Addams Family - Und die lieben Verwandten

Sadly, it is nowhere near as delightful as the previous two films, but Curry and Hannah do a fine job in their roles, too bad about the rest of the cast. The production values were not as good as the last two films, either, but it is still watchable.

Pugsley might have passed, but Wednesday was very stiff and seemed to only stare a lot. Fester resembled the cartoon version of himself, so much so that it was scary.

Curry could very well have made the role of Gomez his own if Julia had not had it first. And Hannah does a pretty good job herself, though no one can beat Houston's version.

Alice Ghostley, again sadly, did a terrible job as Grandma-ma. She just wasn't right for this part.

I can suggest this film only for those who are die-hard Curry fans, as he is absolutely delicious as Gomez. Other than that, the best I can say is that it is an unoffensive children's comedy.

I came into this with low expectations, understanding it was going to be aimed at children. They missed and hit some toddlers instead. It actually could have been quite a bit better (all the way up to a 5, maybe) if it had been a bit more subtle. As it is, the acting was WAY too grotesque. Uncle Fester's character is a joke. Not funny at all. The same script with a different director and some new actors might have worked.

A postman gets a bit of a surprise but manages to complete his task of delivering a parcel to the Addams family. At last, Gomez has received a copy of the Addams family history and sets about tracking down distant relatives. Making contact, they invite Grandpa and Grandma Addams to stay with them for a while and get acquainted. However minor things about their characters mark them out as being a bit different from the rest of the family and Gomez doubts their veracity and starts to try and track down more of them.

The opening credits to this film had not even finishing running and already it was clear that this was going to be a cheap and stupid film that totally fails to capture the enjoyably dark mood of the previous two remakes. In the opening scene we have a horribly mugging postman chased by cheap special effects while "wacky" music plays over the top of it all. This is a million miles from the Gothic dark humour of the two other films and it sets the standard for the rest of this shoddy laugh-free zone. The plot is pretty poor and uninspiring, providing only a very basic frame to keep things moving. Laughs are hard to come by and certainly those who enjoyed the two other films (I did) will find little to enjoy here.

The feeling of it all being a cheap knock-off is right up there on the screen. The flat cinematography and lighting cannot even compare to the darkness and atmosphere of the other two films and the direction is never better than average. The cast continue this trend. The replacement of the original actors is no surprise but it is impossible to forgive how poor they are. Curry is generally watchable but here he has just been told to impersonate Julia and his inability to make the role his own means he pales by way of comparison. Of course he looks like Brando when viewed alongside Hannah. Huston had great presence but Hannah just feels forced and in no way fits the role. Messing looks the part but Fugere can get nowhere near Ricci. Thomas is terrible as Fester and people like Begley and McCarthy should really have had something better to do with their time.

Overall a terrible film from start to finish. Well, actually, let me be fair – I don't know if it was terrible all the way to the end because I bailed out just after the halfway mark. It had all become too much for me to bare and I saw no reason to stick with it whatsoever. It looks cheap, has poor performances, a poor plot, cheap effects and generally feels shoddy – if the makers didn't bother to put the effort in then why should you?

Poor old Raul Julia would be spinning in his grave like a rotisserie chicken if he could see what had become of the Addams Family series. Along with "Super Mario Bros.", this would undoubtedly be one of the most appalling major studio films ever to appear; made for video or not, there's no excuse to make movies which suck so utterly it's painful to watch them all the way through. When my former housemate borrowed this one evening I watched it like a rubbernecker gawks at a road accident. An adequate cast struggles desperately with an idiotic script playing characters made familiar by other people, far more convincingly: Nicole Fugere couldn't begin to come close to Christina Ricci's Wednesday if she lived to be a million. Only Tim Curry has any sparkle, but he could ham up the phone book and make it work. Turkey, with a capital "T"

Addams Family Reunion is the weakest entry of the three films, but it is better than the awful TV series(New Addams family). The other two films were truly excellent, and seeing that most of the crew were replaced, it was obvious it was going to be a failure. The worst scene was the scene with the postman, that was just cringeworthy beyond belief. Tim Curry is a brilliant actor, and he is the only actor I can forgive for being here. Raul Julia had died, so it was perfectly natural for him to be replaced. Tim Curry did quite well as Gomez, but Raul Julia was easily the better Gomez in terms of spirit and charisma. Curry looked a bit uncomfortable at times especially in that awful purple pinstriped suit they made him wear, but he had the best lines that at least he made some effort with. Daryl Hannah tried hard,giving an equally spirited performance, but she is too beautiful for the character. I also thought she was too young for Morticia. These two are really talented actors(I have genuine respect for them) and sometimes you find an actor that has a role that doesn't suit them , evident here. Patrick Thomas was just embarrassing. Christopher Lloyd was born to play Fester and Thomas badly overacted. None of his actions were reminiscent of the original Fester. The children weren't very good either. Nicole Fugere was bearable, but she rarely uttered a word, and her stare felt rather unpleasant. Jerry Messing was awful, so annoying. He was too big and too loud. To say the cast were entirely to blame is very unfair, believe me the script was so poor, I'm surprised the actors weren't shaking with embarrassment. One of the few bright spots was the brief chemistry between Tim Curry and Ed Begley Jnr, bringing back fond memories of Tales of the Crypt, when Curry played three members of a family, with Begley playing a salesman. The most embarrassing moments were the Jeffrey and Melinda scenes in the mansion, who served no real purpose to the poorly thought-out plot. That said, the director is entirely to blame for the failure of this movie; he had no idea how to direct them. The script was repulsive, really childish, and should have a razzie for worst screenplay. And the special effects were poorly executed. There was good chemistry between Curry and Hannah, who tried their best, with the poor material. The dance routine was quite interesting, although I have seen Tim Curry dance better in films like Annie and RHPS. I would've loved to have heard Curry sing, for he has a great singing voice, because Raul Julia sang a Mamooshka in the first movie. In conclusion, an embarrassment, but not the worst movie ever. 4/10 for the efforts of Curry, Hannah and Begley. Bethany Cox.