The Addams Family try to rescue their beloved Uncle Fester from his gold-digging new love, a black widow named Debbie.
The first thing to notice about “Addams Family Values” is the lavish sets we used to see in productions of yesteryear – now lost to endless virtual sets. We used to have films that were genuinely funny with dark humor, unlike the comedies of today, which are sanitized by risk-averse studios too afraid to push boundaries. “Addams Family Values” is also one of the best depictions of a committed, loving couple, which Raul Juliá beautifully portrays as Gomez and Anjelica Huston as Morticia. And its representation of intellectuals like the Addams or Wednesday’s camp crush, who represent the antithesis of conformity, and thus they are natural enemies of the happy-go-lucky privileged idiots that come into their orbit.
The screenplay by Paul Rudnick is fast-paced, full of funny dialogue, and is consistently entertaining throughout the entire running time. It begins with the Addams welcoming a newborn son to the Gothic clan, and in a hilarious scene, Morticia actually enjoys her labor pains while delivering the child. After Wednesday and Pugsley burn through several Nannies, and play a few death-defying games with their infant brother, a new caretaker Debbie (an excellent performance by Joan Cusack) shows up. She is unbothered by the Addams’s very unorthodox approach to life and parenting. Because as it turns out, Debbie is a “Black Widow” who murders her unsuspecting husbands for their money.
The returning cast of Raúl Juliá, Anjelica Huston, Christopher Lloyd, and Christina Ricci turn in pitch-perfect performances. There are also new additions by David Krumholtz, Peter MacNicol, and Christine Baranski, who are all splendid. Every scene is framed with stylish absurdity by director Barry Sonnenfeld. You can see shades of his previous cinematography while working with the Coen Brothers on “Blood Simple,” “Raising Arizona,” and “Miller’s Crossing.” Here, he builds on his sensibilities for visual flourishes through techniques like quick whip pans and sped-up dolly zooms.
Rudnick’s script has plenty to say about the hollowness of conformity and the materialistic masses. Like when Wednesday, Pugsley, and her crush are sent to summer camp, they are cast off to a makeshift prison for refusing to engage in the camp’s milquetoast activities. It shows the alienation suffered for going against the grain or questioning the empty status quo. An attempted indoctrination is carried out by unsuccessfully brainwashing the trio, which consists of hours of Disney films and episodes of “The Brady Bunch.” After being forced to perform a play based on the story of Pocahontas, Wednesday launches into a brilliant tirade against colonialism. This film is more than genuinely funny – it is surprisingly thoughtful.
The remastered 4K upgrade looks good by not sterilizing too much of the original film’s transfer to digital by keeping its moody textures and shadows. Its bonus features include a commentary by Sonnenfeld with Paul Rudnick and a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film. We can all take a page out of this film’s messages and should champion its values.
Now available on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray™
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