The Addams Family
Recently I was asked about past costumes I had worn for Halloween. The first one that came to mind was Wednesday Addams. I have always loved the movies The Addams Family and Addams Family Values so it was not a big leap for me to dress up as an Addams one year. This conversation made me realize I had not watched these movies in awhile. It did not take me too long to do so again.
The Addams family is a strange and dark family who is unlike the others in the neighborhood. They are not really like anyone anywhere to tell the truth. The members are neither cheery nor bright, and they definitely do not follow the social norms. They are, however, a loving family in their own way. The parents, Gomez (Raul Julia) and Morticia (Anjelica Huston) cannot keep their hands off each other. Wednesday (Christina Ricci) and Pugsley (Jimmy Workman), the children, play in a manner that is quite dangerous and could easily cause harm to each other, but they are often together as a united front. Uncle Fester (Christopher Lloyd) is Gomez’s once close but now long lost brother who has returned to the family. Then there are the others: Grandmama, Lurch the manservant, the hand Thing, and the hairy Cousin Itt.
At the beginning of the film it is revealed that Uncle Fester has been missing for twenty-five years. He took off after a falling out with Gomez and is believed to have fallen victim to the Bermuda Triangle. A lawyer, who is in great debt, conjures up a plan with his loan shark to pass the loan shark’s son off as Uncle Fester in order to get the Addams fortune. There is a strong resemblance and they believe the Addams family is stupid, so tricking the family with an imposter should be easy. Fester is accepted into the family, but he struggles to fit in. He does not understand their weird and quirky ways causing suspicions to arise. Eventually Fester comes to care for the Addams’ and becomes part of the family again. This is why when the lawyer and loan shark return to rid the family and claim the fortune, Fester has such a hard time with it. With the family gone, the lawyer and loan shark believe they are in the clear and set out to find the fortune. What they do not realize is Fester and the Addams family have plans and intents of their own.
The Addams family is a strange and dark family who is unlike the others in the neighborhood. They are not really like anyone anywhere to tell the truth. The members are neither cheery nor bright, and they definitely do not follow the social norms. They are, however, a loving family in their own way. The parents, Gomez (Raul Julia) and Morticia (Anjelica Huston) cannot keep their hands off each other. Wednesday (Christina Ricci) and Pugsley (Jimmy Workman), the children, play in a manner that is quite dangerous and could easily cause harm to each other, but they are often together as a united front. Uncle Fester (Christopher Lloyd) is Gomez’s once close but now long lost brother who has returned to the family. Then there are the others: Grandmama, Lurch the manservant, the hand Thing, and the hairy Cousin Itt.
At the beginning of the film it is revealed that Uncle Fester has been missing for twenty-five years. He took off after a falling out with Gomez and is believed to have fallen victim to the Bermuda Triangle. A lawyer, who is in great debt, conjures up a plan with his loan shark to pass the loan shark’s son off as Uncle Fester in order to get the Addams fortune. There is a strong resemblance and they believe the Addams family is stupid, so tricking the family with an imposter should be easy. Fester is accepted into the family, but he struggles to fit in. He does not understand their weird and quirky ways causing suspicions to arise. Eventually Fester comes to care for the Addams’ and becomes part of the family again. This is why when the lawyer and loan shark return to rid the family and claim the fortune, Fester has such a hard time with it. With the family gone, the lawyer and loan shark believe they are in the clear and set out to find the fortune. What they do not realize is Fester and the Addams family have plans and intents of their own.
Even though I know there was a television series before this film, and I have seen Nathan Lane in The Addams Family musical, Raul Julia is my Gomez Addams. I love his version of the character and the portrayal of his relationship with Anjelica Huston’s Morticia is very well done. When I heard he died, not too long after the release of Addams Family Values, I was really sad. My Gomez Addams was gone. I still enjoy him in the movies though, just as I enjoy all the other actors. Christopher Lloyd plays a really good Uncle Fester and I already mentioned the wonderful Anjelica Huston. Even though the actors Christina Ricci and Jimmy Workman are young, they are realistic and fit right in with everyone else. This unity amongst the actors is what makes the movie work so well.
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