“Family Guy” fans who almost single-handedly persuaded the Fox network to rethink its cancellation of the cult-favorite sitcom in 2002 were rewarded Sept. 27.
After fans tuned in continuously to cable reruns of the first three seasons and bought up more than 3.5 million copies of the DVD box sets, the show was resuscitated.
Then even better news came: “Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story” was set for an early fall release.
And now, I feel lucky that there’s a “Family Guy” movie (straight-to-DVD, that is) so I can squander hours on repetitive Stewie-watching.
The DVD actually contains three episodes (“Stewie B. Goode,” “Bang-Oh Was His Name-O,” and “Stu and Stewie’s Great Adventure”) from the new fourth season. It deals with Stewie, the world-domination-bound baby genius, and a series of self-discoveries he undergoes. The focal point of the movie is the maniacal dictator-to-be’s quest to find his real father after he sees a man on the news to whom he bears an uncanny resemblance.
However, in true “Family Guy” fashion, the narrative arc of this movie is loose at best. Ancillary stories involving the rest of the Griffin family – father Peter, mother Lois, son Chris, daughter Meg and dog Brian – fuel the rest of this picture, along with the occasional random flashback and pop-culture allusion.
Sure, it’s vulgar and crude. Stewie maims or murders more than the usual number of characters throughout the film and Peter teaches Meg to “love a man’s gas” by locking her in the car and farting repeatedly, but isn’t that just part of this Rhode Island family’s simple charm?
Of course, it’s politically incorrect. In a bar scene involving Brian and Stewie, the tiny prodigy toasts the “black man,” thanking him for taking it all in stride, though I suspect, like many smart comedians of our time, that the writers behind the show use comedy as a means of social and political commentary as opposed to sheer senseless humor.
But be forewarned: If you buy or rent this movie because of the “uncensored” label on its cover, you may be confused by the beeps that still blot out the curse words the first time you watch it. This is because you must select the uncensored option in the language menu of the DVD in order to hear, among other things, Peter tell America to go “fuck themselves.”
It also doesn’t hurt to watch this movie with a friend or two, primarily because almost no one can pinpoint all those pop culture references on the first try. For instance, in one scene where Stewie gets a glimpse of hell, the audience discovers the same sitcom theme song plays on every television channel in the underworld. I would have been humming the song for days, trying to figure out what horrifying fate beholds us sinners if my co-watcher hadn’t quickly recognized it as the theme from the ’80s classic television show “Who’s the Boss.”
In addition to the usual all-star cast, several guest celebrities appear throughout the movie. Drew Barrymore plays herself in the unaired prologue, which is set up to resemble a red carpet premiere (an also unaired after-party caps off the film). Ron Livingston, best known as Peter Gibbons in the movie “Office Space,” appears as an employee of Quahog’s new Lackluster Video store. And Will Sasso, from Fox’s sketch comedy show “Mad TV,” revives his ever-so-observant Randy Newman impression from Family Guy’s season two.
The special features of the DVD are somewhat lacking in this age of Criterion collection special editions, but for true “Family Guy” geeks, the commentary contains a number of interesting tidbits. It starts off slow-but-informative, with narration from series creator/writer/cast member Seth MacFarlane, who voices Peter, Brian and Stewie, among others. However, as other cast members – Seth Green, the voice of Chris; writer/cast member Alex Borstein, the voice of Lois; and Mila Kunis, the voice of Meg – trickle in, a more laid-back atmosphere results, permitting banter that is unintelligible at times but revealing and entertaining on the whole.
All-in-all, if you can’t afford the nearly $80 cost of the first two volumes, this new 88-minute extended episode should satisfy your hunger for the Griffin family until you can accumulate enough cash. Although, with volume three, which contains season four, coming out Nov. 29, I recommend you start your fund as soon as possible.