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| Source: rec.art.movies.reviews newsgroup | | Rating: 3
| If you didn't have enough of them two years ago, the Addams family is back with a movie that does little more than rehash the same "spirit" and recycle the same jokes. A few sparkling performances and funny moments save this from being a waste of time, but it's not a promising way to start the Thanksgiving/Christmas movie season.
This time around, Morticia (Anjelica Huston) is having a baby. In answer to the inevitable question of whether it's a boy or a girl, Gomez (Raul Julia) responds, "It's an Addams!" However, all is not sunny (or should that be gloomy?) in the household, because neither of the previous Addams children likes their new baby brother, and they spend hours devising ways to get rid of him. Enter Debbie Jelinsky (Joan Cusack), the new nanny, who has a thing for marrying wealthy men then getting rid of them--and now she's set Fester (Christopher Lloyd) in her sights.
Much of what was valid about 1991's THE ADDAMS FAMILY is true of this sequel. In fact, I could just about regurgitate the review for that film in this case. The movies are more than similar, although less than identical, and it's almost guaranteed that those who relished part one will enjoy part two (unless they grow tired of hearing variations on the same one-liners).
Any movie that tries to be funny for an hour and a half is bound to score from time-to-time, and this is true for ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES. There are laughs to be had along the way, but not enough to cover up the obvious lack of plot. This film is a series of cartoons loosely strung together, and too much of the humor is obvious. With a legitimate storyline, ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES might have been great fun, but as it is, it's about twice as long as it needs to be.
Why is it that the most impressive thing about these TV-to-movie transformations seems to be the casting? Not only is this true for THE ADDAMS FAMILY, but THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES showed the same thing. Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston are as perfect as last time. Christopher Lloyd may be a bit annoying as Fester, but he gets the job done. Joan Cusack is wonderfully over-the-top as Debbie the psycho nanny, with her primary functions being to snarl lines and expose cleavage.
Even two years older, the most notable cast member is still Christina Ricci, who turns in a beautifully deadpan performance as Wednesday (and even gets an opportunity to smile). There are times in this movie when she's the only thing worth watching, and she saves the "Wednesday and Pugsley go to summer camp" subplot from turning into an agonizing viewing experience.
Generally speaking, ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES delivers what its viewers expect from it, and that makes it the simplest of films to review. I don't think it's worth a trip to the movies--there's not enough humor or inventiveness for that--but doubtless many will disagree. The box office tally will determine if there's to be a third installment. Of course, it's still open to debate whether the second film was warranted in the first place.
By : James Berardinelli
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| | Source: rec.art.movies.reviews newsgroup | | Rating: 3
| There were plenty of things surrounding the first ADDAMS FAMILY film that I hated more than the film itself: its undeserved status as blockbuster; the stupendously annoying theme song by Hammer; endless iterations of the word "ooky" in print. 1991's THE ADDAMS FAMILY was not a terrible film. It was high-spirited and gleefully performed. It simply exhausted its premise after about fifteen minutes. ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES is lots more of the same, which means that its premise is exhausted before it begins. Yet it's both worse and better than its predecessor, the latter the result of Christina Ricci's marvelously morbid Wednesday.
ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES opens with Morticia (Anjelica Huston) giving birth to the newest Addams: baby Pubert, a mustachioed dead ringer for papa Gomez (Raul Julia). This development does not sit at all well with Wednesday (Christina Ricci) and Pugsley (Jimmy Workman), who believe that the arrival of a new child means an old one has to go. To help manage the children, the Addams Family hires nanny Debbie Jellinsky (Joan Cusack), who turns out to be a homicidal golddigger out for Uncle Fester's (Christopher Lloyd) money. When the kids become suspicious, Debbie has them sent away to an upscale summer camp, leaving her to win over Fester and turn him agains the family.
Like many recent megasequels, ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES meticulously recreates the original, element for element. Carol Kane replaces Judy Malina as Granny, but the rest of the family cast is back in place. The script is once again largely a collection of black-humored sight gags and one-liners, and the theme song is again rap (a slightly altered version of Tag Team's excruciating hit "Whoomp! (There It Is)"). Even the title design is the same; "no surprises" is clearly the motto in place. The only real question is, is it funny, and as in the case of THE ADDAMS FAMILY the answer is "sometimes." There aren't as many laughs as there were in the original, but the laughs that do come are bigger. There's a great photo among the shots of Debbie's previous disguises, and the summer camp play is an anarchic riot. What almost never worked for me were the jokes in the "setup ... macabre retort" format. I kept wanting to yell out, "All right, they're weird, I get the point."
VALUES is broken into three almost entirely unrelated subplots (not that plot is an issue here). The Pubert plot is basically an excuse for a series of elaborate attempts by Wednesday and Pugsley to do away with the baby, and later for some "normal baby" jokes. The Debbie/Uncle Fester plot is extremely sluggish; Joan Cusack tries gamely, but doesn't quite click as the villainous black widow. The biggest surprise may be that Gomez and Morticia play a very small role in the proceedings. They get a nice, goofy dance sequence, but for most of the film Raul Julia only reacts, while Anjelica Huston spends her time hitting lighting marks so that her eyes and cheekbones appear translucent.
The upside of the senior Addams' diminished role is that the larger part is given to Christina Ricci. The summer camp subplot is far and away the best, and Ricci is a demonic delight. She has a lot to work with: a nerdy would-be boyfriend; the unbearably up-with-everything camp counselors; a debutante rival (Mercedes McNab, who played the Girl Scout in the first film). Ricci spits out her lines with comic venom, and provides most of VALUES' highlights.
The easiest conclusion to reach about ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES is that it will probably please those it was made to please, the same folks who brought over $100 million to THE ADDAMS FAMILY. If you didn't like the original formula, there's little to inspire a change of heart the second time around. Cheers to Christina Ricci, but I hope her contract doesn't demand another sequel. She deserves better.
By : Scott Renshaw
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