Review: ‘The Addams Family 2’ with Charlize Theron and Oscar Isaac

The Addams Family 2
Chloë Grace Moretz as the voice of Wednesday Addams, Charlize Theron as the voice of Morticia Addams, Oscar Isaac as the voice of Gomez Addams, and Javon Walton as the voice of Pugsley Addams in ‘THE ADDAMS FAMILY 2’ (Photo © 2021 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc)

Everyone’s favorite spooky, kooky funny family’s back and this time they’re embarking on that tried-and-true bonding tradition – the family road trip – in the 2021 animated comedy sequel, The Addams Family 2.

The sequel begins with Gomez (voiced by Oscar Isaac) and Morticia (voiced by Charlize Theron) fearful their children are not only growing up too quickly but growing distant from them. In an effort to make some new family memories and to try to bring the family closer together, Gomez and Morticia decide to cram Wednesday (voiced by Chloë Grace Moretz), Pugsley (voiced by Javon ‘Wanna’ Walton), Uncle Fester (voiced by Nick Kroll), and Lurch into their haunted camper and head out on a summer vacation road trip, complete with the bodiless hand “Thing” doing the driving.

While traveling across America and checking out some of the country’s iconic sights, the Addams meet up with their hairy cousin It (voiced by Snoop Dogg) who does his best to give Gomez and Morticia advice on how to deal with Wednesday. Despite the road trip, Wednesday seems to want nothing to do with her family and questions if she really is their daughter since she’s so emotionally different from her parents.

Missing the ghoulish, deadpan humor that made the first film so entertaining, The Addams Family 2 is unfortunately a forgettable and disappointing sequel that wastes the talents of its great voice cast and lavish animation. The script this time out swaps out the hilarious macabre humor for silly and chaotic antics. (This film critic chuckled out loud only three times in an hour and thirty-three minutes.)

Instead of giving each character a storyline, as the original managed to pull off, the plot focuses solely on Wednesday and her search to discover if she should seek out a family more befitting her brilliance and demeanor. The rest of the classic Addams family members are downgraded to merely supporting, one-dimensional characters. What a waste.

Another problem is that Chloe Grace Moretz is still voicing Wednesday. Even though Moretz does a solid job of voicing the character with her classic disengaged delivery, Moretz is noticeably way too old to be the voice of Wednesday who’s supposed to be 13. Once again the character sounds like a 20-something-year-old woman. That really detracts from all of Wednesday’s scenes, which are doubled this time around since she’s the primary focus of the story.

The Addams Family 2 isn’t mysterious or kooky or spooky or funny. It’s a sequel missing all the charm and spirit of the classic TV show and the original animated film. Don’t pay a call on this unamusing sequel.

GRADE: D

MPAA Rating: PG for violence, macabre and rude humor, and language

Running Time: 1 hour 33 minutes

Directed By: Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon

Release Date: October 1, 2021