Addams Family Values once again focuses on the character of Fester. With character actor Christopher Lloyd in the role how could it afford not to capitalize on that? This time around, Fester is bemoaning his lack of a wife, something he envies Gomez (Raul Julia) and Morticia (Anjelica Houston). With the birth of their new baby, Pubert, jealousy crops up amongst the older siblings, Wednesday (Christina Ricci) and Pugsley (Jimmy Workman), necessitating a need for a full-time Nanny. In walks Debbie (Joan Cusack), a quirky young woman who seemingly has no qualms with working for the odd family. She also happens to catch the eye of Fester who is instantly infatuated with her. When Wednesday begins to suspect an ulterior motive, Debbie convinces the family to send her and Pugsley off to summer camp to get them out of the way while she seduces, and eventually marries, Fester. Debbie, like so many criminals in The Addams Family series as well as the previous movie, is after the money. She marries rich men, kills them and disappears with the loot. But, with Fester, she finds in frustratingly difficult to remove him from the picture.
A big part of the enduring quality of The Addams Family is how nonchalant their macabre humor is. Wednesday and Pugsley play Marie Antoinette with their new sibling, complete with a real guillotine with the same mentality as normal kids would be playing with plastic toy guns. This was played up heavily in the first movie and continues to be a thing in the sequel. As with any sequel, though, it has been ramped up. This can be seen throughout the interactions of the three children. With the new baby in the house, Wednesday’s darker impulses have shifted away from Pugsley and towards the baby. Fortunately this infant appears to be as invincible as everyone else in the family, able to stop the plunging guillotine with his bare hands or survive being launched several thousands of feet into the air and landing unhurt. It’s this kind of absurdist humor that makes The Addams Family what it is.
Another element that is prevalent in every iteration of the family is the responses people have when forced to interact with them. This type of interactions made up at least half of the original series episodes. The whole middle portion of this film when Wednesday and Pugsley get sent to camp is a real highlight. We get the expected one off jokes like Wednesday’s black early 1900’s swim suit or being punished by being banished to a cabin filled with images and videos that would even overwhelm the most chipper of people let alone an Addams. But there is also an underlying plot thread just for this part of the film as well as some biting social satire of the treatment of minorities and differently abled people. It’s not exactly a hard hitting exposé but it does elevate the whole affair.
The Debbie plot, while the basis for the whole drama, feels almost like an after thought. It’s not that far off from the previous movie and is actually a mash-up of several memorable episodes of the series. This is not the first time we’ve seen Fester looking for a wife, nor is it the first time someone has tried to get the Addams’ money. This plot will win no rewards for the writing. Yet it does work on a basic level and that can be attributed to the wonderfully quirky performance given by Joan Cusack. Her initial interactions with Gomez and Morticia are too accepting of their strangeness. It’s only when Thing, the disembodied hand, perches on her shoulder do we get a brief peak behind her façade. It’s brief and she recovers quickly but it is there. Her true intentions are not kept a mystery for long, though and we soon see just how dark and evil she truly is.
As good as Joan is in this role, she is still overshadowed by the returning cast. Raul Julia and Anjelica Houston are perfect in their roles as Gomez and Morticia. They set the standard that has yet to be surpassed for these roles. For a certain generation no one will match John Astin and Carolyn Jones, the original cast from the series, but Raul and Anjelica manage to take what came before them and elevate it while adding a certain sexual chemistry that wasn’t possible in 60’s television without pushing it into the realm of bad taste. They are a loving couple with an active sex life and that comes through every time they are on screen.
Once again Christina Ricci steals the show, though, with her Wednesday Addams. There is a reason after over thirty years she is still identified by this role. She is given an even bigger role this time around and is even better here than she was in the first film. Her dead-panned delivery coupled with a wicked sense of humor and dour world view come into conflict when forced to not only attend summer camp but participate in an out-of-season Thanksgiving play where she is expected to smile and be cheerful. Her forced grin is far more terrifying than anything else she could have done in character, scaring the other girls just by the unnatural expression on her face. In this setting she even gets a love interest, Joel (David Krumholyz), also an outcast amongst the popular clique. Ricci was twelve when filming this movie and it makes sense that she would begin noticing boys. In that context, nebbish loner Joel fits in perfectly. Unfortunately, with this addition it leaves less room for Jimmy Workman as Pugsley who gets less to do here. He has some fun moments but has definitely been downgraded this time out.
The biggest disappointment with the finale of Addams Family Values is the lack of involvement with the core cast. In the original film most of the main cast has something to do that directly resolves the main conflict. Once Fester escapes the many attempts on his life Debbie very quickly captures the entire family and straps them into electric chairs, all except for the baby. This effectively eliminates their participation in the final resolution, leaving her demise to a series of happenstances. It’s good for a few laughs but does neuter the family. The family does seem to be enjoying the idea of being electrocuted and we did see in the first film that at least Pugsley has been in this situation before and is fine so there’s that. Debbie’s ultimate fate is befitting The Addams Family brand leaving nothing behind but a pair of shoes, a pillar of salt, and a couple of credit cards.
Addams Family Values is a bittersweet ending to a duo of films that are a near perfect depiction of this property. Raul Julia’s death a couple years later put an end to this iteration of the family and led to a series of mediocre films, series both animated and live action, and a broadway show. The enduring popularity of this franchise has also led to a series on Netflix focused squarely on Wednesday with Christina Ricci returning in a supporting role to Jenna Ortega’s title character. All of this was made possible by the iconic character brought to life by Christina Ricci who nails this role and brought to life a girl that goth kids from the 90’s rallied around. Wednesday carries this film, elevating it above the weaker story making it an even more enjoyable watch than the first film.
Release Date: November 19, 1993
Running Time: 94 Minutes
Rated PG-13
Starring: Anjelica Houston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, Joan Cusack, Christina Ricci, Carol Kane, Carel Struycken, and Jimmy Workman
Directed By: Barry Sonnenfeld
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