We continue our look at Addams Family villains as we dive into the much beloved sequel, Addams Family Values. Call me an outlier but while this movie is funny and does a lot of things right is less restricted than the first movie, I think the first movie is better. The story in the first movie just felt tighter.
It is a shame that we never got a third movie following up these two really good movies. I’ll say this about the sequel, while I’m not biggest fan, the villain is much better in this movie and that is due in large part to Joan Cusack’s performance as Debbie Jellisnky. She sells this psychotic performance so well. She’s a camp villain you can’t help but love and while watching the movie, Debbie just screamed queer icon. Seriously, everything about Debbie screams she is the villain the gay community would love. She’s campy and Cusack revels in the camp.
Debbie is easily an iconic 90’s villain who blows the villain of the first movie out of the water. She is just perfect in every single way as how unhinged she is. I’ve seen the argument that Debbie could’ve been accepted as an Addams and it’s true.
The Addams Family is one that can look past murder as a familial outing. I mean Wednesday electorates Pugsley for fun in the first movie. Debbie is even buried in the Addams cemetery showing that the family accepted as one of their own and they did genuinely love her.
First Appearance/Grand Desire
One of the big things this movie hinges on is the birth of Pubert, the newest Addams child and how the eldest children take an immediate disliking to him and try to rid the mansion of him. Gomez and Morticia through an agency to hire a nanny but the children being Addams children know to scare away everyone. It is a funny montage that is true to the spirit of the characters and Gomez and Morticia are ready to give up until Debbie arrives and she hits off with the family.
Again, this is all a face on Debbie’s part to get closer to the family as she is a black widow killer aka someone who marries men to get closer to them and then kill them to get their money.
This is why she gets closer to Fester and pretends to love him. Once she gets close to steer, she is able to trick him into marrying her. This again goes back to how Debbie could’ve been an Addams if she wasn’t so self-absorbed. The family truly loved her and during the final sequence when she is going to electrocute the family, they are siding with her.
This again goes back to how attempted murder in this family is nothing more than a Sunday afternoon really. They embrace death and while this is true to a certain extent, they still care for one another unlike what some fans of the Netflix series are currently thinking but that’s a discussion for another day.
It honestly seems like she goes after Fester because she believed he would be an easy mark and she isn’t that wrong as Fester is blinded by love for her when in reality she hates his guts.
Personality
At first, she seems like a very kind and caring person who truly loves the family and can slip into the family like a glove but that is all but a facade because as we see after she marries Fester, she is a true psychopath that will do anything to kill Fester and as we see in a great moment celebrating their anniversary she tries to kill him with TNT wrapped in a gift box but c’mon killing an Addams isn’t that easy.
This is a huge miscalculation on her part, true we didn’t have easy internet access back then, she could’ve done some research into the family to get an idea of what she’d be dealing with. This isn’t a flaw but rather just an observation.
Debbie hides her true intentions for so long leading Fester astray. Man, you gotta feel bad for the guy. Last movie, he was groomed by the woman who claimed o be his mother and here he’s tricked into marrying a woman who doesn’t truly love him and just wants his money while he truly loves her.
Something I do love is how Morticia says she can respect breaking Fester’s spirit but pastels are a step too far.
Most Evil Deed
Her evilest deed is rather clever as it speaks to an understanding she must’ve observed serving as Pubert’s nanny, the family unit is stronger together and she seems to know that reading the family apart will break their spirit. This is seen in multiple steps first by forging a letter as Fester saying that he never wants to see his family again.
We get a hint that this isn’t true when the family goes to try and see Fester but Debbie keeps him upstairs and he seems scared of her. Debbie tricks the family by saying he’s scared of Gomez but if you look at his body language, even if he does love Debbie, he is also scared of her.
Debbie is an abuser much like how Abigail was an abuser to Fester as well. Poor guy, two movies in a row he’s had women who he thought loved him hurt him and use him. Debbie is almost worst though as we see at the end of the movie, he didn’t stop loving Debbie. Heck, this again ties back to what I’ve been saying all throughout. Debbie was an Addams and could have been accepted as one if she weren’t so narrow minded.
The other way, she breaks up the family is by removing the children from the household and sending them to summer camp. This might seem small on the surface but honestly, Gomez and Morticia are two of the most loving parents in all of fiction and ring away from their kids might seem like more than they can handle.
The separation of the family has another effect a for the Addams, it’s the most devastating one as baby Pubert tarts to turn quote unquote normal and looking like regular toddler. And this is too much for the family to handle.
Demise
Once the family is back together, we see them strapped together and this is when she moans about all her past husbands. Yet, the Addams side with her. You can’t help but laugh at this as it ties back into what I’ve been saying and won’t repeat. She says she doesn’t like killing but she must considering how many times she’s done it before.
Meanwhile through an escapade a la Baby’s Day Out, Pubert frees himself and goes back to his Addams look. Through baby hijinks, he sets off the machine that Debbie was planning t use and it turns her to ash.
As I’ve stated throughout, the Addams Family loved her and would’ve embraced her and we even see her buried in the Addams cemetery. She could’ve been an Addams as she was halfway to being one already.
Is Debbie Jellinsky A Good Villain?
Yes, and as I said she is an iconic villain that far surpasses the villain from the first movie. Joan Cusack puts her all into this character and delivers a stellar performance that makes you both laugh and root for her.
Alas we are done with the 90’s movies and good takes on the Addams Family for a while. Join me next time as we look at Saban’s take on the kooky and spooky family staring Tim Curry as Gomez’s we head to an Addams Family Reunion and look at…
Dr. Phillip Addams
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Debbie is definitely the much better villain than Abigail was in the first movie. Cusack easily brought her all with the performance and is one of the best parts of the movie.
One hundred percent, Cusack went full unhinged and gave us a great villain
I remember seeing this movie at a young age and Debbie really creeped me out with how ruthless she was, and even her death scene was disturbing. Still, can’t say she didn’t have it coming.
at least with her gone Fester found a kindred spirit in Dementia.
Yeah, Debbie is creepy but in a kinda sexy way. True, Fester has true happiness now