Addams Family (1991)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Addams Family |
| Original title | The Addams Family |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1991 |
| length | 99 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Barry Sonnenfeld |
| script |
Caroline Thompson , Larry Wilson |
| production |
Graham Place , Scott Rudin |
| music | Marc Shaiman |
| camera | Owen Roizman |
| cut |
Dede Allen , Jim Miller |
| occupation | |
| |
| chronology | |
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Successor → |
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Addams Family (The Addams Family) is an American comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld from 1991. The characters are based on the cartoons The Addams Family by Charles Addams . Two years later, the sequel The Addams Family was created in a crazy tradition .
action
Gomez Addams, head of the Addams family, after many years still feels guilty about an argument with his brother Fester, which led to Fester moving out and leaving the family behind. Gomez tells his wife Morticia and the ice cold hand, an independent crawling human hand, his doubts about the seance that will take place in the evening , in which an attempt will be made to contact Fester for the 25th time.
Immediately afterwards, Gomez receives a visit from his accountant Tully Alford. Tully is deeply in debt and tries to get money from Gomez under the pretext of a Fester-Addams offshore pension fund, which Gomez refuses. Tully and his wife Magaret are invited to attend the seance anyway. Immediately after Tully is back in his office, he receives a visit from Abigail Craven - his creditor - and her son Gordon, who try to force him to pay his debts. Since Gordon looks very similar to Fester, Tully comes up with the idea that Gordon could pose as Fester in order to gain access to the vast family fortune of the Addams.
The two agree, and at the seance - much to the delight of Gomez - his long-missing brother finally shows up. He is accompanied by Abigail, who appears under a false identity and shares a story about Fester's past, which the Addams family initially believed. Gordon announces his intention to only stay a week. To make good use of the time, Gomez and Gordon go to the crypt the next day and Gordon takes a quick look at the Addams treasury. However, it is noticeable during the excursion that Gordon cannot answer questions about Fester's past. In the days that followed, Gomez began to have doubts as to whether he was dealing with an impostor. Abigail can dispel these doubts for the time being. At the same time, Gordon befriends the children Pugsley and Wednesday, and the rapprochement between Gomez and Morticia gives him the feeling of belonging for the first time.
On the last evening together, the family planned a farewell party for Fester and invited the entire family clan. While Gordon and Abigail are talking to each other, Wednesday overhears them, who exposes them to be fraudsters. Gordon tries to catch her, but Wednesday manages to escape through a secret passage. In order not to arouse suspicion, Gordon goes to the party and celebrates surprisingly well with the so-called Mamushka dance.
Tully learns from guests that Fester is in the line of succession before Gomez and that the entire property would belong to him anyway. The fraudsters take advantage of this after the party and lock the door while the family is busy trying to find Wednesday. With Gomez standing no chance in court, the Addams have no choice but to move out. To make money, Morticia works in a kindergarten, ice-cold hands deliver packages, and Pugsley and Wednesday sell drinks. Only Gomez just sits in front of the TV and watches talk shows . Meanwhile, Tully, Abigail and Gordon try to get into the crypt. However, since Gordon has not noticed which chain hanging from the ceiling you have to pull at the entrance to get into the underground catacombs, they fail every time.
Gordon tortures his conscience and doubts whether he did the right thing. Most of all, however, Gomez suffers from the renewed separation and the loss of his home. Morticia, who is still convinced that Gordon is her brother-in-law, goes home alone to talk to him, but is captured. Ice Cold Hands (who followed Morticia) tells Gomez what happened using sign language and Morse code , and he immediately sets off to free Morticia. In a fencing match with Tully, he can gain the upper hand, but Abigail threatens Morticia with a pistol and asks Gomez to clear the way to the crypt. Gordon, who still wants to avert everything, is so offended by his mother's dominant manner that he steals an enchanted book from the bookshelf and directs it at Tully and Abigail. Tully, who has previously become acquainted with the magical books, knows that these books project the content into reality and is still trying to warn him. Gordon doesn't care about anything at this moment, however, and he unleashes the power of a hurricane . While Gordon is struck by lightning, Tully and Abigail are thrown through the air and land in the family cemetery in two pre-made graves that Pugsley and Wednesday had previously dug. From the lightning strike, Gordon finally realizes that he is more solid and has been all along. 25 years ago he had a ship accident in the Bermuda Triangle and has suffered from amnesia ever since .
Some time later the world is all right again. Fester lives with his family at the Addams estate, Tully's wife, Magaret, has since started a relationship with Gomez's cousin Itt, and Morticia tells Gomez that she is expecting a third child.
Reviews
Roger Ebert wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times of November 22, 1991 that numerous scenes were funny, but not to the extent that he would have expected it after the trailers.
Rita Kempley praised the portrayals of Anjelica Huston and Raúl Juliá in the Washington Post on November 22, 1991 .
The lexicon of international film assesses the film as a “thin film story”, in which “the same knitting pattern of the black humor, which is effective in itself [...], extended to the length of a feature film, [loses] its appeal.”
Publications
Due to a complicated legal situation ( Orion Pictures Corporation started film production shortly before the bankruptcy, which was taken over by Paramount Pictures before it even opened in theaters ), the film was not officially available on DVD in Germany for a long time . It was not until October 11, 2013 that the film was released in Germany on both DVD and Blu-ray Disc .
Awards
Ruth Myers was nominated for an Oscar in 1992 for the costumes . Anjelica Huston was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1992 .
The film received four nominations for the Saturn Award in 1993 , including for Raúl Juliá, Christina Ricci and for Best Fantasy Film . He also received two BAFTA award nominations , including makeup.
Marc Shaiman won the 1992 Film and Television Music Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Jimmy Workman won the Young Artist Award in 1993 , Christina Ricci was nominated for the same award.
The song Addams Groove received the Golden Raspberry in 1992 .
Web links
- Addams Family in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Addams Family atRotten Tomatoes(English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Certificate of Release for Addams Family . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry, August 2013 (PDF; test number: 67 150 V).
- ^ Review by Roger Ebert
- ^ Critique by Rita Kempley
- ^ Addams Family. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed October 28, 2017 .