"The Addams Family"

Title: "The Addams Family"
Director: Barry Sonnenfield
Producer: Scott Rudin
Editing: Dede Allen and Jim Miller
Composer: Marc Shaiman
Starring:
- Raul Julia (RIP) as Gomez Addams
- Anjelica Huston as Morticia Addams
- Christopher Loyd as Uncle Fester/Gordon Craven
- Christina Ricci as Wednesday Addams
- Jimmy Workman as Pugsley Addams

Plot and Critical Review: The story begins as Gomez mentions to his lawyer, Tully Alford, that he has not spoken to his brother Fester since a quarrel 25 years ago. Gomez's wife, Morticia, invites Tully and his wife, Margaret, to a séance in which they will attempt to contact the spirit of Fester, believed to be lost in the Bermuda Triangle all of this time. Tully gets a surprise visit at his office from loan shark Abigail Craven and her son Gordon who have come to collect what he owes them. Gordon harasses Tully until he discovers the gold doubloons with which Gomez has paid the monthly expenses. Tully notices that Gordon seems similar in physical appearance to Fester, and proposes that Gordon pose as Fester to infiltrate the Addams' vault where the family fortune is kept.

At the séance, the Addamses attempt to contact Fester's spirit, demanding he knock three times. As they ask, they hear three knocks at the door. They answer it to find Gordon (as Fester with amnesia) and Abigail (posing as psychiatrist Dr. Greta Pinder-Schloss). Gomez is initially overjoyed, but his elation quickly turns to suspicion as Gordon fails to remember key events from Fester's childhood. Gordon attempts to break into the vault but is foiled by several treacherous booby traps, such as rusty chains, a toxic underground lake, and a piranha tank.

Gomez reconciles with Gordon, in spite of his doubts, and he and Morticia throw a party that draws an extensive portion of the Addams clan. When Wednesday is sent to check on Fester, she finds Gordon in the bathroom, with Abigail shaving his head. Wednesday thinks that he is an impostor and flees to the family graveyard; Gordon pursues her, but soon has to get back to the party so that no one becomes suspicious.

In the meantime, Tully has discovered that Fester, being the older brother, is legally in control of the entire Addams estate. He enlists the aid of a cantankerous judge who lives next door to the mansion. As the party winds down, the family begins searching for the missing Wednesday — all but Gordon, who volunteers to stay behind at the mansion in case she shows up. When she is found, the family returns and finds Tully behind the locked front gate, holding a restraining order that bars them from the property. Gomez takes the issue to court, only to discover that his angry neighbor is presiding over the case. After Gordon wins in court, he, Tully, and Abigail return to the mansion and continue their efforts to reach the vault, much to the dismay of Gordon, who has started to grow attached to the Addamses.

Meanwhile, the Addamses attempt to adapt to their new living situation as Gomez moves his brood into a motel. To raise money for their family, Wednesday and Pugsley resort to selling lemonade in the parking lot, Thing works for Federal Express, Lurch sells vacuum cleaners and Morticia teaches a kindergarten class where she leaves all the children traumatized after reading her version of Hansel and Gretel. However, they soon realize that they are ill-suited to live like the rest of society. Morticia then returns to the mansion to confront Gordon, but is captured by Tully and Abigail, who plan to torture her so that she will divulge the location of the vault. Thing sees this and returns to the motel, where he informs Gomez that his beloved wife is in trouble. Gomez rushes to the rescue, whereupon Abigail threatens to kill Morticia if he does not take Gordon to the vault.

Gordon, who has become sympathetic to the Addams family, takes matters into his own hands. The bookshelf concealing the passageway to the vault contains books which, when opened, project their contents into reality. Gordon threatens Tully and Abigail with a book named "Hurricane Irene" while Gomez and Morticia escape. The gale-force winds from the book hurl Tully and Abigail out a window and into two open graves (dug by Pugsley and Wednesday), while Gordon is struck by lightning emitted by the pages.

Seven months later, all is well with the family as they are throwing a Halloween party. It turns out Gordon was Fester all along as Fester had vanished in the Bermuda Triangle and really developed amnesia. Abigail made him think he was her son so that he would assist in her criminal schemes; the book's lightning strike restored his memory. As everyone rushes out to the graveyard for a rousing game of "Wake the Dead" (complete with shovels), Gomez ponders what could possibly make life better. Morticia reveals she is pregnant, and the two share a passionate kiss.

"The Addams Family" did surprisingly well at the box office, ranking as the 7th highest grossing film of 1991. Barry Sonnenfield (director) has enjoyed continued success as a director and executive producer, going on to direct the popular "Men In Black" films and many other feature projects. "Addams..." is also a cinematic treat as it is one of the final movies Raul Julia ever starred in. As a child I loved this film, but as an adult I love it all the more for its collection of witty one-liners and its abstract reflection on the American household. While the script is somewhat lacking in cohesiveness a talented cast (including a very young Christina Ricci - appearing here in her third major motion picture) helps to tie the film together into an enjoyable romp through the world of the macabre.

My Rating: 6.5/10

Content to Caution:
V-3 – There are scenes of extreme torture but they are always comical. Very little gore.
L-1 – No comment.
DU-2 – Smoking and drinking.
RT-1 – No comment.
H/S-2 – The film may have been produced in the style of a "black-comedy" but isn't too scary. As a child I loved this movie.
CH-2 – Many insults are thrown about in traditional Addam's fashion.
S/N-3 – I'll venture a 3 only because the behavior between Gomez and Morticia is so erotic, granted that it is controlled.

The "Reel Revelation": "Amnesia Of The Soul"

If I were to ask you what your favorite song is, what would you say? If you asked me i'd say "Fire" by The Pointer Sisters. If I asked you a week from now what your favorite song is, do you think you'd respond with the same song? I'm not sure I would.

Our preferences change. It's a simple process of discovering what we do and don't like and what we do and don't prefer. While I might think of "Fire" as being the cat's pajamas today it's entirely possible i'll find something even more preferable in the week to come. I suspect that I will, in fact. Does that mean i'm fickle or shallow if my preferences should change so rapidly? No. It means i'm human. That might be a shallow illustration, but it points to the deeper and more pressing issue of how rapidly our identities change. Here's where the "amnesia" element comes into play.

It's natural for us to feel like we have a strong sense of control over our lives. To some degree we do, for we make decisions every day that shape our lives and how we interact with the world around us. But there is (at least) one element of this life we have no control over; not who we are, but whose we are. We have the ability to change our identity a thousand times in a lifetime (remember the favorite song illustration), but we will never be able to change the deepest element of our identity; that we are children of God. Still, we are able to place ourselves (or be placed) in a sort of amnesia which, while not changing our identity as God's own, makes us lose sight of that core value. In the book of Acts there's one story in particular about a man who was in a very deep state of "spiritual amnesia" and got a startling wake-up call from God:

"Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" And He said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do." The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus."

"Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in (P)a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord." And the Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight."

"So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; and he took food and was strengthened." (Acts 9: 1-8, 10-12, 17-19)

I apologize for so long an excerpt, but it's important to get a sense of the entire story to understand what it meant for Saul to come out of his "spiritual amnesia." Remember that he was entrenched in his identity as a persecutor of the Christian church. He was so set against the followers of Christ that he was "breathing threats and murder"! Like so many of the "righteous" Jews of that time, Saul had become entirely focused on who he was and not whose he was. It should be no surprise that Jesus stepped into his life in such a powerful way to set him on the right path. If you continue reading through the Book of Acts you'll discover that Saul (who eventually went by the name of Paul) became the greatest pastor the Church has ever known. His writings have had more influence on Christian theology and ethics than almost any other piece or selection of literature available to us from that time period. All this as a result of God delivering Saul from the amnesia which had clouded his heart and mind.

How do we protect ourselves from falling into this dangerous void of forgetfulness? Prayer. The reading of the Scriptures. Devotion. Worship. Celebrating the Sacraments. Fellowship with our Christian brothers and sisters. We should also be alert and ready to help those who we see are falling away from the foundational truth that they are God's child and loved by the Father. Fortunate was Fester Adams who, though he suffered from actual amnesia, never lost the love or affection of his family. In the end, their commitment to Fester is what helped to awake him from the amnesia that was keeping him from his true family. While we cannot forsake our calling and purpose on this Earth, let us never allow our function as believers to compromise our faith; the faith that holds us steadfast to the heart of God, our Father, to whom we belong.

See you tomorrow- E.T.