The Addams Family (1991)

I think this is going to be the hardest film to write about. The Addams family is a name I feel like most people have heard of or at the very least recognised the infamous two clicks. Because of that I went into this with my own set idea of how I thought the Addams would behave based on general word of mouth references and online skits. And I have to say, it was pretty accurate. I also think it is harder to make any real comments because I do not have much knowledge on the wider world of the Addams. I know there have been many adaptations including the most recent Wednesday show which I will admit I have watched. I was planning on writing a post of my thoughts on that after the October challenge so I won't say much aside from the fact I watched Wednesday first and then this and the 1991 version is a lot more accurate to what I imagined the family being like.

Firstly I did enjoy specific elements of the house being oddly magical. When it came to the books opening to the storm it said on the outside it all felt a touch too on the nose. Not to mention the green screen they used to create the storm at the end was just horrific. I felt the same way when it came to the vines being able to move and wrap around Abigail, it just felt a touch too predictable. All of it naturally fits in with the Addams family vibes I just wasn't a huge fan of those specific elements which in itself is a small quarry to have. In opposition to this I did enjoy the small addition of having a rug of an animal presumed dead only to have it wake up and attempt to attack who's walking on it. That was fun for me. I would have also said I liked the gates being alive but they didn't grow up to have a key moment like I thought they would. After the first scene when Tully entered and the gates trapped his coat I thought it would become a constant joke that they would reject anyone that wasn't similar to the family in terms of morbidity. However after that they never came in use again, they truly acted as a gate, which I thought was a let down especially once the Addams were kicked out. I assumed they would have attempted least one scene where the gates kept refusing to let the new family back in or something but it didn't which was a let down.

Despite that the characterisation of the Addams in this film is something I enjoyed a lot more than the other adaptation I saw. They all acted a lot more accepting/ wanting of death in this. There were countless of moments I listed such as when Pugsly removed a stop sign causing a crash and everyone listening satisfied or when Wednesday was walking to find her brother with a knife and Morticia stopped her to switch it for a bigger weapon. Morticia sorting through a closet of body bags with a body in it and Gomez appearing to play ragefully with a train set that turn out to be real trains. They were just moments that made it clear the whole family are eccentric but the one that stood out the most to me was during the play. The juxtaposition between the other kids performing a bright joyful song dressed as flowers appearing innocent against the dark gritty and gruesome performance of Wednesday and Pugsley where they fight and spray blood everywhere. It is that standing ovation from the rest of the family that show not only are the specific people spooky and unusual but they are communally uplifted and encouraged to be as unusual as they can be. That was the specific detail I was interested in because I know each person has their own independent quirks but it's the communal acceptance of their weirdness that I liked to see. To me the Addams family radiate outcast acceptance to the best potential it can, even if it is not elements they understand as long as it is traditionally unacceptable they will encourage it all the more.

Moving onto Fester as a character I just thought he was funny, quirky. The storyline of having a character look so similar to Fester that they have the ability to impersonate him but appearing too normal was just fun. And it wasn't like he was the most normal character, he was a loan shark that went to the Addams with a case full of dynamite and poison for protection just for Morticia to turn around and say the Addams would never run out of cyanide. It was just fun to watch this criminal slowly begging to realise he fits in more with the Addams than he expected. To the extent that he was willing to betray his 'mum' because he has never felt as free to be weird as with the Addams. On the same line of that I felt it was going to be the situation where Gordon would save the Addams and apologise for trying to scam them before they accept him into the family as he is. That way he would become his own Gordon Addams. But instead it was revealed he truly was Fester who just had amnesia. This does make sense because I was wondering how he would know the family dance that happened at the send off celebration but I did like the idea of them welcoming this criminal more.

Speaking of reveals I was unsure about, I was so sure Morticia was about to kick some ass. I always saw Morticia as this dark sexy witch character that Gomez was infatuated with but also she held all the true power. That Gomez always assumed he was the one in charge and ruled the house but the true secret leader was Morticia. There was also the scene of Morticia subtly threatening 'Fester' warning him that if he betrays them he would regret it. So then when Morticia left in the middle of the night to return home I was so sure she would kick ass. For those of you that have seen it I imagined the scene going something similar to Klaus getting tortured in Umbrella Academy. That no matter what torture they threw at her she would enjoy it in some way until they gave up allowing her to finally inflict her worst which would end up in her winning back the house for the family. But instead it was Gomez coming to save Morticia which I felt wasn't as good as Morticia saving them would have been. It also doesn't help that the movie ends with Morticia revealing she was pregnant (with a three legged baby?) which in itself isn't a problem. However considering how it had to be Gomez to save her, a lot of her scenes revolved around her kids and then she is pregnant at the end doesn't sit right. Again there is absolutely nothing wrong with that plot alone I just wish we saw Morticia in a deeper way on top of that to get an idea of her character. Without it she seems to be out into a box of the typical housewife although more gothic and I saw the Addams being a little more diverse than that.

Similarly I couldn't get behind Grandmama as a character. She was the character I knew nothing about, didn't even know she existed until now. It was quickly established she was more of a background character but again so was Lurch and he got more screen time than her. We saw him silently interact with the children in a way that felt very reminiscent of a friendly butler and Grandmama was acting as the house cook but beside the one scene of her at the séance we know nothing more of her character. For that reason I do wish was saw more of her and her ability to talk to the dead. Besides that it was a decent film. Again I enjoyed this adaptation because of how well it showed the community between the Addams members and I would be interested in what happens in the next film. However I do not see myself watching this specific interpretation all the time. In fact if I am to be fully honest I think the interpretation I had of them in my head did more justice to the characters than watching the actual media so make of that what you will.