Among some of the best adaptations during the odd period in the nineties where every studio was putting sixties shows to film, “The Addams Family” is one of the best. While this isn’t the first time we’ve seen the Addams Family together again after the cult series, Barry Sonnenfeld offers up a unique retelling of the Addams Family that works well. The biggest change to the lore is now Uncle Fester is no longer Morticia’s uncle but an Addams’ and Gomez’s brother. This allows the writers to offer up a pretty fun and unique re-visiting of the family where the primary brood is played by some brilliant actors.
We meet the eternally displaced and morbid Addams family as Gomez struggles with a financial manager Tully who is looking for new ways to steal money from the Addams’. Meanwhile Gomez is sill torn up about his brother Fester who went missing when they were kids. Tully is in the employ of a woman who is helping him trying to steal their mythical fortune and happens to have a loyal and viciously protective son who bears an eerie resemblance to Fester. With his help, she dresses him up as Fester and tries to convince Gomez and his family that he is the long lost Addams, since he is the heir to the Addams Family fortune.
Along the way, Wednesday and Pugsley suspect he may be a fraud, as Fester works hard to convince his brother to reveal the location of the family fortune. “The Addams Family” works primarily as a piece focusing on the brotherly relationship between Gomez and Fester, as they manage to re-connect and Fester realizes certain elements of his life may not be exactly what he thought. Christopher Lloyd is completely unrecognizable, inhabiting the role of Fester with sheer brilliance, all the while Raul Julia is excellent as the gleefully maniacal Gomez Addams. Angelica Houston also boasts a very good sense of chemistry and sexual tension with Julia, allowing for a lot of great moments between the pair.
The mystery surrounding the Fester lookalike and the Addams Family’s reaction to him amounts to a very entertaining and sinister adaptation, with every cast member delivering memorable performances. If I had to complain it’d be that the big reveal in the finale is so underwhelming, as the writers use the big twist as a foot note less than a huge reveal, which is a shame considering the entire movie revolves around whether pseudo-Fester is actually Fester or not. Wednesday and Pugsley also take a back seat for much of the film. That said, Sonnenfeld gives the “The Addams Family” a new gloss with a great, and darkly funny reboot.
Definitely one of the better reboots or remakes of a classic show. Well written, cast and acted. Wish we had gotten many sequels to this one with this cast.