By Shane Conto
I grew up watching The Addams Family television show as well as the Barry Sonnenfeld films of the 1990’s. The dark humor and campy nature of each made for quirky, fun, and hilarious experiences. At the very least, both adaptations can be described as memorable viewing experiences. Unfortunately, the latest adaptation of these classic characters is not that at all. Based off of the trailers, I thought this was going to be another bland yet watchable affair for Illumination. But I was mistaken! The mistake was that this was an animated collaboration with MGM and Bron. The bland yet watchable description turned out to be true though.
This film felt like it had too many cooks in the kitchen as the story and tone were muddled and all over the place. Starting with a prologue with a rushed origins of the family and their mansion, the audience is dragged through a story stacked with subplots including Wednesday wanting to be normal, Pugsley becoming a man, and a media woman trying to turn the “perfect” small town decked out in pastel colors against The Addams Family (sounds a bit like Edward Scissor hands to me). But the two directors, Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon, allow the film to scatter all over the place. The pacing is also shaky as the prologue feels so rushed and then the meat of the film feels aimless most of the time. This leads to a dragging and sometimes boring experience. Where is the camp and energy that made the previous renditions so great? The film also lacked energy and a distinct feel. Blandness is the clearest feel you can gather from this one. But what’s even worse?
The film doesn’t know what it is. Is it a classic and traditional adaptation like the show?
Is it an over the top? Campy? Or stylized like the 90’s films? Is it a modern rendition that is hip and fun? It tries all three and doesn’t really stick the landing on any of them. The tone is a mixed bag that succeeds in no specific way. The humor is so low brow that the children in my theater didn’t even laugh. You can infer then I probably didn’t laugh much either (which I didn’t).
Are there any saving graces? Besides the fact that the film is easily watchable, some of the cast really sells it. Oscar Isaac and Charlize Theron are great as they bring Gomez and Morticia to the screen with panache and zeal. Finn Wolfhard and Chloe Grace Moretz do the same for Wednesday and Pugsly. They are able to make the film more fun that it should be based on the direction and screenplay (written by surprisingly one person, Matt Lieberman). But the cast is not perfect. I found Nick Kroll annoying as Uncle Fester who overall felt wasted and portrayed poorly (some of his actions and dialogue are uncomfortable). The stunt casting of Snoop Dogg as Cousin It was another part of this film trying to be hip but this just felt awkward. Cousin It and Uncle Fester both stuck out in a bad way.
The real question is who was this movie for? The children in the theater seemed disinterested. The humor was too low brow and kid-centered for the adults. This one was just a misfire. Time to go watch the manic energy of Raul Julia and Christopher Lloyd and the hypnotic magnetism of Angelica Huston for the 100th time! On a quick note though, there is indeed a special moment between the end of the film and the credits. Make sure to wait and enjoy it…it was my favorite part of the movie!