Addams Family Values (1993)

  Do you have a movie that you can quote from endlessly?  For a lot of people, it's The Princess Bride or Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail.  For me, it's Addams Family Values.  This is the rare sequel that surpasses the original in almost every way while also being super personal.  I was Wednesday Addams.  My mom also sent me to summer camp in a misguided attempt to expose me to nature and community activities.  It did not end well.

With the arrival baby Pubert (Kaitlyn Hooper, Kristen Hooper), the Addams Family status quo has been shaken.  Wednesday (Christina Ricci) and Pugsley (Jimmy Workman) find a new edge to their sibling rivalry, while Uncle Fester (Christopher Lloyd) is overcome with loneliness.  The timely introduction of new nanny Debbie (Joan Cusack) seems to solve both problems.  Except Debbie is a fortune-hunting serial killer who plans to murder Fester.  The children are suspicious so Debbie has them shipped to their own personal hell, Camp Chippewa, run by Gary (Peter MacNicol) and Becky (Christine Baranski) Granger.  It's up to Gomez (Raul Julia) and Morticia (Anjelica Huston) to rescue their family from this interloper.

It is astonishing how well this movie has held up.  Everything about it is perfect and I will not be taking questions at this time.  There's a lot of uncertainty and panic in the world, especially right now, but one thing is always true.  The Addams Family is the best family, and Addams Family Values is the best Addams Family movie.  The End.