The Addams Family (1991) is a dark comedy film based on Charles Addams’ macabre cartoons and the classic 1960s TV series. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld in his feature directorial debut, the film stars Anjelica Huston, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance as Morticia Addams, Raul Julia as Gomez Addams, and Christopher Lloyd as Fester Addams. The film focuses on a bizarre, macabre, aristocratic family who reconnect with someone whom they believe to be a long-lost relative, Gomez’s brother Fester Addams.
The film follows the wealthy and macabre Addams family, who are overjoyed when Gomez Addams’s long-lost brother, Fester, suddenly reappears after 25 years. However, the man claiming to be Fester is actually Gordon Craven, the adopted son of a loan shark named Abigail Craven. Gordon and his “mother” are working with the family’s crooked lawyer, Tully Alford, in a scheme to infiltrate the Addams’s mansion and steal their hidden fortune.
While initially fooled, Gomez and his wife Morticia begin to suspect the imposter as he struggles to recall details of their shared past. Despite their doubts, Gordon grows to genuinely care for the family, particularly the children, Wednesday and Pugsley. The plot culminates in the family’s eviction from their home and a final confrontation that reveals a shocking twist: Gordon was the real Fester all along, suffering from amnesia.
Anjelica Huston said she based aspects of her performance on her friend Jerry Hall to give the character more warmth. Huston said she would have expected the role to go to Cher, but was a longtime fan of Morticia. Raul Julia was cast as Gomez Addams; he was attracted to the role because of the character’s irreverent portrayal, noting that “even his depressions are wonderful.”
In her 2014 memoir Watch Me, Huston described the filming of The Addams Family as “long and arduous.” It was decided that the character of Morticia should have eyes which slanted upwards at the sides, an effect which was achieved by attaching an elastic strap to the back of Huston’s head, via fabric tabs glued at her temples, which pulled the corners of her eyes upwards. A second strap was added to balance the appearance of the lower part of her face with the upper. The bands caused extended discomfort to Huston, and, unless she removed them at lunchtime, she would suffer severe headaches and rashes later in the day.
Removing the bands for a break entailed hours of extra work in both removing and then re-applying her makeup and wig. On top of this, the bands would snap at the slightest turn of Huston’s head, causing yet more grueling repair time. Eventually, she learned to pivot and turn on her feet without moving her upper body or head. According to Huston, actress Judith Malina’s way of enduring being “embedded in latex for over twelve hours a day” was to “smoke an endless series of joints in her trailer throughout filming.”
The Addams Family grossed $113,502,426 in the United States and Canada and $191,502,426 worldwide, turning a significant profit against the $30 million production costs. It opened at number one in the US with an opening weekend gross of $24,203,754, Paramount’s biggest opening non-holiday weekend gross, surpassing the record set by Another 48 Hours.
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