"The Addams Family 2" Talkback (Spoilers)

[Fone Bone]

The Addams Family 2

That was a bad movie. But there are a lot of bad movies. This one wasn't the worst of them, but I'm going to slam it in a way that I don't most bad movies. I'm going to say the absolute worst thing I can say about a movie, and generally speaking, I don't bother saying this about most bad movies, even ones much worse than this one.

There is no good reason the movie needed to exist. I can think of no more horrible slam than to point out nobody asked for it, and it doesn't make pop-culture ANY better on ANY level for existing. I understand a lot of times movies are greenlit due to contractual obligations, or like in this case, to keep a certain brand in the public consciousness. But those aren't actual reasons to make a movie. A movie's existence being designed in a boardroom rather than a filmmaker's heart is the emptiest of experiences.

How emotionally unfulfilled am I by this cynical cash grab? The filmmakers are so incompetent that they think the idea that Wednesday might have been switched at birth is a good reason for her to abandon her family. They believe it's justified on some level, and the "happy ending" is proving the scientist is a liar. Do the producers understand how families even work? They are exploring the notion of what makes a true family and coming up with some very questionable opinions when doing so. I'm not happy.

I'm looking over my review archives and I gave the original film four stars out of five. It's possible my standards have changed since that movie came out. This past year I have been binging a LOT of movies, and have probably seen more movies in the last year than I have in the previous ten. But the time the year is up, maybe a lifetime. It's possible my standards have changed in a very short time. But my old review of the first movie did not mention anything odd or unusual about my reaction to it, so I'm thinking the problem is actually that the sequel is much worse. I could be wrong, and was too kind to the first. But I think my solid review would STILL have been very different if that's all it was.

Were there any goods things in the movie? Aside from the twist that Pongo was good, and an old friend of Lurch's, I liked both the "I Will Survive" musical number, and Christina Aguilera's version of The Addams Family Theme. Very hummable rendition by Aguilera. But I really struggled to enjoy any part of that, or even understand why the movie was made to begin with. *.

 

[Classic Speedy]

They used "I Will Survive"? Ugh, that song should be banned from use in any film or TV show from here on out.

Anyway, I had a very meh reaction to the first movie- doesn't sound like the second is that much better.

 

[AdrenalineRush1996]

I saw the film in cinemas back in October and it was alright.

 

[Classic Speedy]

Watched it on Amazon Prime last night. While it wasn't horrible or anything, and it was probably a mild improvement over the first film for the sole reason that it wasn't an origin story and gets the Addams out of the house (much as Values did), this continues to be a mediocre take on the franchise. It has not one but three cliched plots: The road trip, the "is ___ character actually adopted?", and the "said character who thinks they're adopted leaves the family", and doesn't really put any twists on any of them. They even commented on the "everyone's a winner" thing at the beginning, which The Incredibles did and better, and doesn't bother to follow up on it. And I groaned at the continued practice of filling the soundtrack with a bunch of pop/oldies songs- the "I Will Survive" sequence in particular was embarrassing. And it ends with a "dance party" so to speak (well more accurately, a musical performance by Itt), which is long beyond tired.

What did I like? I guess the ending battle between the villain and a squid-transformed Fester was okay. And Wednesday continues to be an enjoyable character to follow even amidst the familiar plot. And I smiled at Wallace Shawn doing one of the voices- I feel like we haven't heard him in a while.

Overall though, Hotel Transylvania runs circles around these movies, both from a visual/energy standpoint as well as taking better advantage of the monsters motif.

(I've always been more of a Munsters fan anyway. How about that franchise come back instead?)

 

[Pooky]

(I've always been more of a Munsters fan anyway. How about that franchise come back instead?)

It is!

I also think I like The Munsters more. I know people like the subtext of the Addams more, but it tends to be just the same not great joke over and over again (they're weird! They like things that you don't), whereas Munsters is more sitcom plotting with the classic Monster tropes for added fun.