Addams Family Values (1993)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Barry Sonnenfeld

Writers (WGA):

Charles Addams (characters)
Paul Rudnick (written by)

Release Date:

19 November 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Thriller

Tagline:

The Family Just Got A Little Stranger.

Plot:

A comical Gothic horror-movie-type family tries to rescue their beloved uncle from his gold-digging new love.

Plot Keywords:

Nanny | Uncle Fester | Summer Camp | Love | Baby

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Anjelica Huston	...	Morticia Addams
Raul Julia	...	Gomez Addams
Christopher Lloyd	...	Uncle Fester Addams
Joan Cusack	...	Debbie Jellinsky
Christina Ricci	...	Wednesday Addams
Carol Kane	...	Grandma
Jimmy Workman	...	Pugsley Addams
Kaitlyn Hooper	...	Pubert Addams
Kristen Hooper	...	Pubert Addams
Carel Struycken	...	Lurch
David Krumholtz	...	Joel Glicker
Christopher Hart	...	Thing
Dana Ivey	...	Margaret Addams
Peter MacNicol	...	Gary Granger
Christine Baranski	...	Becky Martin-Granger

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for macabre humor.

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | New Zealand:PG | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-10 | Germany:12 | Iceland:LH (video rating) | Iceland:L (original rating) | Ireland:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:10 | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The character of Pubert Addams (a boy) was played by two twin girls, Kaitlyn Hooper and Kristen Hooper.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Morticia, Gomez, Grandmama, and Lurch go to see Fester at his new home with Debbie, the maid answers the door. After they ask to talk to Debbie, or Fest, the maid yells "Miss Debbie!" through the house, then there is dialog with the maid but her mouth is not moving.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Wednesday: [giving a funeral to a cat in a shoe-box] Come, sorrow; we welcome thee. Let us join in grief, rejoice in despair, and honor the fortunate dead.
Grandma: Dearly beloved...
Wednesday: [the cat mews and Wednesday shakes the box] Shh! Quiet!
Grandma: [starts piling dirt on the box]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ken Adam: Designing Bond (2000) (V)

Soundtrack:

Disgusting Crime Theme

Not a bad sequel

Considering what could have gone wrong with this movie, it's actually surprisingly good. When you think about sequels running in this vein, they often have problems. Addams Family Values does not.

The Addams Family was a funny, if not just plain strange, movie, and good for its genre. Addams Family Values does the original just as good and perhaps even one better. One very unconventional thing about Addams Family Values was that it had a higher rating (PG-13) than the Addams Family (PG), something rarely seen with a sequel. This rating was mostly due to the increased amount of violence in the movie, including the scene where the campers roast the annoying counselors over a fire and, of course, Debbie (Joan Cusack) and her homicidal ways.

A black comedy like its predecessor, Addams Family Values is an interesting movie and very funny. Look for smaller roles by perhaps bigger names than most of the regular cast: Nathan Lane as a police officer, David Hyde Pierce as a doctor, Tony Shalhoub as a drunken sailor, and Peter MacNicol and Christine Baranski as the Grangers.