The Addams Family (1991)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1991
	Director: Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black 1-3)
	Actors: Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future 1-3, Piranha 3D)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Black Comedy, Fantasy
	Conditions of visioning: 17.02.2018, VOD, 32" TV screen
Synopsis: In the eccentric Addams Family, the father Gomes (Julia) still mourns the disappearance of his brother 25 years ago. Pushed by greed, his lawyer organizes a scam in which the son of a friend (Lloyd) can pass for the lost brother and claim the family fortune.
Review: First movie by the director more known for the Men in Black series, I remembered The Addams Family to have been a success, leading to a sequel not two years later. I watched it expecting the quality of a Death Becomes Her recently reviewed on this blog, or the morbid poetry of any Tim Burton movie (like Corpse Bride), but I was disappointed by the continuous series of half-funny gags the movie only has to offer... The concept of this macabre family living in the midst of an otherwise normal contemporary society is appealing: the father madly in love with the vampiresque Morticia (furiously reminding of Vampira from Plan 9 from Outer Space), the two kids playing death games, the Frankensteinesque butler, the sorceress grand-ma, the ghoulish uncle, the disembodies hand... but in fact this concept originates from cartoon strips started in the 1940's by a Charles Addams and that were pretty famous in the USA. Then came a TV-series in the 60's and this cinema adaptation lands in fact many years after all that. Which explains the succession of gags and the visual extravaganza, but doesn't excuse the fact that the story is poor and the editing not very consistent. The visuals are generous, there are a few nice moments like with cousin Itt, and my favorite character is Fester played by Christopher Lloyd more clown than ever, but I found the whole thing very predictable and quite boring to watch in fact. Maybe a mix of bad aging, less resonance outside of the USA and inherent bad qualities.
Rating: 3 /10