NOTHING describes the Addams Family better than their theme song. They are creepy, and they are kooky, some say mysterious and spooky. As for the movie, I have mixed feelings about it.
Right from the start, The Addams Family feels more like a theatrical pilot to an animated TV series rather than a movie. It has a plot that doesn’t really go anywhere, simple character designs, and a cast that can easily be replaced.
The film begins abruptly with the wedding of Gomez (Oscar Isaac) and Morticia Addams (Charlize Theron), and it briskly progresses to the founding of the Addams Family mansion. Two kids and several years later, the real story begins.
If it not for the credits at the beginning of the movie, I would not have guessed that there was star power behind the cartoony facade. Having Snoop Dogg voice Cousin Itt is fun and novel, but no one would have known if the fact was not explicitly stated.
It also feels like the movie studio is trying to hold on to the intellectual property rights.
That said, if you look at the score I gave the film, you know I had some fun. Mostly in the middle of the movie, and before the nonconsequential final act.
The Addams Family is all about being yourself and, of course, family. The family is in a unique position to highlight contemporary issues in a context that only the Addams can deliver. But, I feel it does not go far enough as everything returns to the status quo in the end.
In Malaysia, the movie is launched between a festive holiday and a school holiday, missing out on both.
It is not strictly a kids movie, but it does not look like it will hit its target audience. Whoever that is.
