After the release of the first film, director Barry Sonnenfeld stated he would not direct a sequel unless the script was especially strong. Unfortunately, he made a gross error in his assessment of the script for Addams Family Values and made a film that stands only by the strength of the cast and his exciting cinematography. Where the original was fresh and exciting, here they are struggling ever so hard to make good out of cliched material (particularly the annoying summer camp subplot that was possibly worth ten minutes of screen time but no more). The subtleties that made the original so wonderful are far fewer in number; instead, plays are made for more obvious humor. It isn't a total loss, by any means, but in light of the far superior first film, why bother with this one?