Weird is Relative: The Addams Family.

The Addams Family (1991) Directed by Barry Sonnefeld From characters created by Charles Addams.

”The family motto: Sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc We gladly feast on those who would subdue us. Not just pretty words." Morticia Addams

As the movie opens, there are carolers spreading joy at 0001 Cemetery Lane, while high above them, on the mansard roof, the Addams family prepares to spread a little cheer of their own…from a bubbling cauldron. This image is taken directly from one of the original Addams Family Cartoons, by Charles Addams.

And that is where the creators of this movie went to draw their inspiration. While the 1964 series is iconic, they felt it was watered down and ‘cutified’ for the TV censors. The Addams family may be fun, but they are not ‘cute.’

There were a few changes, Grandmama and Uncle Fester switched sides of the family tree; Grandmama, originally Eudora Addams, became Esmerelda Frump, and traded her son in for a daughter. Uncle Fester, originally Morticia’s uncle, became Gomez’s brother. There are a few other changes. Wednesday, originally a happy go lucky child, has taken on a darker and more sociopathic demeanor, while her sibling, Pugsley (originally named Pubert by C. A., but unable to get past the censors) originally an evil genius child specializing in creating mayhem, has become the simple side kick of his evil genius sister.

The Plot is simple; Fester Addams has been missing for 25 years. Tully Alford, the Addams lawyer has loansharking debts. He notices the resemblance between Fester Addams, and Gordon Craven, his loan shark’s son and leg breaker. A plot is formed; Gordon will pose as Fester, recently returned from the Bermuda Triangle, and find the Addams Family vault, and together, they will plunder it.

But learning to fit into a family like the Addams’ is not a walk in the park. But he hangs in, perseveres, and eventually, succeeds. The problem is…he succeeds too well. He’s happier as Fester than as Gordon.

The Cast
Raul Julia ... Gomez Addams
” I would die for her. I would kill for her. Either way, what bliss.”
Patriarch of the Addams clan, Gomez is a lawyer, fencer, yogi, and most of all, family man. Gomez loves his wife, passionately (frequently) and kids, and his missing brother.

Anjelica Huston ... Morticia Addams
”Last night you were unhinged. You were like some desperate, howling demon. You frightened me. Do it again!”
Mother, wife, enchantress, horticulturist, Morticia is a woman of many talents. Endlessly graceful and charming, she moves through the world like a threnody. She is always gracious, never rude and unceasingly macabre. I adore her.

Christopher Lloyd ... Uncle Fester / Gordon Craven
” It was just a party. It's over. It means nothing. The Siamese twins, the hunchback, Cousin It, they're not *you*.” Gordon Craven
Uncle Fester: Haven't you ever slaughtered anyone?
Wednesday: He's only a child.
Uncle Fester: No excuse! Aim for a major artery. The jugular.

Uncle Fester is the missing heir to the Addams Family Empire. Gordon is a con man who impersonates him. Both roles are played with absolute genius.

Christina Ricci ... Wednesday Addams
” I'm a homicidal maniac; they look just like everyone else.” Wednesday Addams, talking about her Halloween costume, or lack there of. But, hey, the statement stands.

I love Wednesday. I have followed Christina Ricci’s career every since I saw this. She is Wednesday.

Jimmy Workman ... Pugsley Addams.

Pugsley’s best line is totally silent. He appears in the kitchen holding a stop sign. Outside, you hear screeching tires, then a crash. In all real life adaptations Pugsley is made into a less than intelligent lump. In the cartoons he has a gleam of menace that is missing from the character. None the less, this was an excellent role, and Jimmy won The Young Artist Award for his role.

Judith Malina ... Grandma.
Wednesday: Nobody gets out of the Bermuda Triangle, not even for a vacation. Everyone knows that.
Dr. Pinderschloss: Oh, my little bundle. So much you don't understand. The human spirit, it is a hard thing to kill.
Grandmama: Even with a chainsaw.

Mother, Grandmother, Cook and Doomspeaker, Grandmama is a minor character but rich and detailed. Demented and malicious she is the heart of the Addams family.

John Franklin ... Cousin Itt
No quote…I can’t spell that.

Covered from head to toe in hair, Itt is small, unintelligible, and apparently, irresistible to women.

Carel Struycken ... Lurch.
”Uuuhhhhn.”
Good help is hard to find, so it appears the Addams’ have made their own. Lurch is the long suffering straight man of the Addams household, as well as the butler.

Christopher Hart ... Thing
For the first time, Thing is not confined to a box. A free roaming hand, severed at the wrist, he is remarkably expressive.

Dan Hedaya ... Tully Alford, Addams' Attorney.
Margaret: This is all so humiliating. Why did I marry you?
Tully Alfford: Because I said yes.

The author of the scam to rob the Addams’ Tully is low, slimey and underhanded, with no moral fiber. A lawyer.

Dana Ivey ... Margaret Alfford / Margaret Addams
Margaret: This is all so humiliating. Why did I marry you?
Tully Alfford: Because I said yes.

Tully’s wife, Margaret is at first horrified by the Addams’ lifestyle, but eventually, falls in love with Cousin Itt, and marries into the family.

Elizabeth Wilson ... Abigail Craven / Dr. Greta Pinder-Schloss
Dr. Pinderschloss: Love/hate, hate/love. Like for mama, no?
Gomez: But I didn't hate my mother. It was an accident!

Abigail Craven is a con woman and a loan shark. Amoral and reprehensible, Morticia describes her this way, “Greta, you are an immoral woman, twisted and bitter…we could have been such friends.” She is the driving force behind the plot to rob the Addams Family Vault.

Paul Benedict ... Judge Womack
”Damn you Addams!”

The long suffering neighbor of the Addams’ Judge Womack becomes integral to Tully’s eventual triumph over the family.

Creepy, spooky, mysterious and ooky, this family is endearing in its inability to see itself as abnormal. This is funny, because it is so often true in real life. Trust me, I know, I live between Texas and Arkansas; I have seen families who make the Addams Family seem tame. And every one of them thinks they are ordinary.

This movie works on so many levels; like the original panel cartoons, there are many one scene jokes. Like the series, there is the convergence of the Addams world and the real world, and the effect it has on people, and like any good movie, there is an engaging overall plot that ties it all together.

Excellent production values, Oscar nominated Costuming; dismal (on purpose) Cinematography and Stellar acting combine with a great script and talented direction to create a one of a kind winner of a movie.

As two bodies fall into coffins and slam shut, falling into open graves….
Pugsley: Are they dead?
Wednesday: Does it matter?
And they begin shoveling dirt.