Addams Family Values

Rating:
Summary: A fun Sequel to a fun movie.
Review: I am a fan of movies that can be watched for fun again and again. I find both Addams family movies (with this same cast) up there with my favorite fun movies (Princess Bride, Ferris Bueller) and they are always there to bring a smile to a boring day.

Morticia and Gomez are played very well. Gomez is still contagiously energetic and Morticia continues to add her dark comedy that just seem to emit from her character without words. Christina Ricci, slightly older than in the first movie, just completely exemplifies Wednesday basically stealing the show. Pugsly is Pugsly. Not a standout, but perfectly played. I am also a huge Christopher Lloyd fan and seeing him again as Fester was wonderful. Carol Kane should have been Grandma in the first movie because she adds the finishing touches to an overall perfect cast.

This is a delightful movie that just keeps you smiling and I highly recommend it for those boring days when you just are in the mood for a "fun" movie. Get the first one too and watch that one too. When it's over you'll want more and wish there was an adequate sequel.

Rating:
Summary: better than the first!
Review: I think that this sequal has more action than the first, and is hysterically funny, mostly thanks to joan cusack!

Rating:
Summary: Christina Ricci steals the show!
Review: I'm not exaggerating when I say I saw this film in the theater at least a dozen times. It's that good!

If it was the job of the first film to introduce the characters, it is the job of ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES to put them in their worst possible positions. Providing those worst possible positions are: Morticia's new baby, complete with blond hair and shiny smile (grandmother predicts that such a charm may result in him becoming, horror of horror, the President); Fester's new gold-digging girlfriend Debbie; and Wednesday and Pugsley's trip to summer camp. My favorite part of this movie is when Wednesday is cast as Pocahontas in the camp's production of a Thanksgiving play: "You have taken the land that is rightfully ours," Wednesday confronts, in an impromtu ad lib delivered to the mortified surprise of the play's perky directors and the affluent audience. "And for all these reasons," Wednesday continues, "I have decided to scalp you. . . ." It really is Wednesday who steals this show with her ghoulish deadpan delivery, and it could be argued that this was Christina Ricci's breakout role. Who would have ever thought that little Wednesday would eclipse the entire gang?

ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES was released in the early '90s when talk of "family values," mostly ignited by Dan Quayle's condemnation of a fictitious sitcom character giving birth without being married, was all the rage. Talk of "family values" was everywhere in those days. Apparently, it would be the Addams's turn to show us what we should really value: individuality. For all their quirks, they seem to have an unconditional acceptance of each other, and most couples would be blessed to be as madly in love with each other as Gomez (Raul Julia) and Morticia (Angelica Huston) are.

Rating:
Summary: Perfectly hilarious sequel!
Review: In "Addams Family Values," the jokes are funnier, the story is much more enjoyable, and the characters are more developed and easy to follow. The original cast is back for another round of gags and comedy, while the writers and director Barry Sonnenfield have chosen to stick with a story that works with the gags and laughs instead of just providing an outlet for them. This is one of the rare sequels that surpasses the original; I loved this movie!

The movie begins with the arrival of baby Pubert, in a hilarious send-up of birth scenes with a twist: the mother-to-be enjoys the labor pains. From this point on, the movie goes into three different stories which lead into one another. One dives into the children reacting to the new baby, doing everything from dropping him from the roof to placing him under the guillotine. Their antics are relentless, which leads into the second story as Gomez and Morticia decide to hire a nanny, picking the good-natured Debbie Jilinsky to care for their infant son. Fester falls head over heels in love with the new nanny, who is actually a murderess out for his wealth and fortune.

Debbie's suspicions that Wednesday and Pugsley know too much leads into the third story, as she has them shipped off to summer camp, where the sun and cheery attitudes of the campers and counselors are enough to make even the audience cringe in fear. As Debbie carries out her devious plans, the children are put through the hells of the camp until they can take it no longer, rounding out the movie's comedic climax with laughs galore.

Like the previous film, the original cast remains intact, with the exception of Grandmother Addams. Raul Julia and Anjelica Houston reprise the roles of Gomez and Morticia, whose romance is put on a back burner from its vivacity in the first film, allowing most of the story to rest on the shoulders of Wednesday and Pugsley, once again played by Christina Ricci and Jimmy Workman. There is a lot more to their characters as they make their way through the treacheries of camp: Wednesday has matured into a much fuller character, while Pugsley remains childlike and naive. Fester, played by Christopher Lloyd, is shown as a hopeless romantic who honestly thinks his appearance has nothing to do with his inability to attain a female partner, while Debbie is played excellently by Joan Cusack, who knack for comedy and colorful phrases make her a uniquely comedic villain.

The contrasts abide within the story of Fester and Debbie and the trysts at summer camp. Fester's unconventional ways become trying for Debbie to live with; try as she might, she's still a "normal" human being. Wednesday and Pugsley's camp experience provides a sharp contrast: their refusal to take part in the events at camp bring the counselors, who are complete airheads that reminded me of the ditzy girls in high school, to the edge of losing it, but instead, they are forced into a place known as the Harmony Hut, where they are subjected to Disney films and Brady Bunch reruns.

In some ways, these contrasts could make the movie a social satire of sorts. The ways in which one character's lifestyle is compared to that of another are fascinating, and while the Addams are highly unconventional, the remaining characters from the real world are in no way considered normal. So the movie poses us that very question: "Who's to say what is normal?"

That said, let's move on to the story, which is highly better than that of the original movie. This one actually produces the gags, having the feel that the story was written before the laughs were. The original had the feel that all the laughs were tossed into the air and placed in random spots, which would work because the gags never seemed attached to any specific storyline. Here, the comedy comes from the story, and the two work together marvelously at producing side-splitting laughs and subtle humor.

I couldn't help but enjoy myself while watching this movie. It made me laugh like I haven't laughed in a long time, while also keeping the characters intact and convincing. Sonnenfield has done a terrific job in creating this sequel, which is definitely the better of the two films.

Rating:
Summary: Perfectly hilarious sequel!
Review: In "Addams Family Values," the jokes are funnier, the story is much more enjoyable, and the characters are more developed and easy to follow. The original cast is back for another round of gags and comedy, while the writers and director Barry Sonnenfield have chosen to stick with a story that works with the gags and laughs instead of just providing an outlet for them. This is one of the rare sequels that surpasses the original; I loved this movie!

The movie begins with the arrival of baby Pubert, in a hilarious send-up of birth scenes with a twist: the mother-to-be enjoys the labor pains. From this point on, the movie goes into three different stories which lead into one another. One dives into the children reacting to the new baby, doing everything from dropping him from the roof to placing him under the guillotine. Their antics are relentless, which leads into the second story as Gomez and Morticia decide to hire a nanny, picking the good-natured Debbie Jilinsky to care for their infant son. Fester falls head over heels in love with the new nanny, who is actually a murderess out for his wealth and fortune.

Debbie's suspicions that Wednesday and Pugsley know too much leads into the third story, as she has them shipped off to summer camp, where the sun and cheery attitudes of the campers and counselors are enough to make even the audience cringe in fear. As Debbie carries out her devious plans, the children are put through the hells of the camp until they can take it no longer, rounding out the movie's comedic climax with laughs galore.

Like the previous film, the original cast remains intact, with the exception of Grandmother Addams. Raul Julia and Anjelica Houston reprise the roles of Gomez and Morticia, whose romance is put on a back burner from its vivacity in the first film, allowing most of the story to rest on the shoulders of Wednesday and Pugsley, once again played by Christina Ricci and Jimmy Workman. There is a lot more to their characters as they make their way through the treacheries of camp: Wednesday has matured into a much fuller character, while Pugsley remains childlike and naive. Fester, played by Christopher Lloyd, is shown as a hopeless romantic who honestly thinks his appearance has nothing to do with his inability to attain a female partner, while Debbie is played excellently by Joan Cusack, who knack for comedy and colorful phrases make her a uniquely comedic villain.

The contrasts abide within the story of Fester and Debbie and the trysts at summer camp. Fester's unconventional ways become trying for Debbie to live with; try as she might, she's still a "normal" human being. Wednesday and Pugsley's camp experience provides a sharp contrast: their refusal to take part in the events at camp bring the counselors, who are complete airheads that reminded me of the ditzy girls in high school, to the edge of losing it, but instead, they are forced into a place known as the Harmony Hut, where they are subjected to Disney films and Brady Bunch reruns.

In some ways, these contrasts could make the movie a social satire of sorts. The ways in which one character's lifestyle is compared to that of another are fascinating, and while the Addams are highly unconventional, the remaining characters from the real world are in no way considered normal. So the movie poses us that very question: "Who's to say what is normal?"

That said, let's move on to the story, which is highly better than that of the original movie. This one actually produces the gags, having the feel that the story was written before the laughs were. The original had the feel that all the laughs were tossed into the air and placed in random spots, which would work because the gags never seemed attached to any specific storyline. Here, the comedy comes from the story, and the two work together marvelously at producing side-splitting laughs and subtle humor.

I couldn't help but enjoy myself while watching this movie. It made me laugh like I haven't laughed in a long time, while also keeping the characters intact and convincing. Sonnenfield has done a terrific job in creating this sequel, which is definitely the better of the two films.

Rating:
Summary: Horrible! Carolyn Jones is spinning in her grave!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: In the 90's, there were a pair of very funny films that were feature-length remakes of classic television comedies: The Brady Bunch Movie, and The Addams Family. In both cases, the first entries were too dark, and each spawned a sequel that was better than the first. In Addams Family Values- Uncle Fester's money is in danger from a golddigging "black widow", Pugsley & Wednesday go to summer camp, and the family sees the arrival of a new baby, Pubert. It all sounds very boring and plain. But there is a refreshing sense of imagination brought to this sequel.

First off, Joan Cusack as the golddigging husband-killer may get on some peoples' nerves. She's one of those actresses not for everyone's tastes. But she's an appropriate choice and is funny is a very blunt way. She doesn't hide the fact that she's only after the money, and I've never seen that done before. Subtlety's not important here. Then, Christina Ricci as Wednesday steals the movie. She gets a bigger chunk of screentime, wittier lines, and still look all cute and maybe in love with her character's summer-romantic interest.

Then a few scenes get a boost from Carol Kane as the new Grandmama, and there's a very funny take on America's Most Wanted with Peter Graves (from Airplane!) playing John Walsh's host even more over-the-top ("three different women with one thing in common... MURDER!"). And perhaps the funniest roles in the movie belong to Peter MacNicol (Ally McBeal) and Christine Baranski (Cybill) as the obnoxious, snobby, elitist Camp Chippewa counselors. There's a great mini-confrontation between Ricci and MacNicol in which she calls his "work" puerile and underdramatized.

The other key scenes in the movie are the chaotic Chippewa jamboree where Wednesday puts the play's cast and crew in their places (a lot of symbolic words and images there), the honeymoon scene where Cusack's Debbie tries to electrocute Uncle Fester, and arguably the funniest moment, Wednesday's ghost story which is able to elicit actual shrieks of terror from her bunkmates. Give this one a chance, you won't be disappointed.

Of note, there are a lot of other cameos and moments from TV actors and minor celebrities. Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City), John Franklin (Children of the Corn), David Hype Pierce (Frasier), Nathan Lane (The Lion King, The Birdcage), Tony Shalhoub (Wings, Munk), Charles Busch (Oz, Psycho Beach Party), and one of the more memborable nerds from Saved by the Bell, Ryan Holihan.

Rating:
Summary: Good film, for tv show fans
Review: Like most TV shows made into movies, you have to be a fan of the show to truly appreciate the movie. A lot of morbid jokes about death and torture, but told in good fun. Joan Cusack is really hot and the Thanksgiving play scene is great. Too bad there won't be a sequal.

Rating:
Summary: the first was great, this was even better!
Review: Not quite as dark as the first but definately humorous and well acted by everyone in the movie. It's ashame that Raul Julia died shortly after this film was released. In my opinion, playing the role of Gomez is what made Raul Julia famous. I have seen Christina Ricci in other movies but I don't think she delivered near as good as she did in Addams Family and Addams Family Values.

Rating:
Summary: ...any more
Review: OK--here's the deal. the movie operates at about this level:

Wednesday and Pugsley have ben trying to kill each other because of the new baby. They believe that when a new baby comes in, one of the extant kids has to go. And I mean: "GO." These attempts get everyone's attentions, so a family meeting happens.

Grandma Addams: Why are you trying to kill each other?

W and P look furtively at each other, but they say nothing.

GA: Well, why are you doing it?

W and P still furtive.

GA: Is it because you believe that if a new baby comes in, we have to get rid of one of you?

W and P guiltily look at each other, then start to nod, tentatively.

GA: No! Oh no! That's..not..true!! That's just not true. Any more.

Me? I saw it on a plane and almots fell off my seat. Maybe I'm just simple, but I thought it was hilarious. And I'm not a big Addams family fan.

Rating:
Summary: Good movie....in my p.o.v.
Review: One great movie. I like the play scene where Wednesday and her "Outcast" group do their dirty thing to destroy the camp itself. That's the part in the movie that I like...Wednesday's adlib to the play is off the hook. Amanda Buckman (the girl scout cookie seller from the previous movie) and the two hyper counselors deserved what Wednesday and her "outcast" group did (threatening to burn Amanda on stake, and roasting two counselors on open fire); What if these two things were switched? If it did, it wouldn't be PG-13...