Episode 70 - ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES

Addams Family Values abandons all pretense to the relatively tame spookiness and ookiness associated with the macabre clan's previous iterations. It's a surprisingly dark and nihilistic free-for-all, filled with violence, mayhem, and sick burns (both fiery and verbal).

No taboo remains unbroken as Blythe Rudloff makes her long-awaited return to the podcast to salute this abnormally superior sequel and its stinging humor, and to explicate one of the laziest movie themes of all time. Whoomp! Here it is.

Addams Family Values (1993)
Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
Produced by Scott Rudin
Written by Paul Rudnick
Based on the characters created by Charles Addams
Starring Anjelica Huston, Raúl Juliá, Christopher Lloyd, Christina Ricci, Jimmy Workman, Peter MacNichol, Christine Baranski, David Krumholtz, Carol Kane, Carel Struycken, Christopher Hart, and Joan Cusack

Episode 8 - THE WITCHES

What better way to celebrate the Halloween season than with the work of Roald Dahl, whose eccentric tales have been amusing and scarring children for generations?  The Witches contains plenty of prime nightmare fuel for the elementary school set - a crummy vacation at a crumbling old hotel, poisoned candy, and scores of bewigged British biddies.  With a dash of Henson Creature Shop magic and director Nicolas Roeg’s insistence on shooting like he’s making a low-budget ‘70s horror film, The Witches is a movie that appears to be at cross-purposes but endures with its unique combination of dark intensity and kid-friendly kookiness.

The Witches (1990)
Directed by Nicholas Roeg
Produced by Jim Henson, Mark Shivas, and Dusty Symonds
Written by Allan Scott
Based on the novel by Roald Dahl
Starring Anjelica Huston, Jasen Fisher, Mai Zetterling, and Rowan Atkinson