Mercedes McNab Movies
Mercedes McNab etched out a memorable late-'90s small-screen characterization when she signed to work for producer/series creator Joss Whedon on the cult fantasy series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar. As the brilliantly named Harmony Kendall -- a spoiled, well-to-do Southern California prima donna whose life turns a nasty corner when she gets inadvertently vampirized, McNab provided an all-too-familiar high school archetype (with and without the ghastly makeup) amid the series' themes of adolescent angst. She continued her portrayal of Harmony on the spin-off series Angel, moving up from recurring character to regular during the show's fifth and final season. McNab continued on with guest roles on TV shows like Reaper and Supernatural, and also moved into features. In 2006, the actress took on a plum role in the 2006 slasher movie Hatchet. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
Inspired more by the 1960s TV series than by the original Charles Addams New Yorker cartoons, The Addams Family proved to be one of the more successful of the TV shows-turned-movies of the 1990s. The film opens on a recreation of the magazine cartoon wherein the ghoulish Addamses prepare to pour hot oil upon a group of merry Christmas carolers. After a series of vignettes which establish the characters of Gomez (Raul Julia), Morticia (Anjelica Huston), Wednesday (Christina Ricci), Pugsley (Jimmy Workman) and family servants Lurch (Carel Struycken) and Thing (Christopher Hart), the plot proper gets under way. A stranger, played by Christopher Lloyd, shows up on the Addams doorstep, claiming to be long-lost Uncle Fester. It appears, however, that Lloyd is a ringer, in cahoots with attorney Tully Alford (Dan Hedaya) to strip the Addamses of their fortune. In their usual against-the-grain fashion, the Addams Family seems to delight in the possibility that they're being hoodwinked-indeed, not even kidnapping or death threats dampen the Addams clan's joy of living (or should we say dying?). The Addams Family served as the directorial debut of cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, (more)
