The Addams Family - 5 stars out of 10

The Addams Family - 5 stars out of 10

The Addams Family is back with the same old characters in a fresh new story.  The plot cleverly serves as a means to introduce new audiences to the Addamses.  When an Uncle Fester look-a-like enters the Addams home in an attempt to steal their fortune, he has to learn about each family member's personality quirks, and we learn along with him.  Each character is well cast - Morticia and Gomez have great chemistry together and play off of each other with dark, ironic comments.  Gomez has never been more lovable than when Raul Julia dances the Mamuska.  Lurch is tall, Wednesday is creepy, and Pugsley is the perfect blend of plump and oblivious.  Dan Hedaya and Elizabeth Wilson make great bad guys and the use of blue screen to turn Christopher Hart's hand into Thing is easily on par with the possibilities of computer animation many years later.  But the highlight of this film is Christopher Lloyd as the Uncle Fester impersonator.  His facial expressions are just so good and he's taken Fester from being one of the "extra" family members to being in the spotlight.  Even thouh this film doesn't get my highest rating, I would definitely watch it again for it's clever dark humor and Christopher Lloyd.  Or... I could just go watch the superior "Addams Family Values" sequel instead.  I have always preferred The Munsters to The Addams Family and I still do, but this film opened my eyes to the humorous antics of television's "other" dark family.

P.S. Don't miss M.C. Hammer's "Addams Groove" during the closing credits!  On second thought, it would probably be more enjoyable to mute the tv and just watch the words go by in silence.