The Addams family (1991)

The Story: Everyone's favorite "all together ooky" family gets the big screen treatment.

The early nineties ushered in a trend that's become a bit hackneyed in Hollywood as of late, the practice of transforming popular television shows of yesteryear into full-length features. We suffered through The Flintstones, Dennis the Menace, Richie Rich, McHale's Navy, and countless other crates of crap. But in 1991, director Barry Sonnenfeld (in his directorial debut after many years as a cinematographer) actually got it right.

The story begins with a somber Gomez Addams (Raul Julia) lamenting the twenty-five year absence of his dear brother, Fester. Apparently, years ago, Gomez and Fester had a colossal argument that resulted in Fester abandoning the family. Gomez would do anything to see his brother again, and rekindle their once inseparable kinship.

Gomez receives a visitor in the form of Tully Alford (Dan Hedaya), a weasely bastard of a lawyer, or as I prefer to call him... a lawyer. After some friendly swordplay, Tully proposes establishing the Fester Addams Offshore Retirement Fund, which is essentially a ploy to embezzle funds from the Addams fortune. Gomez tells Tully that he'll consider the proposal at a later time. It seems the good lawyer is up to his neck in debt to one Abigail Craven (Elizabeth Wilson). When Tully begs Craven for more time to come up with the dough, he meets her son, Gordon (Christopher Lloyd), who just so happens to be the spitting image of the long-lost Fester Addams.

Enter Plan B: give Gordon a bit of a makeover, arrange a seance, and convince Gomez that Fester has returned, anxious to patch things up. Once Gomez has accepted "Fester" as his brother, he will inevitably lead him to the family vault, which will be quickly emptied by Tully and the Cravens.

As Gordon begins his assimilation into the Addams clan, he must face the skepticism of Morticia and Wednesday, as well as endure the everyday torture that is brotherly love. But as one would easily predict, Gordon starts to get comfortable playing the role of Fester. He slowly wins the admiration of Wednesday and Morticia, dances the Mamushka at a masquerade in his honor, and in what's possibly the funniest scene in the film, arranges a play for the children, complete with severed limbs and a blood-soaked audience.

Recognizing that her son is actually enjoying his ghoulish ruse, Craven gives Gordon an ultimatum, and he reluctantly sides with his mother. Tully informs the Addamses that Fester is the rightful heir to the family fortune, and tosses them out on the street. Morticia pays one final visit to try reasoning with them, and is taken hostage. Gomez is then forced to show Craven and company the way to the vault or else...

So does Gomez save the day? Does Gordon betray his band of rapscallions? Does the real Fester Addams ever show up? You'll have to see the movie to find out, and I highly recommend doing so.

The Addams Family is a highly enjoyable film, but there are just a couple of things that keep it from being great. The biggest gripe that I have with it is the ending. Almost every movie has what I commonly refer to as the (thanks largely to Spaceballs) "everybody got that?" scene. It's a scene in which the characters use unnatural dialogue to catch the audience up on what has happened. The Addams Family has a HUGE one that practically winks at you, and it's right at the end of the movie. Had the film been maybe two or three minutes longer, the scene could have been replaced with something a little more seamless.

Another point of frustration is the blatant product placement. From the enormous Tombstone Pizza billboard taking away from an otherwise funny scene, to Thing (the family's "helping hand") plugging FedEx. And now I can sleep at night, knowing what potato chips Gomez Addams prefers. It's an unfortunate practice that's become commonplace in Sonnenfeld pictures.

But luckily for us, for each thing wrong with the film, there are a dozen that knock the ball right out of the park. For one, the cast is outstanding. In fact, I'd be hard pressed to think of a film with more dead-on casting. Raul Julia steals every scene in which he appears. He's absolutely perfect. I always get a little sad when watching this movie, knowing that someone so full of life died at such a young age. Add Christopher Lloyd, Anjelica Huston, and a very young Christina Ricci to Julia's performance, and you have yourself one entertaining group of Addamses. Kudos to Caroline Thompson for delivering a wonderful script that gives these characters an even brighter sheen. Only with repeated viewings can one begin to catch all of the one-liners and background shenanigans.

On top of the marvelous performances, The Addams Family is a visual smorgasbord. The sets are second to none, with the mansion exhibiting the type of dreary splendor that looks like it was pulled directly from the brain of Tim Burton. Thing also looks great and gets his fair share of zany gags- from playing charades with Gomez, to getting a part-time job.

Another big plus is Marc Shaiman's fantastic score. It pays respect to Vic Mizzi's TV theme without using it as a crutch. It's sad music with a hint of mischief (think Edward Scissorhands with a little more spring in its step). In fact, Shaiman has even joked that his getting the job must have meant that Danny Elfman was too busy. It's now out of print, but if you can find a copy, this is a score well worth purchasing.

So is the Addams Family a horror movie? Not really, well maybe, for the sake of getting this review posted. Does it belong in every horror movie buff's collection? Absolutely. It's a hilarious dark comedy that the whole family can enjoy. Any movie that points out the humor and bliss of dismemberment, torture, and burying people alive is OK in my book. The Addams Family was one of the first television shows to combine elements of horror with slapstick, and the movie keeps that spirit alive, kicking and screaming.