[7.1/10] Was Michael always this shitty? He was always kind of shitty. But it feels like season 4 upped his asshole quotient to an exaggerated degree. Regardless, Michael often made a great hue and cry about looking after his son, but undoubtedly put himself and his needs first a lot of the time. There is a lot of juice to be squeezed -- both humorously and dramatically -- from George Michael growing up and realizing that his dad isn’t such a great guy nor does he always have his son’s best interests at heart.
Knowing where all this is heading makes me appreciate George Michael’s journey more. He is, in fact, growing up. It’s funny to watch him fumble through attempts to be more adult, but it’s also endearing to watch him have these quiet little revelations about who he is and what he wants. That’s probably overstating things for this goofy comedy show, but Goerge Michael is the closest thing to a heart Arrested Development has, and Mitch Hurwitz uses that to full effect here. He’s the only decent Bluth there is (give or take Buster). Watching him start to figure that out and stand up for himself is oddly stirring.
Of course, this is also an episode with rampant sex offender jokes, more roofie jokes, and an uncomfortable situation where father and son are sleeping with the same woman, so maybe we shouldn’t pretend this is thirty minutes of pure heart-warming self-actualization. Not all of these jokes land. Plenty of the sex offender jokes in particular are uncomfortable, to say the least. But the episode does manage to squeeze in a few more Social Network/Silicon Valley bits to tickle your funny bones, and the escalating voters of twin club is a good laugh.
I’ll confess that, even fifteen episodes in, I just don’t care about Rebel Alley. Isla Fisher is fine, but the character is a big nothing. Her whole “I don’t want to get too serious” deal with both Michael and George Mcihael goes nowhere, and the romcom parody is just as stale. The show gets a few laughs out of her in the “texting and driving” PSA, but otherwise she’s a flat character who only exists to drive a wedge between George Michael and his dad (which Maeby’s talented enough to do on her own).
The episode at least pays off a lot of things which have been simmering over the course of the season, but few of them are especially exciting or neat. I do like the fact that Michael knows what’s going on with his son and Rebel, and uses it to his advantage anyway, a true sign of how selfish and mercenary he is about this whole thing, earning himself the climactic punch in the face he ultimately receives for it.
Otherwise, this one completes the setup where everyone except George Michael is a plausible suspect for Lucille 2’s murder, so even if the attempt at clockwork storytelling across a whole season ultimately falls flat, the show at least accomplishes that much as an overarching goal.
Overall, it’s hard to term season 4 anything but disappointment, if not an outright failure. You have to admire the chutzpah of Mitch Hurwitz to not just produced fifteen new episodes in the style of the show’s original run, but rather take advantage of the unique viewing opportunities a binge-able season on a streaming service provides. But the results are more convoluted than clever, and more eye-roll-worthy than funny. The slow-release gags and intersecting storylines don’t snap into place as seamlessly as they did on the old show, and by the end, the whole thing is more of a knot than a tapestry.
That said, I guess it’s still nice to have more Arrested Development. I wish they could have had more of the characters in the same room. I wish they could have found a more manageable story to tell over the course of fifteen episodes. I wish the show didn’t veer off into some racist humor at multiple points. But you know what? We got a few more solid outings for some of the show’s best outings, and some surprising character development for the likes of George Michael and Maeby. It’s not perfect, and I wouldn't want another season built like this one, but there’s still something to salvage from the misguided revival of one of the funniest and cleverest comedies of all time.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2021-06-17T04:55:37Z
[7.1/10] Was Michael always this shitty? He was always kind of shitty. But it feels like season 4 upped his asshole quotient to an exaggerated degree. Regardless, Michael often made a great hue and cry about looking after his son, but undoubtedly put himself and his needs first a lot of the time. There is a lot of juice to be squeezed -- both humorously and dramatically -- from George Michael growing up and realizing that his dad isn’t such a great guy nor does he always have his son’s best interests at heart.
Knowing where all this is heading makes me appreciate George Michael’s journey more. He is, in fact, growing up. It’s funny to watch him fumble through attempts to be more adult, but it’s also endearing to watch him have these quiet little revelations about who he is and what he wants. That’s probably overstating things for this goofy comedy show, but Goerge Michael is the closest thing to a heart Arrested Development has, and Mitch Hurwitz uses that to full effect here. He’s the only decent Bluth there is (give or take Buster). Watching him start to figure that out and stand up for himself is oddly stirring.
Of course, this is also an episode with rampant sex offender jokes, more roofie jokes, and an uncomfortable situation where father and son are sleeping with the same woman, so maybe we shouldn’t pretend this is thirty minutes of pure heart-warming self-actualization. Not all of these jokes land. Plenty of the sex offender jokes in particular are uncomfortable, to say the least. But the episode does manage to squeeze in a few more Social Network/Silicon Valley bits to tickle your funny bones, and the escalating voters of twin club is a good laugh.
I’ll confess that, even fifteen episodes in, I just don’t care about Rebel Alley. Isla Fisher is fine, but the character is a big nothing. Her whole “I don’t want to get too serious” deal with both Michael and George Mcihael goes nowhere, and the romcom parody is just as stale. The show gets a few laughs out of her in the “texting and driving” PSA, but otherwise she’s a flat character who only exists to drive a wedge between George Michael and his dad (which Maeby’s talented enough to do on her own).
The episode at least pays off a lot of things which have been simmering over the course of the season, but few of them are especially exciting or neat. I do like the fact that Michael knows what’s going on with his son and Rebel, and uses it to his advantage anyway, a true sign of how selfish and mercenary he is about this whole thing, earning himself the climactic punch in the face he ultimately receives for it.
Otherwise, this one completes the setup where everyone except George Michael is a plausible suspect for Lucille 2’s murder, so even if the attempt at clockwork storytelling across a whole season ultimately falls flat, the show at least accomplishes that much as an overarching goal.
Overall, it’s hard to term season 4 anything but disappointment, if not an outright failure. You have to admire the chutzpah of Mitch Hurwitz to not just produced fifteen new episodes in the style of the show’s original run, but rather take advantage of the unique viewing opportunities a binge-able season on a streaming service provides. But the results are more convoluted than clever, and more eye-roll-worthy than funny. The slow-release gags and intersecting storylines don’t snap into place as seamlessly as they did on the old show, and by the end, the whole thing is more of a knot than a tapestry.
That said, I guess it’s still nice to have more Arrested Development. I wish they could have had more of the characters in the same room. I wish they could have found a more manageable story to tell over the course of fifteen episodes. I wish the show didn’t veer off into some racist humor at multiple points. But you know what? We got a few more solid outings for some of the show’s best outings, and some surprising character development for the likes of George Michael and Maeby. It’s not perfect, and I wouldn't want another season built like this one, but there’s still something to salvage from the misguided revival of one of the funniest and cleverest comedies of all time.