A good year for a different family

Addams Family Values

Greater Union, Hoyts

Reviewed by Kath Tucker

It's twisted, funny, and even politically correct. That bizarre family turns traditional "American values" upside down in the most accessible way possible. If you're into twisted humour, you'll like this film.

The intensely passionate love affair between Morticia and Gomez is again played beautifully by Angelica Houston and Raul Julia. Their passion for death, cruelty, evil and each other provides the framework for an exploration of the weird and wonderful idiosyncrasies of the entire household and their friends.

Addams Family Values is an interesting addition to the International Year of the Family. In fact, we could learn a lot from them. For a start, they are entirely accepting of people who are otherwise regarded as outsiders in mainstream Western culture. It doesn't matter what you look like: in fact, the more unusual the better. You don't have to have a job, or be otherwise "successful" in life. It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor. It doesn't matter how you dress, although Morticia does express a dislike for pastels. And your sexual fetishes are your own business.

When Wednesday and Pugsley get sent off to summer camp with fair-haired, blue-eyed, rich-kid brats, it is all the other outsiders whom they are able to communicate with. The satirical portrayal of enforced conformity to goodness and traditional values makes for some strong social comment, as does a hilarious yet serious depiction of the real history of white settlement of native American land.

This isn't by any means an overtly political film. But it's fun, it has something useful to say, it's light entertainment, and you just might be surprised to find yourself using some of the more memorable lines at home.

From GLW issue 127