Movie Review: The Addams Family (1991), Just as Kooky as the 60s TV Show

Gomez Addams' brother, Fester, has been missing for 25 years and believed to be dead but Gomez has been vigilant in trying to contact his spirit with no luck. Gomez's attorney, Tully Alford, has fallen on hard times and owes a lot of money to some shady people, one of which is Abigail Craven and her son Gordon, who threatens Alford's life if he doesn't repay them. Alford and the Craven's concoct a scheme to have Gordon pretend to be Gomez's missing brother, Fester, who looks just like him, in order to gain access to the Addams' treasure vault and steal the riches there.

I just watched The Addams Family (1991) again for the 1st time since soon after it was 1st released. I remember most of the story and it is almost as entertaining now as it was when I 1st watched it. It's not as good now that I am older but it's perfect for a younger audience and should still be entertaining to kids today. Unless you are a parent with a very strict censorship for your children, this movie should be safe for children of almost any age.

I was a fan of the original The Addams Family TV show and I can't help but compare the movie and the TV show. The movie succeeds at duplicating almost the same atmosphere and characters of the TV show. Of course, there are a few changes from the TV show but, for many of us that don't know, the more closely based on the Charles Addams comic strip from the New Yorker in the 60s. Director, Barry Sonnenfeld, based the background for this movie on the Charles Addams' original cartoon strip and his notes for the TV series.

Some character changes in this movie compared to the TV show include Fester being Gomez's brother instead of Morticia's and Grandma being Morticia's mother (Esmerelda Frump) rather than Gomez' (Eudora Addams) -- all of which are based on the relationships in the comic strip. In the original series, Morticia's mother was named Hestor Frump.

Almost everything I remember and love about The Addams Family TV show are present here in this movie including the atmosphere, dark colors, spooky settings, the music and the actors and actresses do a great job of re-creating their 1960s counterparts.

The outside of the Addams family mansion looks just like the original and the inside, which is different from the original, is even better than the original because of all the extra rooms and darker details, which just are not as effective in black or white. The colors remind me of Nightmare before Christmas and Beetlejuice, which are perfect for this spooky comedy. As a side note, the mansion used in this movie was built on Stage 3/8, the same stage used for the house in the original TV series.

In this movie, we see most of the Addams family members from Gomez and Morticia's morbid romance, their children Wednesday and Pugsley, uncle Fester, Grandmamma, their giant butler, Lurch and the live severed hand, Thing. Everyone we remember from the 1960s TV show is there.

Anjelica Huston does a perfect Morticia from her appearance, personality to her mannerisms which is to be expected from an actress of her caliber. She is just like the original Carolyn Jones.

Raul Julia plays a good Gomez but he is slightly different than John Astin's version and closer to the Gomez as envisioned by Charles Addams in his comic strip with more of a Spanish appearance. Personally, I don't think he's that far removed from John Astin's version but others see a vast difference.

Christina Ricci plays a perfect dark and morbid Wednesday just like I remember Lisa Loring being in the original 60s show.

Jimmy Workman plays an okay Pugsley but he just fails to duplicate the Ken Weatherwax Pugsley from the 60s show. He is a little thinner than the original and a bit too "normal" looking for the part.

Judith Malina as Grandmamma looks and acts just like I remember Marie Blake in the 60s show.

Carel Struycken has the appearance and mannerisms of the original Lurch down pat. However, his character does not talk at all, so we miss the original Lurch's deep and menacing voice. Struycken is 7' and the original Ted Cassidy was 6'9," so they definitely got the height correct.

Christopher Lloyd pulls double duty as Gordon Craven and later Uncle Fester. He really duplicates the 60s uncle Fester's character almost flawlessly from what I remember. He has the appearance, personality and even a similar voice (at least that I can recall) albeit a little deeper than the original. Lloyd is a good substitute for Jackie Coogan.

There are a few new characters thrown in that I don't remember being in the original 60s series. Paul Benedict, who you might remember as Bentley from The Jeffersons, plays Judge Womack, who lives across from the Addams family mansion and despises them. While I like Paul Benedict and it was good to see him again, his judge character seemed unnecessary.

Dan Hedaya portrays Addams' attorney, Tully Alford, a somewhat inept and conniving attorney who gambles a lot. His character is one of the main antagonists of this movie.

Rounding out the main characters, Elizabeth Wilson plays Abigail Craven, a very sneaky loan shark, who uses her son, Gordon, as the muscle of the team. Using a scheme concocted by Alford, who owes her a lot of money, she uses the persona of Dr. Greta Pinder-Schloss, "Uncle Fester's" longtime psychiatrist, who pretends to have helped him get back his memory after losing it in the Bermuda triangle, in an effort to have him gain access to the Addams' treasure. Craven is the main antagonists and does a great job of making viewers despise her character.

There are a few things missing are the movie that I would have liked to see. While Lurch looks the part, he never gets to say "You rang?" Which was pretty much his moniker in the 60s show; in fact, I don't believe Lurch talks at all in this movie -- the actor probably couldn't duplicate the voice but it could have been edited to sound like the original actor. Another thing that I would have liked to see was more Cousin Itt, who was almost one of the main characters in the old TV show. In this movie, Cousin Itt is just a guest at the Addams' mansion and is only shown for a few minutes.

The story seemed like a roundabout way of introducing uncle Fester with some new characters. It probably could have been done with all of the Addams family characters already in place, like in the show, but I'm not sure how. I guess I just think that the whole imposter scenario detracted from the Addams family members, whom I believe should have been the focus for the 1st movie without outsider characters being major characters. After watching the whole movie again, the story is not that bad but could have been that much better if it had been almost completely about the family.

All in all, The Addams Family is a good movie that recaptures much of the spooky, kookiness of the original series, while updating it to the 90s and have a few new characters. The acting seems top notch and each actor that plays a character from the original series pretty much duplicates the original actors' characters, which is a good thing in my book. The runtime is 99 minutes and I never felt bored or in a hurry for the movie to end; it is definitely fun and entertaining. The Addams Family should please fans of the original series and newer or younger audiences alike.

Rating: 4/5

Trivia

Other actors and directors considered for this movie include, Cher, who originally wanted to play Morticia, Anthony Hopkins, who turned down the role of Uncle Fester, and Tim Burton was originally set to be the director.

Some additional Addams characters in the movie include Dexter and Donald Addams (the two-headed cousin), Ophelia Addams (Morticia's sister), Slosh Addams (toad-like man) with his child-sized wife, Lois, Digit Addams (a four-armed woman) and Lumpy Addams (teenage hunchback cousin).

Quotes

Girl Scout: Is this made from real lemons?
Wednesday: Yes.
Girl Scout: I only like all-natural foods and beverages, organically grown, with no preservatives. Are you sure they're real lemons?
Pugsley: Yes.
Girl Scout: Well, I'll tell you what. I'll buy a cup if you buy a box of my delicious Girl Scout cookies. Do we have a deal?
Wednesday: Are they made from real Girl Scouts?

Margaret (to her son): You are too precious for words, why I could just - eat you alive!
Morticia: Oh no, Margaret! Too young!