''Addams Family Reunion'' is a 1998 American comedy horror film based on the characters from the cartoon created by cartoonist

Charles Addams Charles Samuel Addams (January 7, 1912 – September 29, 1988) was an American cartoonist known for his darkly humorous and macabre characters, signing the cartoons as Chas Addams. Some of his recurring characters became known as the Addams ...

. Directed by Dave Payne, the film was intended to serve as a pilot for a new proposed television series produced by

Saban Saban or Šaban may refer to: People * Saban (name), for people with the name * Sabans, a small indigenous ethnic group of Sarawak, Malaysia * Şaban, a Turkish film character Other uses *Saban Capital Group, a private investment firm investing i ...

. The film stars

Daryl Hannah Daryl Christine Hannah (born December 3, 1960) is an American actress and environmental activist. She made her screen debut in Brian De Palma's supernatural horror film ''The Fury'' (1978). She has starred in various movies across the years, in ...

and

Tim Curry Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film '' The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 Londo ...

as Morticia and

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 or ...

respectively while Carel Struycken and Christopher Hart's hand are the only ones to reprise their roles from the last two films. The film's plot focused on the eccentric, macabre aristocratic Addams family mistakenly arriving at the wrong family reunion and encountering a man (

Ed Begley Jr. Edward James Begley Jr. (born September 16, 1949) is an American actor and environmental activist. Begley has appeared in hundreds of films, television shows, and stage performances. He played Dr. Victor Ehrlich on the television series ''St. E ...

) who seeks to commit murder in order to inherit a fortune. Payne had intended to give the film a dark, edgy tone, but Saban had interfered with the development, insisting that the story be aimed solely at entertaining children, and lack much of the

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

and

satire Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

of the previous films. Saban also wanted Payne to imitate aspects of

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

' popular 1991–93 duo of films, and the 1964 TV series, and rejected any original idea developed by Payne and the film's screenwriters. As a result, the film was poorly received by critics, who criticized the film's screenplay, special effects, production design, and much of its acting, while singling out Tim Curry's performance for praise, calling Curry the best part of the film.

Plot

Discovering that his grandparents have developed "Waltzheimer's disease", a disease that is slowly turning them "normal", Gomez plans a

family reunion A family reunion is an occasion when many members of an extended family congregate. Sometimes reunions are held regularly, for example on the same date of every year. A typical family reunion will assemble for a meal, some recreation and discuss ...

, hoping that some branch of his enormous family tree will find a cure. However, Gomez sends a card written in blood, which damages the machines of the company organizing the reunion and results in the Addams receiving the wrong invitation. Gomez, Morticia, Fester, Lurch, and the grandparents drive to a luxury resort for the family reunion. Gomez meets psychiatrist Dr. Philip Adams, who plans to poison his wealthy father Walter Adams and rearrange his will. Gomez hopes that Dr. Adams can cure his grandparents. Philip's brother and his wife, who are headed to the reunion, are given the wrong address and end up in the Addams family mansion, where Granny and Cousin Itt are staying. They stay there as guests, but are increasingly abused by their hosts. Granny learns that the wife is vegetarian, so she feeds her with a plant:

deadly nightshade ''Atropa belladonna'', commonly known as belladonna or deadly nightshade, is a toxic perennial herbaceous plant in the nightshade family Solanaceae, which also includes tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplant (aubergine). It is native to Europe, Nort ...

. Cousin Itt plays poker with the husband, and wins over most of the man's fortune. Pugsley falls in love with Gina Adams, a young bespectacled girl. Wednesday antagonizes two of her new snobby "cousins", children of Philip. Lurch saves Gina's mother from drowning in the swimming pool. He falls in love with the woman, while she is disgusted with him. Walter Adams expresses his hatred for his son and most of his family. Fester and Thing do their best to capture Butcher, Fester's mutated puppy who feeds on human hair. Philip initially refuses to help Gomez in any way, but agrees to a bet. If he beats Gomez in a game, he will earn thousands of dollars. If Gomez wins, Philip will offer his services to him. Philip is overconfident, as he is a champion in many games. But Gomez easily defeats him in successive challenges, in the games of

darts Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small sharp-pointed missiles known as darts at a round target known as a dartboard. Points can be scored by hitting specific marked areas of the ...

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

, and tennis. Philip is publicly humiliated in the process. Instead of offering his services as previously agreed, an enraged Philip attacks Gomez in public. They have a knife fight, which Gomez eventually wins. While Gomez holds his knife to Philip's throat, the police arrive. Gomez and Morticia are arrested for attempted murder, Pugsley and Wednesday are arrested for digging open the grave of the resort's founders. Fester is considered insane and becomes a mental patient, while Butcher and Thing are captured by a sadistic dog catcher. Lurch has been buried alive by Wednesday and is unable to escape. Pugsley and Wednesday are taken in by

child services Child and family services is a government or non-profit organisation designed to better the well being of individuals who come from unfortunate situations, ''environmental'' or ''biological''. People who seek or are sought after to participate i ...

, and placed in

foster care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family ...

with Philip's wife. Meanwhile Philip gains custody over Fester, and tortures him with an

electric chair An electric chair is a device used to execute an individual by electrocution. When used, the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes fastened on the head and leg. This execution method, ...

. He has previously used this chair to torture other patients. The dog-catcher plans to feed Thing to one of his dogs. Gomez and Morticia are unable to escape a police cell. Walter Adams has taken a liking to Gomez, and posts bail for him and Morticia. He helps them rescue Lurch, who then helps rescue the rest of the family. Pugsley and Wednesday were in the process of torturing their foster family, but are happily reunited with their parents. The Addams Family strap Philip in his own electric chair, and have him tortured by his patients. The Addams Family eventually return to their mansion, and leave their increasingly "normal" grandparents in the care of Philip's wife. Wednesday amuses herself with lighting fireworks, while Pugsley seems melancholic. Gomez asks him if he misses Gina, but Pugsley is instead sad because he forgot his "Siberian firecracker" back at the foster family's house. At this point, the "firecracker" is revealed to have been a nuclear weapon and the Addams Family witness a distant nuclear explosion apparently caused by it. Morticia comments that a nuclear winter is swiftly approaching and that she feels gloomy. Gomez and Morticia kiss, finishing the movie.

Cast

Morticia Addams Morticia Addams (née Frump) is a fictional character from the '' Addams Family'' multimedia franchise created by American Charles Addams in 1933. She plays the role of the family's reserved matriarch. Morticia Addams has been portrayed in seve ...

* Nicole Fugere as Wednesday Addams * Jerry Messing as Pugsley Addams * Patrick Thomas as Uncle Fester Addams * Carel Struycken as Lurch * Christopher Hart's hand as

Thing Thing or The Thing may refer to: Philosophy * An object * Broadly, an entity * Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant * Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focus ...

* Alice Ghostley as Grandmama Addams *

Kevin McCarthy Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician, serving as House Minority Leader in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as House Majority Leader under spea ...

as Great-grandfather Mortimer Addams * Estelle Harris as Great-grandmother Delilah Addams *

Haylie Duff Haylie Katherine Duff (born February 19, 1985) is an American actress, singer and songwriter, and the older sister of American singer and actress Hilary Duff. She is best known for her roles as Sandy Jameson in the television series '' 7th Heav ...

as Gina Adams *

Phil Fondacaro Phil Fondacaro (born November 8, 1958) is an American actor and stuntman. Standing , Fondacaro is best known for his performance in the horror comedy ''Bordello of Blood'', as well as his roles in the fantasy films '' The Black Cauldron'', '' T ...

Cousin Itt Cousin Itt is a fictional character in the '' Addams Family'' television and film series. He was developed specifically for the 1964 television series and is a regular supporting character in subsequent motion-picture, television and stage adapta ...

as Dr. Philip Adams *

Ray Walston Herman Raymond Walston (November 2, 1914 – January 1, 2001) was an American actor and comedian, well known as the title character on '' My Favorite Martian''. His other major film, television, and stage roles included Luther Billis (''South Pac ...

as Walter Adams *

Diane Delano Diane Delano (born January 29, 1957) is an American character actress. She is known for her numerous roles in films and television, such as Sergeant Barbara Semanski on the CBS television series ''Northern Exposure'' and Roberta "Bobbi" Glass on ...

as Dolores Adams * Heidi Noelle Lenhart as Melinda Adams *

Hilary Shepard Turner Hilary Shepard (born Hilary Shapiro on December 10, 1959), alternately billed as Hilary Shepard-Turner, is an American actress and singer. She began her career in the mid 1980s, as co-lead singer and percussionist in the girl group American Girls ...

as Katherine Adams * Rodger Halston as Geoff Adams *

Clint Howard Clinton Engle Howard (born April 20, 1959) is an American actor. He is the second son born to American actors Rance and Jean Howard, and younger brother of actor and director Ron Howard. His 200-plus acting credits include feature films such a ...

as Dogcatcher (uncredited) *

Conrad Janis Conrad Janis (February 11, 1928 – March 1, 2022) was a jazz trombonist and actor who starred in film and television during the Golden Age Era in the 1950s and 1960s. He played the role of Mindy McConnell's father, Frederick, on television's ' ...

as Hotel Bar Patron (uncredited) *

Leigh Taylor-Young Leigh Taylor-Young (born January 25, 1945) is an American actress who has appeared on stage, screen, podcast, radio and television. The most famous films in which she had important roles include ''I Love You, Alice B. Toklas'' (1968), '' The Hors ...

as Patrice (uncredited)

Production

Pre-production

Following the success of the theatrically released films '' The Addams Family'', released in 1991 and its 1993 sequel, '' Addams Family Values'',

negotiated to purchase the home video production rights to the Addams Family brand in order to take advantage of the

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy wa ...

market. Because of the underwhelming commercial performance of ''Addams Family Values'', as well as the death of Raúl Juliá, who had played

ultimately decided not to produce a third film, resulting in Saban deciding to

reboot In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is phys ...

the series. ''Addams Family Reunion'' was co-produced by Saban with Warner Bros. The two studios planned to produce a new series called '' The New Addams Family'', and intended to produce a two-hour pilot film for the series, which eventually became ''Addams Family Reunion''; Saban planned to premiere the film on a cable network owned by the company before releasing it on video, and to follow the film with a television series if the film did well. ''Addams Family Reunion'' was scripted by Rob Kerchner, who had experience writing numerous direct-to-video sequels, and Scott Sandin; Saban wanted the script to be aimed only for children, with little attempt made to engage an adult audience. Dave Payne, whose directorial experience came from making direct-to-video low-budget

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apo ...

s for

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

, was hired to direct. According to Payne, Saban had purchased the rights from

' estate, and he felt he could start fresh and create a dark fantasy film, comparing the approach he wanted to take as director to the

Coen brothers Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957),State of Minnesota. ''Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002''. Minnesota Department of Health. collectively known as the Coen brothers (), are American film ...

. However, Payne says, Saban wanted him to imitate

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 V ...

's films and the 1964 TV show, and any original idea proposed by Payne and the screenwriters was rejected. In addition to the film lacking the previous entries'

Nathan Rabin Nathan Rabin (; born April 24, 1976) is an American film and music critic. Rabin was the first head writer for '' The A.V. Club'', a position he held until he left the ''Onion'' organization in 2013.

also said that ''Addams Family Reunion'' has little of the anarchic

of the Sonnenfeld films; according to Rabin, the only satirical aspect of the film is that the "normal" Adams family, whose reunion the Addamses mistakenly attend, "turns out to be far more devious, conniving, and evil than the morbid but basically good Addams clan".

Casting

The producers wanted to bridge the gap in continuity between the Paramount films and the new series, and reached out to

Anjelica Huston Anjelica Huston ( ; born July 8, 1951) is an American actress and director. Known for often portraying eccentric and distinctive characters, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as no ...

and

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

to reprise their roles as

and Uncle Fester, but both declined out of respect for

Raul Julia Raúl Rafael Carlos Juliá y Arcelay (March 9, 1940 – October 24, 1994) was a Puerto Rican actor. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, he took an interest in acting while still in school and pursued the career upon completion of his studies. After ...

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

and Jimmy Workman were too old to reprise their roles as

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 countries which have Friday as their holiday, Wednesday is the fifth day of the week. In countries ...

and Pugsley Addams. The only actors to reprise their roles from the Paramount films were Carel Struycken as Lurch, and Christopher Hart as Thing. Recast as Gomez and Morticia Addams were

and

, with Pat Thomas as Fester and Nicole Fugere as Wednesday, a role she would later reprise for ''The New Addams Family'' TV series, the only member of the film's cast to do so. According to Payne, he and Curry both felt that Gomez should be played "weird", in contrast to the Latin lothario Raúl Juliá had created for the Paramount duo of films. Much of the film's cast, including Alice Ghostley,

, and

, had appeared in numerous direct-to-video films.

Filming

''Addams Family Reunion'' was shot in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

on a 30-day schedule. Ed Begley Jr. arrived on set unprepared for his first day of filming as a tennis pro, explaining that he had no idea how to play tennis, resulting in the director shooting around Begley's inability to play the sport, and the actor was also difficult to costume, because, as a dedicated environmentalist, Begley would not wear any animal-based clothing such as leather.

Music

The show's famous theme song was performed in a

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

rendition by the group Strate Vocalz, which

Yahoo! Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo! Inc. (2017–present), Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds ma ...

described as being "terrible". According to Payne, he had developed a "dark and edgy" opening sequence with appropriate music by the film's composer, but Saban, without his knowledge, had replaced his original opening title sequence and the original music with "some

boy band A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Ma ...

, in bright fluorescent-colored shirts".

Release and reception

''Addams Family Reunion'' was released

straight-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was ...

. The film was poorly received by critics, being compared unfavorably to the Paramount films, which reviewers felt Saban and Warner Bros. had tried, unsuccessfully, to imitate.

wrote that "the dialogue is awful, the acting sitcom-broad .. ndthe direction sunremarkable". Other points of criticism made in negative reviews included poor CGI and cheap-looking production design. However,

Bloody Disgusting Bloody Disgusting is an American multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news site/website specializing in information services that covered various horror medias, including: film, television, video games, comics, and music ...

Den of Geek ''Den of Geek'' is a US and UK-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture. The website also issues a bi-annual magazine. History ''Den of Geek'' was founded in 2007 by Simon Brew in London. In 2012, DoG Tech LLC licensed ...

and Nathan Rabin praised Tim Curry's performance as Gomez Addams.

References

External links

* {{ABC Family original films 1998 direct-to-video films 1998 films 1990s black comedy films 1990s comedy horror films 1998 fantasy films 1990s supernatural films 1990s children's films The Addams Family films American children's films American comedy horror films American black comedy films American sequel films Warner Bros. direct-to-video films Films about witchcraft Saban Entertainment films Films produced by Mike Elliott Films shot in Los Angeles Films about nuclear war and weapons Films about psychiatry 1990s English-language films Films directed by Dave Payne 1990s American films