Addams Family Values is a 1993 Academy Award and Golden Globe-nominated sequel to the 1991 comedy The Addams Family. The movie was written by Paul Rudnick and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, and many cast members from the original returned for the sequel, including Raul Julia, Anjelica Huston and Christina Ricci. Compared to its predecessor, which retained something of the madcap approach of the 1960s sitcom, Values is played more for macabre laughs. As a result, the film was met with more critical praise, earning a 76% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, as opposed to its predecessor's 58%.

Plot

The movie opens as Morticia gives birth to a baby boy, Pubert; the older children, Wednesday and Pugsley, immediately develop an extreme case of sibling rivalry and make numerous attempts to kill the baby. When Gomez and Morticia try to hire a nanny, the children frighten them all away. The last applicant, Debbie Jellinsky, seems to be made of sterner stuff; however, she's also a serial killer known as "The Black Widow," who's set her sights on Uncle Fester and the vast Addams fortune. When Wednesday becomes suspicious, Debbie persuades Gomez and Morticia to send the older children to Camp Chippewa, a summer camp for privileged children.

Debbie marries Fester, then promptly tries to kill him on their Hawaiian honeymoon; however, Fester is an Addams (& hence practically indestructible as he is practically indulged to death and suffering) and he mistakes her murderous actions for ordinary affection. At her wits' end, Debbie denies him sex until he promises never to see his family again; in anguish, he agrees. The newlyweds couple then move to a garish McMansion in the suburbs.

With Fester gone, brother Gomez goes into a depression and Pubert becomes "possessed," causing him to become blonde, rosy and cheerful. Meanwhile, at Camp Chippewa, Wednesday and Pugsley don't fit in with the rest of the wealthy campers. Wednesday encounters a soulmate (of sorts) in the person of Joel Glicker, an introverted boy plagued by allergies. He confirms her suspicions that Debbie is the "Black Widow" and Fester is her next target.

When Wednesday refuses to act in the end-of-summer play, all three outcasts are locked in the "Harmony Hut" and forced to watch movies and TV shows ranging from The Sound of Music to The Brady Bunch. The three pretend to be cowed long enough to sabotage the play, after which the Addams siblings flee the camp for home.

Wednesday (Christina Ricci) at Camp Chippewa.

Meanwhile, when Debbie fails to kill Fester by blowing up the house, she snarls, "I want you dead, and I want your money!" He flees with Thing's help, but she chases him to the Addams mansion, arriving just after him, Wednesday and Pugsley. She straps everyone except Pubert to electric chairs, but Pubert short-circuits the wiring just as she throws the switch; instead of killing the Addamses, she electrocutes herself, her body burns and leaves only her shoes and credit cards in a pile of ashes.

In the epilogue, Gomez and Morticia throw a birthday party for Pubert. Among the guests is a potential new love for Fester, a bald, grotesque nanny named Dementia who works for Itt and Margaret Addams (who have an Itt Jr. named "What"). Joel, dressed like Gomez, also attends and sneaks off to the graveyard with Wednesday, where they talk briefly about Debbie. Remarking that Debbie's methods were "sloppy," Wednesday says that if she wanted to kill a man and not be caught, she'd scare him to death. As Joel lays flowers on Debbie's grave, a hand breaks the surface and grabs his arm (į la Carrie); Wednesday looks on, satisfied with Joel's screams.

Cast

Returning from the first film:

• Raśl Juliį as Gomez Addams
• Anjelica Huston as Morticia Addams
• Christopher Lloyd as Uncle Fester Addams
• Christina Ricci as Wednesday Addams
• Christopher Hart as Thing
• Carel Struycken as Lurch
• Jimmy Workman as Pugsley Addams

Dana Ivey's character, Margaret Addams (Alford in the original film; now married to Cousin Itt), also makes a return appearance.

Additional cast:

• Carol Kane as Grandmama Addams, replacing Judith Malina
• Joan Cusack as Debbie Jellinsky, professional black widow
• David Krumholtz as Joel Glicker, Wednesday's love interest

Supporting roles:

• Peter MacNicol as Gary Granger; he and his wife Becky are in charge of Camp Chippewa
• Christine Baranski as Becky Martin Granger
• Mercedes McNab, who appeared as the Girl Scout in the first film, plays Amanda Buckman
• Harriet Sansom Harris

Cameo roles:

• Peter Graves
• Director Barry Sonnenfeld
• Nathan Lane
• Tony Shalhoub
• David Hyde Pierce
• Sam McMurray
• Cynthia Nixon appears as one of the potential nannies.

See also

• Addams Family Values: Music from the Motion Picture
• Addams Family Values: The Original Orchestral Score

References

External links

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