Review: When a man (Christopher Lloyd) claiming to be Fester, the missing brother of Gomez Addams (Raul Julia), arrives at the Addams' home, the family is thrilled. However, Morticia (Anjelica Huston) begins to suspect the man is a fraud, since he cannot recall details of Fester's life. With the help of lawyer Tully Alford (Dan Hedaya), Fester manages to get the Addams clan evicted from their home. Gomez realizes the two men are conspiring to swindle the Addams fortune and that he must challenge Fester. The Addams Family is a timeless classic that I make a point to watch each fall. Each quirky member of the family has something to offer. Julia and Huston are fantastic as the flamboyant Addams patriarch and matriarch respectively. I think Christina Ricci's portrayal of Wednesday Addams stands out as well, as her monotone flat delivery of brilliant one liners provides for a lot of funny moments. This movie is good, old-fashioned fun. The Addams mansion is one of the coolest settings I can recall in terms of supernatural comedies, with hijinks at every turn. The Addams Family is more or less what you would expect from this type of film. It's predictable and cliché, but still an enjoyable black comedy. Evil doctor, bickering siblings, wild schemes, and sensuous romance abound, this movie is still worth the watch.
They're creepy and they're kooky,
Mysterious and spooky,
They're all together ooky,
Go watch this freakin' movie!
Fun Fact: In the original series, Grandmama was Gomez's mother, and her name was Eudora Addams. In the movies, she is Morticia's mother, and her name was changed to Esmerelda Frump (Morticia's mother in the series was Hestor Frump). This provided a joke for The Addams Family musical. Morticia, angry at Gomez, brings up the time his mother came to visit for a week, "And she's still here, living in the attic." Gomez responds, "My mother? I thought she was your mother!"