadistic and possibly murderous.She makes fools out of everybody else.She would make an excelent horror movie star.She also makes some points.She turns a dull theatrical Thanks-giving play portraying the indians as barbarians,inferior to the British settlers into a protest on behalf of the indians as well as a way to avenge herself from what she went through in the hands of stupid campers.She turned the camps loosers into a fighting squad.Forget about the rest of the Addams,Michael Myers,Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger.Wednesday brings the darkness.Bloody good for a comedy.

A truly demented but fun time

[annahudak-70828 · 7/10 · 18 July 2021]

Wow. This movie was disturbing, twisted, and dark. The first movie was just weird. This one is downright twisted. I mean, Wednesday Addams gets a bunch of her campmates to burn it down and (seemingly) kill a lot of the people there. Speaking of Wednesday, the actress who plays her (don't remember her name) is honestly fantastic. She plays the character so we'll and is genuinely creepy, especially her smile. She's the best part of the movie. It's also disturbing watching her and Pugsley try to kill their new baby brother and the movie end with Pubert, the baby, kill the villain. It's so disturbing. Fun, but disturbing. That said, the movie does have a few problems, mainly that the story feels disjointed at times. But yeah, it's a fun twisted film overall.

the biggest dark gag is that you actually liked this one....

[Mickey Knox · 4/10 · 7 January 2001]

I never was a fan of the animated series so i couldn't have liked this movie too much. But i was in a good mood for a dark comedy so i decided to watch. Unfortunately it was just as i expected: dumb. I can't understand how people could appreciate so much a movie like this... that's a mistery. Some gags were good and funny, but nothing more. And Fester is played superbly by Lloyd. These are the only good points. Except that, a morbid ride inside a family you'd never wanna meet. Vote: 3.5 out of 10.

Very funny

[barbarella70 · 11 January 2003]

Barry Sonnenfeld (Get Shorty) takes a zany script written by Paul Rudnick (Jeffrey, In and Out) and directs with an exhilarating rhythm to tell the tale of Uncle Fester's marriage to a suspicious young nanny (Joan Cusack) and its effect on the Addams family.

All the actors are absolutely wonderful but Cusack steals the movie with a gleefully nasty turn as the murderous Debbie. Her without-peer comedic talent is more strongly showcased here -watch the scene when Debbie sits in a car waiting for a house to explode- than in her award winning role as Kevin Kline's jilted bride in In and Out. Angelica Huston and Raoul Julia are magnetic in dramatic roles but they also have sensational comic timing and their Morticia and Gomez make a memorable dark-humored pair, most notably in the scenes where the sexual innuendo takes a front-row seat. Peter MacNichol (Ally McBeal) and Christine Baranski (The Ref) have a ball as the irritating summer camp counslers and Christina Ricci will probably never top her performance as Wednesday.

It's a guilty pleasure and a fun ride, zipping by in an hour and a half and also features a hilarious cameo by Peter Graves (Airplane). Check it out!

Wednesday's Family Values

[chaosHD · 7/10 · 22 August 2021]

In 1993 while watching this movie i said yep, the movie belongs to Christina Ricci. And 28 years later it's still arguably the highlight of her career to this very day. Everything she says in this is comedy gold. Anjelica Huston was nominated for a golden globe for this movie yet Ricci inexplicably got snubbed. This movie is also understandably one of the essential performances of Joan Cusack's career. The screenwriter Paul Rudnick obviously relished writing dialogue for Wednesday and Debbie.

"You'll meet someone, someone very special, someone who won't press charges." Good sequel.

[poolandrews · 7/10 · 1 January 2007]

Addams Family Values starts with the news that Morticia (Angelica Huston) is about to give birth, she does & everyone including the Father Gomez (Raul Julia) are very excited. However their two children Wednesday (Christina Ricci) & Pugsley (Jimmy Workman) feel threatened by the new arrival & to add to the families problems Debbie (Joan Cusak) the nanny that they hire tricks Uncle Fester (Christopher Lloyd) into marrying her & she plan's to kill him for his money...

Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld Addams Family Values is a worthy sequel to the original Addams Family (1991) & a good watch in it's own right. The script by Paul Rudnick takes the usual standard social situations & twisting them into a ghoulish gag, joke or set-piece & there's plenty here to smile at. While I didn't find any of it laugh out loud hilarious I found it consistently amusing, it runs for 90 odd minutes & it moves along at a nice pace, there's enough happening to keep one entertained for it's duration. All the usual character's are there & well represented, the dialogue is good & the story is also pretty good.

Director Sonnenfeld does a good job, there's that fantastic morbid atmosphere running through the film & the Addams Gothic mansion looks the business.

Technically the film is very well made & has great production design & it has that big budget Hollywood look about it. The acting was good & the cast bring the character's to life.

Addams Family Values is a good film, it's pretty morbid when it wants to but it also has that dark comedic edge as well. What more can I say, it's well worth a watch.

Yes, yes, a sequel even crazier and better than the original!

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 19 May 2015]

Now that the Addams family have gotten the whole is Fester really Fester issue out of the way, they can go on with their lives, and now that there's a baby, they've got another issue: the other children want the baby dead! Gomez and Morticia decide to get a nanny (a child sitter, not a goat, to paraphrase Ricky Ricardo), and like the Von Trapp children (but in a more demonic way), Pugsly and (especially) Wednesday come up with clever ways of getting rid of each one, more foolish than the one before. When one European lady comes in with a puppet, it's not surprising that Wednesday has a puppet of her own, and it ain't close to Lambchops. Then in walks Joan Cusack, the cheery, blonde beauty with a perfect response to every question, yet all too perfect to be trusted. The film switches cleverly into two subplots as Cusack has Pugsly and Wednesday sent off to summer camp while she plots a way to win Uncle Fester's heart so she can cook his hide to get her grubby little paws on his fortune and Pugsly and Wednesday deal with the freaky "normal" people they encounter at camp as only an Addams can.

"I'm not perky", Ricci says as Wednesday, after sitting through Disney movies and every family musical ever made, smiling evilly which sends one obnoxious little blonde girl into hysterics. Of course, she earlier got the better of them too when she adds her own twist to a ghost story that is every little rich girl's fear, already having failed to jump into the water to save the "little miss perfect" from drowning during a life-saving course. Peter MacNichol and Christine Baranski are delightfully obnoxious as the cheerful but snooty moderators of the summer camp, treating each blue eyed/blonde haired boy and girl as if they were the second coming of Christ and any one else as freaks of nature. It's up to Pugsly, Wednesday and their nerdy friend (David Krumholtz) to turn the tables on this group of freaky up-scales so they can rush back and save Fester from a fate worse than life.

The Addams kids rule in this sequel with Gomez and Morticia slightly more in the background in spite of a hot dance sequence in a restaurant that looks like a cave. Joan Cusack is a delightful villain, with Lloyd hysterical as Uncle Fester trying to impress her with his walrus impression. (I hope she hadn't planned on eating those bread-sticks...) Carol Kane takes over the role of Grandma Addams, getting in a few witty lines here and there, highly reminding me of Jackie Hoffman's portrayal of Grandma in the Broadway musical version. Speaking of that, there's a delightful surprise cameo by none other than the future Gomez of Broadway himself, Nathan Lane, playing ironically a police officer who encounters Gomez and Morticia while they're trying to save Fester. I wasn't sure if it was the fact he was in this or playing a police officer that was more of a surprise.

Broadway veteran Harriet Harris is also present as the snobbish mother of the perky but obnoxious child whom Ricci makes sure has a delightful come-uppance in the Thanksgiving Day musical play MacNichol and Baranski put on at camp. When Ricci adds in her own two cents for the treatment of the Indians, it added a lot of intelligent humanity to her somewhat devilish character. Of course, she won me over in the first film when she was selling lemonade and asked the girl scout if her cookies were made out of real girl scouts and told another little girl in the hospital that it wasn't the stork that brought her a new sibling, it was the fact that her parents had sex. Watching Ricci get even with the type of kids that made a lot of other kids miserable throughout their school years is poetic justice indeed, especially if it warns those like these twit-wits that this, too, could happen to you! Then, there's the camp counselors who may smile, laugh, jump and sing, but are as racist and perhaps even more evil than the Addams could ever think of being.

In many ways, this isn't only better than the original, it's even twice as fun. There's a sense of dark comedy here that might raise eyebrows of audiences looking for good, clean fun, but as I stated in my review of the first movie, it's all innocent and a creative take on the original T.V. series and comic books. It's also sad, being one of Raul Julia's last films, and reminded me of the memory of the original Morticia (Carolyn Jones) who continued to work up almost until her death while fighting cancer on the daytime soap opera "Capitol". Dana Ivey returns, now Mrs. Cousin It Addams, with a little hairy bundle of joy. There's a delightfully sick but funny gag involving Lurch and the huge cake for Fester's bachelor party, and the finale scene with Ricci and Krumholtz might result in the viewer having the spit-take to end all spit-takes.

Family comes first

[toby-chi · 8/10 · 20 January 2022]

Entertaining positive message about family values wrapped in an explosive 94 minutes of fun. Great stuff! Especially the segment on Thanksgiving play at the summer camp - going to replace my family's Thanksgiving tradition of watching Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special with this excellent must-watch film. Great directing, excellent performance by the actors. Dazzling practical effects that still hold up today. This wonderful film might just be the perfect treatment material for family therapy sessions.

Christina Ricci steals very funny sequel with her subversive summer camp storyline

[a_chinn · 7/10 · 24 July 2018]

I hadn't seen this film in years and it holds up quite well. The story involves gold-digging black widow Joan Cusack worming her way into the family by way of seducing Christopher Lloyd's Uncle Fester. Cusack then tricks Gomez and Morticia into thinking Pugsley and Wednesday want to go to summer camp, which results in the film's funniest moments, mainly of which involve super enthusiastic and positive camp counselors Peter MacNicole and Christine Baranski trying to convert the two glum children into Shiny Happy People. My favorite part of their conversion therapy is when they're forced to watch the John Huston film version of "Annie." The film cuts between Pugsley and Wednesday's adventures at camp with Cusack plotting to kill Fester and take the family fortune. Both stories are quite funny, but the camp moments are especially good. The funniest moment of the camp storyline, and probably the film in general, is when the campers perform a re-enactment of the "First Thanksgiving" where all of the blond hair, blue eyed campers play the Pilgrims and the camp misfits play the Indians, when Wednesday, a scene stealing 12-year old Christina Ricci, as Pocahontas and her awkward boyfriend go off-script, turning this syrupy (and historically invacuate) play into a story or revenge for the future evils perpetrated upon Native Americans by these European immigrants, complete with Wednesday's crew burning the village set to the ground and burning Pilgrim leader Mercedes McNab at the stake. Although Riccci clearly steal the film, the rest of the cast is pretty amazing as well, including Anjelica Huston as Morticia Addams and Raul Julia as Gomez Addams, Carol Kane as Grandma, and supporting parts for Sam McMurray, Nathan Lane, Cynthia Nixon, David Hyde Piers, Peter Graves, and Tony Shalhoub. The film is not quite a comedy classic, but it's undeniably entertaining and more darkly funny than most Hollywood comedies.

They're Back... and Darker Yet

[nycritic · 10/10 · 30 January 2006]

She's a pleasant young woman who always dresses in light colors and has a demeanor that would win you over. That is, until you find out that she's been responsible for the deaths of several other people and is after your fortune like her life depends on it.

This is Debbie Jelinsky, and her life story reads like something out of "East of Eden" in which the main heroine did some unspeakable things to everyone who came in touch with her, including and beginning with her parents. She's been assigned to take care of the Addams children because as of late they've taken a homicidal interest in their youngest brother Pubert and no other nanny seems able to handle their recklessness. Of course, no one realizes that she's after Uncle Fester and his money, and in the Addams' world, watching television is not a priority, because had they tuned in to watch "American's Most Disgusting Criminals", they would have found quite a lot about her.

ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES is one of those rare sequels that while being practically the same movie (with a plot revolving around Uncle Fester and his fortune which could, under the wrong hands, affect the entire Addams family), redone with a different villainess, is actually better than the original. The tone is much darker still: Wednesday's sadistic side, subdued in the first film, comes full bloom like her own entrance into young womanhood, and Joan Cusack, while looking quite a lot like Marilyn Munster from the rival series "The Munsters", is by far the ugliest character in the story. Had this been a mainstream drama or suspense thriller her black widow tendencies would have been a little much to bear, but Cusack plays her villainy to the hilt and overshadows Anjelica Huston and Raul Julia who are even better and make one of the screen's best romantic couples of all time (despite their dark makeup).

The last adaptation made for the big screen, Charles Addams' characters would move to the small screen in a new version of the 1960s show and a TV movie, neither very successful.

Solid Follow-up that Expands on the Story

[Reviews_of_the_Dead · 7/10 · 17 October 2021]

This sequel is another one that I would watch regularly growing up. I'm sure that I rented it and then it seemed always be on the movie channels. This is also another one that Jaime had not seen and since I see this as a gateway horror film, it worked to watch in October for me. For this movie here, our synopsis is the Addams family try to rescue their beloved Uncle Fester (Christopher Lloyd) from his gold-digging new love, a black widow named Debbie (Joan Cusack).

We begin by getting meet our family once there. There is Morticia (Anjelica Huston) and her husband of Gomez (Raul Julia) They are pregnant and she goes into labor to start this one off. Back once again as Gomez's brother of Fester (Christopher Lloyd). We also have the children Wednesday (Christina Ricci) and Pugsley (Jimmy Workman). This time around Granny is Carol Kane, who is Morticia's mother. Their butler is Lurch (Carel Struycken) and they still have the favorite hand, Thing (Christopher Hart). As I was saying, Morticia goes into labor and informs Gomez. The whole clan goes to the hospital where they have another boy, named Pubert Addams (Kaitlyn and Kristen Hooper).

Wednesday and Pugsley have it in their head that they have to kill the baby or one of them will be killed. Granny confirms this was the way in the past. They try a few different ways to take care of the problem, but something thwarts them at every turn. It is decided by Morticia and Gomez to hire a nanny.

After going through a few different candidates, the last one they see is Debbie Jellinsky. She is quirky like they are and they hire her. She starts that night. We learn though while she watches television that she is a Black Widow Killer. She has been married before, a couple times, and has killed her husbands for their money. We see that she has her attention turned to Fester, knowing that he is rich.

Her first order of business is to get Wednesday and Pugsley out of the house. She succeeds in sending them to summer camp. Their parents can't believe this is what they want, but they are convinced by Debbie. They're sent to Camp Chippewa, which is for privileged children and ran by a married couple of Gary (Peter MacNicol) and Becky Martin-Granger (Christine Baranski). Our two Addams kids don't fit in well with the Grangers or the suck-up campers who are led by Amanda Buckman (Mercedes McNab).

With the children out of the way, Debbie sets her sights on Fester. It is quite easy and after their first date they are engaged. They get married soon after and Debbie doesn't wait any time in trying to kill her new husband. On their honeymoon, she drops a stereo into the bathtub with Fester in it. He survives though, being an Addams.

Wednesday and Pugsley try to find a way out of camp. They befriend Joel Glicker (David Krumtholtz) who doesn't fit in at the camp either. He's into serial killer trading cards and gets Debbie's card of the Black Widow Killer. Things are falling apart when she keeps Fester from his family, which causes issues with Pubert. This all needs to be resolved before it is too late.

Now what I have to say here is that the last time I watched this and the original, I liked this one better. Having watched this almost back to back, I'm not so sure. That is not to say that I don't like this one anymore or anything to that effect. This one has already established characters and doing a bit more with them, which I do like. We are focusing more on Fester and the children during their time at camp than the Addams family themselves. Again, not a bad thing, but just what I've noticed.

What I will say though, I love Wednesday and even Pugsley at camp. Wednesday with her crusade against Gary, Becky, Amanda and the rest of the camp is great. Workman isn't as strong an actor as Ricci, so that is part of why I said what I did. They focus on her more, which is smart. I love seeing them trying to break these two along with Joel. It is comical all the way up until the destruction of the camp. I do enjoy this.

Something that didn't work as well this time around was the interactions with Fester and Debbie. The early stuff when we have Morticia, Gomez and the crew, that all worked. When he goes off with her though, it feels rushed and not as interesting when I watched it recently. Going along with that not working as well, Pubert isn't as fun when Wednesday and Pugsley aren't trying to kill him either. That feels morbid to say, but it is the Addams family.

I don't want you to think that I hate this though. The acting is good here still. I think cutting down the time we have with Huston and Julia is part of it, as they're great. Lloyd is still on point with Fester. I don't even hate Cusack as Debbie. She has this weird bubbly personality that she grows tired of as things progress. She is diabolical which is hard to do when dealing with the oddities of the Addams family. Ricci is also good. Workman is fine, but it is hard when his sister in the movie is just more talented. I do like Kane taking over as Granny. The addition of Krumholtz also worked. Struycken and Hart are solid as well. I also liked the cameos by Dana Ivey, MacNicol, Baranski, McNab, Sam McNurray, John Franklin, Cynthia Nixon, Peter Graves, Ian Abercrombie, Tony Shalhoub and Nathan Lane. The acting here is on point for me to be honest.

Then the last things to go into would be the effects, cinematography and the soundtrack. For the former, they are solid. We have some CGI here that isn't great, but this doesn't ruin the movie either. They went practical where they could. It isn't as good as the original, but it is far from bad. The cinematography there was well done and the soundtrack fit for what was needed. If anything I prefer this to the original in that department.

So then in conclusion here, the last time I saw this one, I liked it better than the original one. This doesn't hold up as well for me. I like the expanding of the story, but some of the things they focus on aren't as interesting to me. The acting though is on point. The cinematography is well done. The effects aren't as good here, but the soundtrack works better for me. I'd still say that this is a fun movie that I would recommend, especially if you want to get children into the horror genre. I consider this a horror film, where not everyone does. This is still an above average movie to me.

Funnier every time I watch it!

[domotime2 · 10/10 · 9 November 2021]

Every single scene and line is a joke. While it's all the same level of joke, they all still get a big laugh out of me. The set pieces are all vibrant and interesting. The actors are all high level icons. Putting the kids in summer camp is genius. I've watched this like, 30 times, and it still cracks me up.

Funny Sequel With An Evil Message

[ccthemovieman-1 · 6/10 · 18 March 2006]

Just the title of this movie tells you that "family values" are going to be trashed. It plays up evil, as opposed to goodness, but most of it is strictly to get laughs. In all, it's a funny sequel to the first Adams Family film, very inventive and slightly more entertaining than the first film.

The special effects aren't the only highlight of this comedy. You expect that from this kind of story, but I was pleasantly surprised how much the sound added to the entertainment, especially n the first half of the film.

The first half is better all-around because the second half has touches of mean- spiritedness entering the picture, not just humor. The message that evil is cool and wholesomeness is stupid gets carried away and is overdone. Yes, the camp counselors are very funny but too stupid as the filmmakers use them to bad-mouth good values.

That's basically the message from today's filmmakers: evil is good and good is evil. Wrap that up in a good comedy and your message gets accepted more readily. Too bad they got carried away because this movie has many funny scenes.

Loses the Heart and Humour of its Predecessor,

[lesleyharris30 · 4/10 · 20 July 2016]

Addams Family Values is a very poor movie with a brutally paced plot and a few talented cast members that could have done so much netter. The actors do their very best, with Angelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd and Christina Ricci still shining in their respective roles, however, they were not enough to save this movie, which tries to hard to stand out from the first Addams family that it forgets to even tell a story.

A lot of comments are far too much for a younger audience, such as Wednesday mentioning that her parents have had intercourse, or the antagonist's torture chamber, it is far too frightening for the films target audience.

On the other hand, the humour is also too childish for the most part, such as the Addams new baby causing havoc and the entire camping plot, leaving nothing for adults to have a chuckle at. Loud, obnoxious and not funny, Addams Family Values is too childish for adults, and too adult for kids, better off avoiding this.

The family must rescue their uncle from a new love.

Best Performance: Raul Julia / Worst Performance: Joan Cusack