Addams Family Values (1993)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The one gripe (if you can even call it that) I have with "Addams Family Values" is the end credits song. Tag Team doesn't work anywhere near as well as MC Hammer did. But everything else here works wonderfully.More than the first, this is the epitome of a real-life cartoon, not to mention a refined one-liner assembly line. And the perfect casting extends to the supporting players (Joan Cusack and deranged Christine Baranski). But, for me, Christina Ricci owns this movie (this from a pretty big Raúl Juliá fan) with little more than facial expressions, from annoyance and disgust to unbalanced perkiness. Ricci's working with a much more experienced group of players, which really emphasizes her talent here. She's mastered this character. Her sabotaging the Summer camp pageant is the best part of the whole thing, and I'll be damned if she's not my favorite Pocahontas.This movie's a winner, on par with (if not better than) the original. With a cast like this, it's hard to see it turning out poorly, but refreshing that it's anything but.8/10

I love this movie. I've been watching it since I was a kid but, it really has something for every age group. I find this movie to be much better then the first Addams Family movie so, if you weren't a fan of that one, don't worry about it.This movie is just so funny and has so much to love. From Debbis, fester's new wife, (and one of the funniest movie characters I've seen) to the summer camp that Pugsly and Wednesday have to attend, and the thanksgiving show that they are forced to participate in, this movie is just full of laughs from start to finish. I also want to mention Raul Julia's performance as Gomez. In order for comedy to be effective, the actors have to take their performance as seriously as possible, and Raul really gave his all to this role. It really elevates the movie to a really high level. Just watch the scene where he's in the police station yelling at Nathan Lane, and try not to crack up, it's just amazing.

After "The Addams Family" made so much money a sequel was inevitable. And I actually enjoy this one a lot more than the first. I found the first movie perfectly cast, but a missed opportunity, as I didn't find it a good or even enjoyable movie. Plot In A Paragraph: Pugsley and Wednesday Addams aren't very happy with the new addition to the family: their new baby brother, Pubert. The new nanny Debbie charms the family, especially Uncle Fester, who is head-over-heels for her. However, Wednesday and Pugsley see through her. Debbie is only after Fester for his money. Before they can inform their parents on her, she has the kids sent off to summer camp. Despite great turns by Peter MacNichol and Christine Baranski in supporting roles, not to mention a memorable performance by Joan Cusack and her cleavage. It's Christina Ricci that steals this movie. Her delivery is superb and she had me laughing out loud more than once.

Now a perennial broadcast on television every fall, it's difficult to remember that Values did quite poorly at the box office - opening moderately well before having its legs cut off the following week by Mrs Doubtfire. Paul Rudnick who did an uncredited rewrite on the first film, fills his script with hilarious one liners and macabre wit throughout and while the film is basically episodic, the comedic set pieces always work. The casting is perfection and the leads elevate the simplest joke with their committed and fantastic performances. New addition Joan Cusack is hysterical as the black widow with her lethal sights on Fester. The visuals and art direction are great and the film has energy to burn. With the exception of an embarrassingly bad end credits song, Addams Family Values is the rare sequel that works better than its predecessor.