''Addams Family Values'' is a 1993 American

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

black comedy Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...

film directed by

Barry Sonnenfeld Barry Sonnenfeld (born April 1, 1953) is an American filmmaker and television director. He originally worked as a cinematographer for the Coen brothers before directing films such as '' The Addams Family'' (1991) and its sequel '' Addams Family ...

and written by

Paul Rudnick Paul Rudnick (born December 29, 1957) is an American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, and essayist. His plays have been produced on and off Broadway theatre, Broadway. He wrote the screenplays for ''Sister Act'', ''Addams Family Values'', Jef ...

, based on the characters created by Charles Addams. It is the sequel to ''

The Addams Family The Addams Family is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 standalone single-panel comics, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' between 193 ...

'' (1991). The film features almost all the main cast members from the original film, including

Anjelica Huston Anjelica Huston ( ; born July 8, 1951) is an American actress, director and model. She is best known for playing Morticia Addams in the ''The Addams Family'' and '' The Addams Family Values'', as well as often portraying eccentric and distincti ...

Raul Julia Raúl Rafael Carlos Juliá y Arcelay (March 9, 1940 – October 24, 1994) was a Puerto Rican actor. He was known for his intense and varied roles on stage and screen. He started his career in the Public Theater before transitioning to film. He ...

Christopher Lloyd Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and television shows since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future (franchise), ''B ...

Christina Ricci Christina Ricci ( ; born February 12, 1980) is an American actress known for playing unusual characters with a dark edge. Ricci works mostly in Independent film, independent productions, but has also appeared in numerous box-office hits. She is ...

, Carel Struycken, Jimmy Workman, and Christopher Hart.

Joan Cusack Joan Mary Cusack ( ; born October 11, 1962) is an American actress and comedian. She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in the comedy-drama '' Working Girl'' (1988) and the romantic comedy '' In ...

and Carol Kane joined the cast for this film. Compared to its predecessor, which retained something of the madcap approach of the 1960s sitcom, ''Addams Family Values'' is played more for very dark and

macabre In works of art, the adjective macabre ( or ; ) means "having the quality of having a grim or ghastly atmosphere". The macabre works to emphasize the details and symbols of death. The term also refers to works particularly gruesome in natu ...

laughs. The film revolves around the family's adjustments to the birth of new baby Pubert. Subplots include Uncle Fester marrying the new

nanny A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...

Debbie Jellinsky, who is a serial killer intending to murder him for his inheritance; and teenagers

Wednesday Wednesday is the day of the week between Tuesday and Thursday. According to international standard ISO 8601, it is the third day of the week. In English, the name is derived from Old English and Middle English , 'day of Woden', reflecting ...

and Pugsley Addams being sent to

summer camp A summer camp, also known as a sleepaway camp or residential camp, is a supervised overnight program for children conducted during the summer vacation from school in many countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer residential camps ...

. The film was released by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

on November 19, 1993. In contrast to its predecessor's mixed reception, the film was well received by critics; however, it was not as financially successful, with a box office gross of $111 million against a budget of $47 million. In the decades since its release, the film has become acclaimed for its humor and performances. This would be Julia's final theatrical film released during his lifetime; he would appear posthumously in one more film, ''Street Fighter'' (1994). The film was followed by another sequel, '' Addams Family Reunion''.

Plot

Gomez and Morticia Addams have a baby, hiring the nanny Debbie Jellinsky to care for their newborn son Pubert. This is after a number of failed attempts by his siblings

and Pugsley to kill him, for which Gomez and Morticia gently rebuke them. Unbeknownst to them, Debbie is a serial killer who marries and then murders rich bachelors to collect their inheritances. After she seduces Uncle Fester, Wednesday becomes suspicious of her intentions. To maintain her cover, Debbie tricks Gomez and Morticia into believing Wednesday and Pugsley want to go to

. Wednesday and Pugsley are sent to Camp Chippewa, managed by the bubbly counselors Gary and Becky Granger. There, they are singled out by the campers, including popular and snobbish girl Amanda Buckman, for their

appearance and behavior. Joel Glicker, a nerdy bookworm and fellow outcast, becomes attracted to Wednesday. Debbie and Fester become engaged. At her bachelorette party, Debbie is repulsed by the Addams family and their relatives. At their wedding, Fester passionately and with great emotion declares his everlasting devotion, while Debbie offers a lackluster response. On their

honeymoon A honeymoon is a vacation taken by newlyweds after their wedding to celebrate their marriage. Today, honeymoons are often celebrated in destinations considered exotic or romantic. In a similar context, it may also refer to the phase in a couple ...

, she tries unsuccessfully to kill Fester by throwing a

boombox A boombox is a transistorized portable music player featuring one or two cassette tape players/recorders and AM/FM radio, generally with a carrying handle. Beginning in the mid-1990s, a CD player was often included. Sound is delivered thro ...

into the bathtub. Frustrated, Debbie forces him to cut ties with his family; when they try to visit Fester and Debbie at their home, they are turned away. The Addamses are alarmed to find that Pubert has transformed into a blue-eyed, rosy-cheeked and

blond Blond () or blonde (), also referred to as fair hair, is a human hair color characterized by low levels of eumelanin, the dark pigment. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish color. The color can be ...

-haired baby. Grandmama attributes this to his disrupted family life, and Gomez becomes horribly depressed. Back at Camp Chippewa, the counselors cast Wednesday as

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, also known as Matoaka and Rebecca Rolfe; 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. S ...

in Gary's

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

play, "A Turkey Named Brotherhood". When she refuses to participate, she, Pugsley, and Joel are all sent to the camp's "Harmony Hut" and forced to watch hours of wholesome family entertainment movies and television shows. Afterwards, the three feign cheerfulness, and Wednesday agrees to take part. However, during the performance, she returns to being her true self. With help from Joel, Pugsley, and the other outcasts, they capture Amanda, Gary, and Becky by igniting the pilgrim set. Later, Wednesday and Joel share their first kiss before she leaves, with Joel staying behind to lead their friends to ensure the camp's permanent destruction. Pugsley and Wednesday return home in the campsite's stolen van. Debbie tries to kill Fester by blowing up their mansion, but he survives. She then pulls a gun and reveals that she never loved him and was only after his money. Thing helps Fester. Fester later apologizes to Gomez at the Addams mansion, Wednesday and Pugsley return, successfully reuniting the family at last. Just then, Debbie arrives, holds them at gunpoint, and straps them into

electric chair The electric chair is a specialized device used for capital punishment through electrocution. The condemned is strapped to a custom wooden chair and electrocuted via electrodes attached to the head and leg. Alfred P. Southwick, a Buffalo, New Yo ...

s to kill them all. The Addams family listens to her sympathetically, as she explains that as a child and young (self-proclaimed) ballerina, she killed her parents Sharon and Dave after they gave her a Malibu Barbie doll on her 10th birthday rather than her desired ballerina Barbie. Then, as an adult, murdered her first two husbands for incredibly frivolous and materialistic reasons. Meanwhile Pubert, now restored to his normally pale and mustachioed self, escapes from his crib with a knife and reaches the family via a series of improbable events. As Debbie lowers the switch to electrocute the Addamses, Pubert connects two loose wires, rerouting the electrical current through her instead, destroying her in spectacular fashion. All that remains are a pile of ashes, her shoes, and her credit cards—the means of the family's salvation. Some time later, the Addamses and their relatives gather to celebrate Pubert's first birthday, with Joel also attending. Fester laments Debbie's loss, but soon becomes smitten with Dementia, a new nanny Cousin Itt and his wife Margaret Alford have hired for their child. Out in the family graveyard, Joel attempts to ask Wednesday out by asking about having a future with a husband, though she turns him down. She then tells him Debbie was a sloppy husband killer, and that Wednesday would have scared her husband to death and made sure not to be caught. As he lays flowers on Debbie's grave, a hand emerges from the earth and grabs him, prompting Wednesday to smile as he screams.

Cast

as Morticia Addams *

Gomez Addams Gomez Addams is the patriarch of the fictional Addams Family, created by cartoonist Charles Addams for ''The New Yorker'' magazine in the 1940s and subsequently portrayed on television, in film, and on the stage. Cartoons In Charles Addams's ...

as Fester Addams *

as Wednesday Addams * Christopher Hart as Thing * Carel Struycken as Lurch * Jimmy Workman as Pugsley Addams * Carol Kane as Grandmama Addams (replacing Judith Malina) *

John Franklin Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer and colonial administrator. After serving in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812, he led two expeditions into the Northern Canada, Canadia ...

as Cousin Itt *

as Debbie Jellinsky *

Dana Ivey Dana Ivey (born August 12, 1941) is an American retired actress. She is a five-time Tony Award nominee for her work on Broadway, and won the 1997 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play for her work in both ''Sex and Longi ...

as Margaret Alford-Addams (wife of Cousin Itt Addams) * David Krumholtz as Joel Glicker * Kaitlyn and Kristen Hooper as Pubert Addams *

Peter MacNicol Peter MacNicol (born April 10, 1954) is an American actor. He received a Theatre World Award for his 1981 Broadway debut in the play '' Crimes of the Heart''. His film roles include Galen in '' Dragonslayer'' (1981), Stingo in '' Sophie's Choic ...

as Gary Granger * Christine Baranski as Becky Martin-Granger * Mercedes McNab as Amanda Buckman, a camper at Camp Chippewa (McNab played the Girl Scout in the first film)

Cameo roles

* Director

and Julie Halston as the parents of Joel Glicker. *

Nathan Lane Nathan Lane (born Joseph Lane; February 3, 1956) is an American actor. Since 1975, he has been Nathan Lane on screen and stage, on stage and screen in both comedic and dramatic roles. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Na ...

as the police desk sergeant. Lane would eventually go on to play Gomez in the ''Addams Family'' Broadway musical. *

David Hyde Pierce David Hyde Pierce (born David Pierce; April 3, 1959) is an American actor. Known for his portrayal of psychiatrist Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Frasier'' from 1993 to 2004, he received four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting A ...

as the delivery room doctor *

Peter Graves Peter Graves (born Peter Duesler Aurness; March 18, 1926 – March 14, 2010) was an American actor who portrayed Jim Phelps in the television series ''Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series), Mission: Impossible'' from 1967 to 1973 and in its reviv ...

as ''America's Most Disgusting Unsolved Crimes'' anchorman *

Sam McMurray Samuel McMurray (born April 15, 1952) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Supervisor Patrick O'Boyle in the CBS sitcom series ''The King of Queens'', Glen in the Coen Brothers comedy film '' Raising Arizona'', Trent Culpepper in th ...

and Harriet Sansom Harris as Amanda's parents * Ian Abercrombie as a driver * Chris Ellis as a furniture delivery driver *

Tony Shalhoub Anthony Marc Shalhoub ( ; ; born October 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is known for a variety of roles ranging from comedic to dramatic on stage and screen. He has received several accolades including five Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, s ...

as Jorge *

Cynthia Nixon Cynthia Ellen Nixon (born April 9, 1966) is an American actress, activist, and theater director. For her portrayal of Miranda Hobbes in the HBO series ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supportin ...

as Heather, a nanny interviewee

Production

The "

family values Family values, sometimes referred to as familial values, are traditional or cultural values that pertain to the family's structure, function, roles, beliefs, attitudes, and ideals. Additionally, the concept of family values may be understood ...

" in the film's title is a tongue-in-cheek reference by writer

to a 1992 speech ("Reflections on Urban America") made by then-vice presidential candidate

Dan Quayle James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American retired politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...

. In the speech, Quayle controversially blamed the

1992 Los Angeles riots The 1992 Los Angeles riots were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, United States, during April and May 1992. Unrest began in South Los Angeles, South Central Los Angeles on April 29, after ...

on a breakdown of "family values". Production of ''Addams Family Values'' began in Los Angeles on February 8, 1993. According to Anjelica Huston, it became increasingly clear during filming that Raul Julia's health was deteriorating. He had trouble eating and was losing weight as a result. He died on October 24, 1994, less than a year after the film was released.

Sequoia National Park Sequoia National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in the southern Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California. The park was established on September 25, 1890, and toda ...

, particularly Sequoia Lake, in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

of California, was the site of the movie's "Camp Chippewa".

Music

Michael Jackson's involvement

American singer

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

was supposed to feature a song in the film, called "Family Thing". The song is mostly rumored to have been removed due to the child sexual abuse allegations against Jackson; in reality, it was because of contractual differences with Paramount Pictures. The song has since been leaked online. Jackson is referenced in the film via a poster in the Harmony Hut advertising his 1992 single " Heal the World", which horrifies Joel.

Reception

Box office

''Addams Family Values'' opened at number 1 at the US box office in its opening weekend with a reported gross of $14,117,545. In its second week, the film dropped to number 2 behind '' Mrs. Doubtfire'', and in its third week to number 3 behind ''Mrs. Doubtfire'' and ''

A Perfect World ''A Perfect World'' is a 1993 American thriller crime drama film directed by Clint Eastwood. It stars Kevin Costner as an escaped convict who takes a young boy ( T. J. Lowther) hostage and attempts to escape on the road with the child. Eastwo ...

''. Its final box office gross in the United States and Canada was $48,919,043, a significant decline from the previous film's domestic total of $113,502,426. Internationally it grossed $62 million, for a worldwide total of $110.9 million.

Critical response

''Addams Family Values'' was well received, garnering significantly better reviews than the first film. On review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film received an approval rating of 75% based on 114 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "New, well-developed characters add dimension to this batty satire, creating a comedy much more substantial than the original". On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100 based on 21 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences surveyed by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, a grade up from the "B" earned by the previous film.

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, who served as a film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1977 to 1999, serving as chief critic for the last six years, and then a literary critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000, M ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wondered if "the making of this sequel was sheer drudgery for all concerned", then answered herself by writing: "There's simply too much glee on the screen, thanks to a cast and visual conception that were perfect in the first place and a screenplay by Paul Rudnick that specializes in delightfully arch, subversive humor". Leonard Klady of '' Variety'' was slightly less enthusiastic than Maslin: "It remains perilously slim in the story department, but glides over the thin ice with technical razzle-dazzle and an exceptionally winning cast".

Richard Schickel Richard Warren Schickel (February 10, 1933 – February 18, 2017) was an American film historian, journalist, author, documentarian, and film and literary critic. He was a film critic for ''Time'' from 1965–2010, and also wrote for '' ...

, writing for ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'', was even less enthusiastic than Klady, calling the film "an essentially lazy movie, too often settling for easy gags and special effects that don't come to any really funny point". Both

Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune'' who co-hosted a movie review television series alongside colleague Roger Ebert. Siskel started writing for the '' ...

and

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

had disliked the first film. Siskel gave ''Addams Family Values'' a mixed review and accused Sonnenfeld of caring more about how the film looks than how the jokes play. Ebert, however, gave the film three stars out of four and thought that, unusually for a sequel, it improved upon its predecessor. He enjoyed the various subplots and recommended the film.

Accolades

The film was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

in the category Best Art Direction (

Ken Adam Sir Kenneth Adam (born Klaus Hugo George Fritz Adam; 5 February 1921 – 10 March 2016) was a German-British movie production designer, best known for his set designs for the James Bond films of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for '' Dr. Str ...

, Marvin March), but lost to ''

Schindler's List ''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the historical novel '' Schindler's Ark'' (1982) by Thomas Keneally. The film follows ...

''; and Huston was nominated for the 1993

Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall * Golden Cap, Dorset * Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucesters ...

for her performance as Morticia, a reprise of her Golden Globe-nominated performance in the 1991 original. The film also won a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song for the

Tag Team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establis ...

track "Addams Family (Whoomp!)". ''Addams Family Values'' was nominated for AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs. In 2016, James Charisma of ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

'' ranked the film #15 on a list of ''15 Sequels That Are Way Better Than The Originals''.

Home media

The '' Addams Family Values'' video game was produced by Ocean Software. The film was released on

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

in 2000 with only two theatrical trailers as special features. It was re-released in 2006 with the first film on a single disc, with no new features. In October 2019, the film debuted on the

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

format when Paramount Pictures released double feature of ''Addams Family'' and ''Addams Family Values'' on Blu-ray in the United States, along with standalone releases. In Australia, the film was released on VHS by Paramount Home Entertainment (Australasia) in 1994. In 2002, the film was released on DVD with theatrical trailers in the extra features.

Legacy

In retrospect, Barry Sonnenfeld recalled: "I was disappointed in the box office for the second film. I think the first film is more romantic and the second film is funnier. Part of the reason it didn't do as well is that the marketing of the movie was so similar to the first one that people didn't think it was going to be any value-added and I really wanted to push the Pubert of it all and the Fester of it all. Instead, the whole campaign was back with the original Addams Family, so it wasn't really promising anything new. I think that's in part why it didn't do as well. Many people love it as much or more as the first one". In the decades since its release, the film has been reassessed with retrospective acclaim. Once a source of mixed reception, the film's dark humor and satire have become lauded. Ricci's and Cusack's performances have also received praise, with Cusack's role in particular becoming the source of several

memes A meme (; ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ...

and tribute videos on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

dedicated to her performance.

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

* * * {{Authority control 1993 films 1993 black comedy films 1990s fantasy comedy films 1990s serial killer films American black comedy films American fantasy comedy films American comedy horror films American sequel films American serial killer films The Addams Family films 1990s English-language films Films about witchcraft Films based on adaptations Films based on television series Films directed by Barry Sonnenfeld Films produced by Scott Rudin Films scored by Marc Shaiman Films set in country houses Films set in summer camps Films shot in California Golden Raspberry Award–winning films Fiction about mariticide Films about patricide Paramount Pictures films Thanksgiving comedy films Thanksgiving horror films Films with screenplays by Paul Rudnick 1990s American films Films about nannies Films about honeymoons Cultural depictions of Pocahontas Saturn Award–winning films English-language crime films English-language fantasy comedy films