Really Surprised!

Am I Missing Something?

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Blistering performances.

I'll be honest with you, dear reader, and maybe this will invalidate my opinion for you: I could not even finish watching this.I am probably considered a casual fan of the Addams Family. I like the characters, but I have not seen every episode of their TV series, and I've barely read any of the original comics. But I do like them a great deal.This is not a joke: I figured this movie had to be building up to some kind of climax only to look down at the run time and realize I'd been watching for about 30 minutes. It felt like I'd been watching it FOREVER, and I still had more than half the movie left to go. I turned it off and found something else to watch.The plot is typical Addams Family guff: normies come in to the house and freak out at how weird everybody is. Except this time around, it just doesn't feel weird enough anymore. It's a different house, one that looks considerably less imposing and more like it's on loan from the Beverly Hillbillies. On the inside, things feel much too cramped and cluttered, but rarely ever "spooky." It's too colorful, too well lit, too sunny.Many of the jokes do not feel fresh. New characters are introduced that are literally carbon copies of existing characters, like Gomez's brother Pancho, who also happens to have a weakness for Morticia speaking French, a joke that they continually reference every two minutes for what feels like an eternity.Incidentally, I also had to rewind the movie just to make sure I wasn't missing anything, because you're dropped in to what feels like the middle of the story with very little explanation about who all of these new people are or why they're here. It's awful.And then there's the fact that it's Halloween. When you think of Halloween, you think golden leaves, cooler weather, and jack-o-lanterns. This movie looks like it was shot during the summer in the middle of Hollywood. I mean, the Addamses apparently have palm trees growing in their yard! Palm trees!A lot of the other reviews here on IMDb seem to be from people who saw this growing up and have nostalgia for it, but coming at it from somebody who was born after it aired and only just now watched it in his 30's, it's really not very good at all.

There does seem to be something about the 1970's that leads to awkward TV movies and specials. Just one year later the Star Wars holiday special was inflicted upon the public. But anyway...this reunion of the original cast is the best thing going to recommend this show. The direction is very slow. Many scenes just sit there leading to nothing as the gags have long since worn out their welcome. Still however I do enjoy watching this thing no pun intended. The daylight scenes have a bleak gray sky background which lends an odd almost sad air to the proceedings. And the laugh track sounds as if it can't decide whether to join in or sit this one out. So there you have it. I can't imagine anyone is going to finish this movie and declare it a triumph of TV comedy but it will do for a Halloween nostalgia trip. I recall seeing this when it ran the first time and then seeing it on afternoon movie slots during Halloween weeks for a few years after.

This low-budget, color video followup to the 1960s Addams Family series was a hardcore stinker. The original series, which in my opinion was never as clever as the original Charles Addams cartoons which inspired it, nevertheless had a certain charm and atmosphere that made a big impact on me as a kid. This special had none of that, and was little more than a chance to point the camera at the same group of actors (or at least the surviving ones). I mean, it ends with the family singing a Halloween carol! How lame is that? I had the good fortune to meet Charles Addams shortly before he died in 1988. While he was politely dismissive of the original series (he called it a kids' show, but not a bad one), he mentioned the reunion show as being singularly terrible. I agree.

After being off the air for so many years, it was nice to see ANY new Addams Family adventure. Their first (and only) appearance in color, unfortunately helped to show how old many of them had grown. Being shot on video and the low budget special effects (cousin Itt spoke 'garbled' dialog not his usual high speed reverse English) were disappointing, but it is a GREAT watch at Halloween. A moment to look for: In order for Carolyn Jones to be able to march up the staircase for the finale, it was necessary for her tight fitting dress to be slit up the back all the way up to her spine. Watch for John Astin's ear-to-ear grin as he stares at her butt while walking behind her & you'll see that this is a TRUE story!