Review of The Addams Family (1991) by Khem T — 31 Mar 2013

Of course we all know what this is based on, the excellent cartoons of one Charles Addams, his macabre little sketches were visually simple yet highly imaginative (for the time) and in my opinion ahead of their time.

Many incarnations of Addams creation have come and gone, most of which have all turned out pretty well and this film from Rudin is no exception in my view.

With a perfect cast of character actors just shy of being oddballs themselves this film is brought to life in a sweeping gothic spooky style that compliments the original source material to a tee. In my view Julia IS 'Gomez' and will always be, his ball eyed lunacy and sharp pin stripe suits are spot on as is his pencil thin moustache giving him that great suave caddish style.

'They say that a man who represents himself in court has a fool for a client. And, with God as my witness, I am that fool!'.

All the family are correct and present with outstanding performances from Lloyd as 'Fester', Huston as 'Morticia', Workman as 'Pugsley' and newly discovered Ricci as the chilling emotionless 'Wednesday'. Add to that great backup from the rest of the cast including some neat effects to create 'Thing' which really does look quite good even today. Some nice hands on makeup/effects to bring 'Cousin Itt' to life without the use of CGI. In fact this old film is a testament to how good effects can be with good hard work and craftsmanship. The Addams Mansion is clearly a model in some shots but they seemed to build a huge set also! its gorgeous! really really makes a difference instead of relying on the dreaded CGI monster.

I really do love this film as, in my opinion, its a great adaptation of the source material and sticks to what works, its fun for all the family whilst retaining a nice balance of kooky, spooky ghoulish looks and humour alongside some lovely set work, character makeup and costume.

If you like 'The Addams Family' then I'm confident you would enjoy this version, the plot is simple and works well as Rudin doesn't go over the top. A lovely musical score and some quirky visual moments all add to a fun filled halloween creepy comedy. The 'Addams rap' song in the closing credits is also surprisingly cool.

'Don't torture yourself Gomez...that's my job'.