The Addams family are far from being normal but they are rich and as such are their attorney's only chance of getting rich. Tully has debts up the yazoo and the only thing that stops his knees being violently replaced with fresh air is the fact that Abigail Craven's son Gordon looks eerily like Gomez's missing brother Fester. Shaving his head, Gordon enters the Addams home as Fester and tries to use his spare time to get into the family vault. However Gomez's joy at his return is gradually marred by a sneaking feeling that Fester is not himself meanwhile Wednesday has no such doubts at all and is out to expose the impostor.
One of the few remakes that actually works, The Addams Family takes the Gothic humour of the TV series and makes it feel fresh and entertaining. The story is essentially a nail for us to hang our coats on so we can watch the gags come but even with this it is actually pretty good. Making one of the family a "new character" is a clever way of adding to the formula without having to bring in new characters to lead the film and it does work. Within this frame the twisted comedy is rather entertaining and, although rarely laugh out loud funny, it is still consistently amusing and enjoyable.
The cast are roundly good. Julia is a perfect Gomez and Huston is a great Morticia despite the latter being a fairly one-note affair. Lloyd is enjoyable in the lead and manages to do well to carry the "new character" aspect of Fester without disrupting the dynamic of the family. Ricci is excellent and the only downside is that the film doesn't give her enough to do; Workman is also good and has good chemistry with her. Hedaya, Wilson, Ivey and others are strong in support and generally do well to shore up the story.
Overall a kooky affair that is enjoyable in you are in the mood for its particular brand of dark silliness. The plot is more than enough to act as a frame, the jokes maybe don't hit many real highs but they do consistently get very close to the target and the fact that the actors all buy into the joke makes it that little bit better. An enjoyable remake that succeeds because it has the strength to stand as its own beast.
