La Famille Addams : Les Retrouvailles

I was very frustrated by this video. I am a big fan of both Tim Curry and the Addams Family. I got the feeling that the people responsible for the video were not fans of either the cartoon nor the TV show. Tim Curry's Gomez was a sore loser quick to start fist fights and not that interested in his wife. The Gomez we know and love can be drawn to anger but usually resolves his arguments with swords or dueling pistols. And as for Morticia? Well, only mere seconds go by before Gomez is overcome with passion at the very site of her. In this outing we do not get a "Tish that's French!" or a quick run up Morticia's arms with kisses from her beloved husband. It is like watching Fred Flinstone but never hearing Yabba Dabba Do. Really, what's the point?

The first two Addams Family films were true to the original Addams Family comics. This film bears no relation to the origional in spirit or concept. It's a pathetic attempt to cash in on an established and recognizable name. Silly slap-stick.

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"

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.

Well, being an avid fan of the first two movies, they are amongst my favorite comedies, right on top, I waited two years before seeing this one. This third movie set the tone for the recent, and bad, television revival of the 60s series. Now was waiting to see some desastrous piece of crappy humor, some flat laughs and a big bunch of easy jokes. I did get that but not in the way I was waiting for. In fact I was surprised. Sure the postal worker part is bad enough to burn the tape, some jokes are recycled from the first two movies and not in a pretty way but it has good laughs, it is better constructed than the recent tv series and in a way it is more reminiscent of the original comic strip and 60s series than the first movies. Why ? Well for a few reasons. Before the Sonnenfeld movies, The Addams Family wasnt that dark and macabre, it was dark but not as much as the movies. In this third installment we dont have the lovable Lloyd Fester and as despicable as he can be, this new Fester is much more like the original. The beginning of this movie is painful and boring but in the second half we are more nicely treated with better performances and a good story. Because this story cant be worst than the story of the second movie, cant it ? Dont take me wrong, I love the first two movies but this one aint bad at all. Last thing, there is one element in this Addams incarnation that is better than in the first movies : Pugsley. He wasnt interesting or funny in the Sonnenfeld movies but in this one he successfully gets a few laughs from me, and believe me, thats a hard thing to do ! :)