- 1991movierewind
Episode #136: The Addams Family
Listen to Episode 136 of the Podcast here while you enjoy the show notes.
SUMMARY - In The Addams Family, their seemingly loyal attorney devises a scheme to scam the wealthy family to convince Gomez Addams (played by Raul Julia) that his long lost brother Fester (played by Christopher Lloyd) has been found. In reality, “Fester” and his mother are con artists that their lawyer is heavily indebted to. Getting to the riches in the family vault will prove to be difficult as this family is far from typical and death and danger are purposefully in every corner.
Screenplay by Caroline Thompson and Larry Wilson; Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld; and released on November 22,1991.
FILM DISCUSSION
The movie starts out with a gag that immediately lets you know what you're in for, if you're not familiar
One of our problems, though, was that the jokes were quite repetitive and not laugh out loud funny
There were a couple of funny scenes, like the school play
and Gomez' breakdown in the motel
However, the set design is absolutely fantastic
And more importantly, the acting is fantastic just about across the board
Christopher Lloyd is the most exaggerated, but that makes sense here
Christina Ricci is incredibly subtle in her reactions and mannerisms
Even Thing the hand is a bit of great non-verbal acting
There are plenty of background details and fun characters
We're also pretty happy the Mamuska dance was reduced to what's on screen. It works as is but could have been annoying if it lasted longer.
While not extremely funny, it is still very entertaining and a really great family movie.
Awards Talk: Oscar nominated for Best Costume Design; BAFTA nominated for Make-up, Production Design; Golden Globe Nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy for Huston; Saturn nominations for Best Special Effects, Performance by a Younger Actor (Ricci), Best Actor (Raul), and Best Fantasy Film; MTV Movie Award Nomination for Best Kiss, and Best Movie Song; but also a Razzie win for Worst Original Song
TRUE CRIME & POP CULTURE
This week we don't have any true crime to talk about so we jump right into music and MC Hammer's awkward inclusion into this film.
We also outline some of the legal custody battle that Jimmy Workman was involved in through his little sister Ariel Winter.
We forgot to mention it in the episode, but of course there was some merchandise surrounding the popular film. There were several video game adaptations, including for Jon's favorite console: The Game Boy. There was also a very popular pinball machine.
And a set of Topps trading cards, but no action figures.
RANKINGS & RATINGS
Nikki 1-5 star scale - 3 out of 5
Jon 0-4 star scale - 3 out of 4
Would you watch it again? - Yes, we both would. This was one of the movies responsible for us creating the podcast, so we've seen it relatively recently. It would be good to wait more than 2-3 years before watching it again. Nikki also prefers the sequel so Addams Family Values would probably get the nod first.
If you want to watch The Addams Family, as of this recording in October 2023, it’s available on Paramount +, Pluto TV, Digital Rental, VHS, DVD. Check your local listings.
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Join us next time for The Josephine Baker Story available on VHS, DVD
