not horrible nor great

Good movie but grossly overrated

Absolutely Fantastic

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

"The Addams Family" is beloved by many for the place it holds in their hearts because they enjoyed it during its original run. That is understandable, but it should be judged for its quality in an objective way. As a fan of "Mad" magazine, I liked humor to be clever and subversive. "The Addams Family" (TAF) tries to be both, but comes up short.Much of the humor is sophomoric. The same can be said of some "Mad" pieces, but the magazine routinely offered very sophisticated jokes. TAF, via Gomez,sometimes tries for a higher plane of comedy, as when he speaks in Latin (which consisted of stringing together Latin phrases that were unrelated).The characters are adaptations from Charles Addams' series of cartoons. The television show tries to breathe live into these (and other) characters by introducing goofiness. But the basis for much of the humor is incongruity, as when a ghoulish figure behaves in a mundane manner. Most of the other humor is derived from the unexpected. For example, their doorbell is a foghorn; they generally like things that most people dislike; their family physician is a witch doctor. Also, they seem to be unaware of how different they are from average citizens.Many comedy shows from the 60s era were rooted in juvenile humor. That is no surprise. Consider "F Troop", "McHale's Navy" or "Get Smart". Goofy ruled the day. Some comedy shows, however, were more original than others. And some had extraordinary talent in their casts.John Astin and Carolyn Jones are certainly talented, but their performances were as limited by concept as Morticia's gait. In the end, TAF was an average comedy show for its time. It's level of humor was average. Viewed from a vantage of about fifty years later, it pales in comparison with "Frasier", "Modern Family" or even "Roseanne". No doubt it will remain a cult favorite for some. It certainly is an effective example of camp. And that is, probably, its main strength.

One thing which most Americans do not remember about the 1960s is the influential role played by President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie in shaping the culture of the time. For most Americans, Jack and Jackie were the perfect couple-- everyone aspired to be like them, even if they came from communities which were being marginalized by the existing social order.When Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, the social order broke down almost completely. People started to lose faith in what had previously taken been for granted, and families similar to the one portrayed in this show would have been a lot more common than people seem to realize. They aren't monsters-- they're regular people like you and me, just different.

Audiences have always been divided between the Munsters and the Addams Family. Certainly it was easier to sympathize with the Munsters, who underneath their grotesque appearance were basically a sympathetic blue-collar family while the Addamses were wealthy eccentrics whose lifestyle was like something out of a Bunuel movie. Still, the Addamses had their good points. They were a close knit family with strong values; like the Munsters they were actually quite traditional underneath their macabre appearance. Gomez (John Astin) was an educated, cultivated businessman and entrepreneur who provided his family with an enviable lifestyle but who was always kind and generous to those less fortunate than himself. Morticia (Carolyn Jones) was a Gothic beauty who could have been painted by Goya (it's no surprise the Addamses were Spanish). Uncle Fester (Jackie Coogan) was hilarious, but the character I identified with the most was eternally grumpy butler Lurch (Ted Cassidy, a fellow Texan). While I liked "The Munsters" better, I will always have a soft spot for "The Addams Family."

I don't think I've ever seen an inferior product regarding the family Addams, but this original TV sitcom tops them all. After all, who but Carolyn Jones could offer her visitors (for their tea) saccharine in a ring she wore? And who but John Astin could capture the multifaceted personality of Gomez Addams, and actually show all facets equally?A huge mistake I made was going into this show (which only happened recently, as a matter of fact) expecting some semblance of the '90s Anjelica Huston/Raul Julia movies. The two families, while both Addams, are totally different. The family in the films acts like they know they're unusual, while these Addamses are convinced that the world is full of nuts... a category in which they're not included. And in the TV show, Pugsley is nearly invisible, and Wednesday is more like Cindy Lou Who than Elvira's love child with Charles Manson.Somehow, there's so much of this show that you never get over. Like the mystery of Thing, who never leaves the box. Or Lurch always ready to answer with a greeting of, "You rang?" Or Mama inflicting torture like a regular chiropractor.Too soon ended and too long obscure, this classic is one of ABC's two best series ever. Duh-duh-duh-duh, snap snap!