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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Perfectly hilarious sequel!, May 9, 2001
In "Addams Family Values," the jokes are funnier, the story is much more enjoyable, and the characters are more developed and easy to follow. The original cast is back for another round of gags and comedy, while the writers and director Barry Sonnenfield have chosen to stick with a story that works with the gags and laughs instead of just providing an outlet for them. This is one of the rare sequels that surpasses the original; I loved this movie! The movie begins with the arrival of baby Pubert, in a hilarious send-up of birth scenes with a twist: the mother-to-be enjoys the labor pains. From this point on, the movie goes into three different stories which lead into one another. One dives into the children reacting to the new baby, doing everything from dropping him from the roof to placing him under the guillotine. Their antics are relentless, which leads into the second story as Gomez and Morticia decide to hire a nanny, picking the good-natured Debbie Jilinsky to care for their infant son. Fester falls head over heels in love with the new nanny, who is actually a murderess out for his wealth and fortune. Debbie's suspicions that Wednesday and Pugsley know too much leads into the third story, as she has them shipped off to summer camp, where the sun and cheery attitudes of the campers and counselors are enough to make even the audience cringe in fear. As Debbie carries out her devious plans, the children are put through the hells of the camp until they can take it no longer, rounding out the movie's comedic climax with laughs galore. Like the previous film, the original cast remains intact, with the exception of Grandmother Addams. Raul Julia and Anjelica Houston reprise the roles of Gomez and Morticia, whose romance is put on a back burner from its vivacity in the first film, allowing most of the story to rest on the shoulders of Wednesday and Pugsley, once again played by Christina Ricci and Jimmy Workman. There is a lot more to their characters as they make their way through the treacheries of camp: Wednesday has matured into a much fuller character, while Pugsley remains childlike and naive. Fester, played by Christopher Lloyd, is shown as a hopeless romantic who honestly thinks his appearance has nothing to do with his inability to attain a female partner, while Debbie is played excellently by Joan Cusack, who knack for comedy and colorful phrases make her a uniquely comedic villain. The contrasts abide within the story of Fester and Debbie and the trysts at summer camp. Fester's unconventional ways become trying for Debbie to live with; try as she might, she's still a "normal" human being. Wednesday and Pugsley's camp experience provides a sharp contrast: their refusal to take part in the events at camp bring the counselors, who are complete airheads that reminded me of the ditzy girls in high school, to the edge of losing it, but instead, they are forced into a place known as the Harmony Hut, where they are subjected to Disney films and Brady Bunch reruns. In some ways, these contrasts could make the movie a social satire of sorts. The ways in which one character's lifestyle is compared to that of another are fascinating, and while the Addams are highly unconventional, the remaining characters from the real world are in no way considered normal. So the movie poses us that very question: "Who's to say what is normal?" That said, let's move on to the story, which is highly better than that of the original movie. This one actually produces the gags, having the feel that the story was written before the laughs were. The original had the feel that all the laughs were tossed into the air and placed in random spots, which would work because the gags never seemed attached to any specific storyline. Here, the comedy comes from the story, and the two work together marvelously at producing side-splitting laughs and subtle humor. I couldn't help but enjoy myself while watching this movie. It made me laugh like I haven't laughed in a long time, while also keeping the characters intact and convincing. Sonnenfield has done a terrific job in creating this sequel, which is definitely the better of the two films.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Even more altogether ooky than the original!, April 15, 2004
The other night the first "Addams Family" film was on local television, and in watching it I was reminded of how much I liked the show, and the films made from it - but as much as I loved the first, "Addams Family Values" surpasses it.The storylines here are fuller; none of that a Fester who isn't Fester is really Fester stuff that seemed too scripted. Here, the 3 ongoing plots are more naturally-born from there characters: Morticia and Gomez (Anjelica Huston and Raul Julia, the most perfect casting seen in film in some time) have just had a new baby. Dealing with new parenthood is bad enough, but when your two older children are doing their best to do away with their new baby brother ... well, even though he's pretty capable of taking care of himself, Morticia and Gomez have their hands full; Then there's Debbie, played BRILLIANTLY by the underrated Joan Cusack, who comes to help with the children but instead is a notorious Black Widow-style murderess bent on marrying Fester and getting her hands on the Addams's fortune. Part of her plan in doing so is to get rid of the two older children, Pugsley and Wednesday, by sending them to a summer camp; Pugsley and Wednesday are horrified by the cheery atmosphere at camp -- not to mention the caffeinated perkiness of the camp counselors, who are at times both revolted and ticked off by the 'weirdness' of the Addams kids. All plotlines come together in a hilarious ending that remains true to the characters, and seems to come naturally from the story. Christina Ricci (another of Hollywood's great underrated performers), as Wednesday Addams, again steals every scene she's in with ease -- her deadpan playing of Wednesday could not be more perfect. Watch for the segment where Wednesday and Pugsley perform their little scene from a play at camp; you'll wet your pants laughing! Joan Cusack is, again, brilliant in her portrayal of Debbie, the killer with a heart of stone. In fact, the whole cast works perfectly together for this superior sequel, with enough one-liners and sight gags and twisted humor to keep you laughing from beginning to end. I didn't own either movie on DVD when I saw the first one on tv the other night (though had seen them both in theaters), but have since bought both ... though got this one first. So gather with your shawl on, find a roost that you can crawl on, and catch this great comedy -- a must-see for anyone in need of some good belly laughs!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Christina Ricci steals the show!, October 3, 2002
I'm not exaggerating when I say I saw this film in the theater at least a dozen times. It's that good! If it was the job of the first film to introduce the characters, it is the job of ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES to put them in their worst possible positions. Providing those worst possible positions are: Morticia's new baby, complete with blond hair and shiny smile (grandmother predicts that such a charm may result in him becoming, horror of horror, the President); Fester's new gold-digging girlfriend Debbie; and Wednesday and Pugsley's trip to summer camp. My favorite part of this movie is when Wednesday is cast as Pocahontas in the camp's production of a Thanksgiving play: "You have taken the land that is rightfully ours," Wednesday confronts, in an impromtu ad lib delivered to the mortified surprise of the play's perky directors and the affluent audience. "And for all these reasons," Wednesday continues, "I have decided to scalp you. . . ." It really is Wednesday who steals this show with her ghoulish deadpan delivery, and it could be argued that this was Christina Ricci's breakout role. Who would have ever thought that little Wednesday would eclipse the entire gang? ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES was released in the early '90s when talk of "family values," mostly ignited by Dan Quayle's condemnation of a fictitious sitcom character giving birth without being married, was all the rage. Talk of "family values" was everywhere in those days. Apparently, it would be the Addams's turn to show us what we should really value: individuality. For all their quirks, they seem to have an unconditional acceptance of each other, and most couples would be blessed to be as madly in love with each other as Gomez (Raul Julia) and Morticia (Angelica Huston) are.
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