The Addams Family (1991)
Average Rating: 5.6/10
Reviews Counted: 40
Fresh: 24 | Rotten: 16
The movie is peppered with amusing sight gags and one-liners, but the disjointed script doesn't cohere into a successful whole.
Average Rating: 4.3/10
Critic Reviews: 9
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 7
The movie is peppered with amusing sight gags and one-liners, but the disjointed script doesn't cohere into a successful whole.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.2/5
User Ratings: 289,645
My Rating
Movie Info
Inspired more by the 1960s TV series than by the original Charles Addams New Yorker cartoons, The Addams Family proved to be one of the more successful of the TV shows-turned-movies of the 1990s. The film opens on a recreation of the magazine cartoon wherein the ghoulish Addamses prepare to pour hot oil upon a group of merry Christmas carolers. After a series of vignettes which establish the characters of Gomez (Raul Julia), Morticia (Anjelica Huston), Wednesday (Christina Ricci), Pugsley (Jimmy
Nov 22, 1991 Wide
Feb 22, 2000
Paramount Pictures
Watch It Now
Cast
-
Anjelica Huston
Morticia Addams -
Raul Julia
Gomez Addams -
Christopher Lloyd
Gordon Craven -
Dan Hedaya
Tully Alford -
Elizabeth Wilson
Abigail Craven -
Judith Malina
Granny -
Christina Ricci
Wednesday Addams -
Carel Struycken
Lurch -
Dana Ivey
Margaret Alford -
Paul Benedict
Judge Womack -
Jimmy Workman
Pugsley Addams -
Ryan Anderson
Pre-Teen Fester -
Tony Azito
Digit Addams -
John Franklin
Cousin It -
Victoria Hall
Swedish Blonde -
Whitby Hertford
Little Tully -
Michael Hittesdorf
Teenage Fester -
Ryan Holihan
Lumpy Addams -
Lela Ivey
Susan Firkins -
Allegra Kent
Cousin Ophelia Addams -
Richard Korthaze
Slosh Addams -
Darlene Levin
Fauna Amor -
Maureen Sue Levin
Flora Amor -
Patty Maloney
Lois Addams -
Douglas Brian Martin
Dexter Addams -
Kate McGregor-Stewart
Employment Agent -
Mercedes McNab
Girl Scout -
The Passing Zone
Jugglers -
Daniel Pikus
Teenage Gomez -
Sally Jessy Raphael
Herself -
Jimmy Ross
Pre-Teen Gomez -
Richard Tanner
Snake Charmer -
Valerie Walker
Teenage Fauna -
Steve Welles
Fingers Addams -
Joe Zimmerman
Long Arm Addams -
Christopher Hart
Thing -
Marc Shaiman
Conductor -
Steven M. Martin
Donald Addams -
Eugene M. Jackson
One Armed Bass Player
ADVERTISEMENT
All Critics (40) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (26) | Rotten (16) | DVD (13)
They're creepy and they're predictable? Mysterious and rather tame?
Ooky the Addamses may be, subversive they ain't; it plays like a paean to the nuclear family.
Top CriticAn extended collection of one-liners and not much more.
Despite inspired casting and nifty visual trappings, the eagerly awaited Addams Family figures as a major disappointment.
Top CriticOoky the Addamses may be, subversive they ain't; it plays like a paean to the nuclear family.
Top CriticThe film's aimlessness and repetitiveness eventually become draining.
Dark comedy with macabre humor for teens.
Deliciously sick and delightfully cast.
A twisted treat.
Cinematographer-turned-director Barry Sonnenfeld and screenwriters Larry Wilson and Caroline Thompson haven't solved the problem of how to construct a film around a one-joke concept.
Funny feature film version of the classic TV show, and just as ghoulishly hilarious.
The plot is a threadbare thing indeed.
All of the actors are spot-on perfect in their roles, particularly Ricci, whose performance as Wednesday helped cement her status as the queen of dark, offbeat films.
Basically plotless, this big-screen transfer of the cult TV series has some good vignettes and some good performances by Anjelica Huston, Christina Ricci and others.
creepy and funny
Great translation of the classic television series.
Audience Reviews for The Addams Family
Super Reviewer
-
- Pugsley Addams: [about to bury two people] Are they dead?
- Wednesday Addams: Does it matter?
-
- Morticia Addams: I know it is wet and the sun is not sunny.
- Morticia Addams: But we can have lots of good fun... that is funny.
- Morticia Addams: Oh no, he lives.
-
- Wednesday Addams: I have decided to scalp you and burn your village to the ground.
-
- Girl Scout: Is this made from real lemons?
- Wednesday Addams: Yes.
- Girl Scout: I only like all-natural foods and beverages, organically grown, with no preservatives. Are you sure they're real lemons?
- Wednesday Addams: Yes.
- Gordon Craven: Well, I'll tell you what. I'll buy a cup if you buy a box of my delicious Girl Scout cookies. Do we have a deal?
- Gordon Craven: Are they made from real Girl Scouts?
Discussion Forum
There are no discussion threads for The Addams Family yet.
Latest News on The Addams Family
December 25, 2008:
Further Reading: Seasonal Slaying - The 12 Horrors of ChristmasThanks to Charles Dickens and A Christmas Carol, the Yuletide season has long been associated with...
What's Hot On RT
Bradley Cooper's Best Movies
Fast & Furious 6 is Certified Fresh
Fast & Furious cars gallery
Blockbusters ranked!
Featured on RT
- Critics Consensus: Fast & Furious 6 is Certified Fresh 21
- Red Carpet Photos with Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Gina Carano and More 0
- Video: The Hangover Part III Cast Interviews 0
- Total Recall: Bradley Cooper's Best Movies 37
- Parental Guidance: Epic and Beautiful Creatures 2
- Comic Book Movies You Can Watch Online 9
- In Pictures: The Cars of Fast & Furious 0
Top Headlines
-
Evan Peters Joins X-Men: Days of Future Past
0
-
Toby Jones Talks Captain America: The Winter Soldier
0
-
The Poltergeist Reboot May Actually Be a Sequel
8
-
Will Forte Promises MacGruber 2
1
-
Universal Plans Timecop Reboot
2
-
Return of the Jedi Turns 30
1
-
Vin Diesel Says Fast & Furious 7 Will Take Place in L.A.
0
Fresh Links
Featured
Star Trek Movies Ranked
HitFix offers their own take on the worst-to-best of the Enterprise crew's cinematic adventures.
Top 10 Star Trek Villains
Rolling Stone unveils the Enterprise's most irksome adversaries.
Celebrity Yearkbook Flashback
We'll bet you never realized how many stars were cheerleaders and high school athletes!
50 Most Classic Movie Moms
In celebration of Mother's Day, TimeOut offers up 50 iconic matriarchs from the big screen.
Weirdest Movie Siblings
From Twins to The Royal Tenenbaums, Moviefone explores cinema's oddest siblings.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter!
Spice up your feed with hourly Tomatometer updates!
Foreign Titles
- La Famille Addams (FR)
Many incarnations of Addams creation have come and gone, most of which have all turned out pretty well and this film from Rudin is no exception in my view.
With a perfect cast of character actors just shy of being oddballs themselves this film is brought to life in a sweeping gothic spooky style that compliments the original source material to a tee. In my view Julia IS 'Gomez' and will always be, his ball eyed lunacy and sharp pin stripe suits are spot on as is his pencil thin moustache giving him that great suave caddish style.
'They say that a man who represents himself in court has a fool for a client. And, with God as my witness, I am that fool!'
All the family are correct and present with outstanding performances from Lloyd as 'Fester', Huston as 'Morticia', Workman as 'Pugsley' and newly discovered Ricci as the chilling emotionless 'Wednesday'. Add to that great backup from the rest of the cast including some neat effects to create 'Thing' which really does look quite good even today. Some nice hands on makeup/effects to bring 'Cousin Itt' to life without the use of CGI. In fact this old film is a testament to how good effects can be with good hard work and craftsmanship. The Addams Mansion is clearly a model in some shots but they seemed to build a huge set also! its gorgeous! really really makes a difference instead of relying on the dreaded CGI monster.
I really do love this film as, in my opinion, its a great adaptation of the source material and sticks to what works, its fun for all the family whilst retaining a nice balance of kooky, spooky ghoulish looks and humour alongside some lovely set work, character makeup and costume.
If you like 'The Addams Family' then I'm confident you would enjoy this version, the plot is simple and works well as Rudin doesn't go over the top. A lovely musical score and some quirky visual moments all add to a fun filled halloween creepy comedy. The 'Addams rap' song in the closing credits is also surprisingly cool.
'Don't torture yourself Gomez...that's my job'