The Addams Family . Austin Chronicle . 10-05-98

The Addams Family

DIRECTED BY: Arthur Hiller

REVIEWED: 10-05-98

The favorite ghouls of Sixties TV make it to the big screen, losing little in the translation. The screen version is much closer in spirit and execution to the Charles Addams cartoons from the New Yorker ("Unhappy, dear?" "Perfectly!"), with a somewhat darker brand of humor than the sitcom had. A phony Uncle Fester (Lloyd) turns up on the Addams' doorstep, claiming to have been lost in the Bermuda Triangle for the last 25 years, in hopes of inheriting the Addams' immense fortune. Things don't quite work out to suit the faux Fester's machinations, but he winds up so enamored of the family that he can't bring himself to take advantage of them after all. Got it? That's it! The strength of the movie lies in the characterizations and overall mood; the set designs are positively ooky, with a drab, sepia palette of colors in nearly every shot. Raul Julia is perfect as Gomez, even to the point of being driven into an erotic frenzy whenever the slinky Morticia (Huston) speaks French. And yes, when frustrated, Gomez goes to the cellar to stage spectacular model-train collisions. Jimmy Workman is the roly-poly Puggsley, jolly and fiendish at the same time, but the show-stealer is the dry-as-a-mummy-fart performance of Christina Ricci as the deadpan Wednesday. With several years in between, it's strange as hell to see preteen Christina and then think of the indie-film workhorse that Christina is today. Sonnenfeld did a better job of stretching the half-hour sitcom into the 90-minute feature film than most people do, though it does drag a bit in places. Tagline from the ad campaign: "It's not the same old Thing."

--Jerry Renshaw

Other Films by Arthur Hiller
Burn Hollywood Burn

Film Vault Suggested Links
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (tv)
The Brady Bunch (tv)
The Simpsons (tv)

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