Family Guy Season 16 Episode 5 Review: Three Directors
Lisa Babick
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Well, that was odd.
On Family Guy Season 16 Episode 5 we got to see how three different Hollywood directors would handle the story of Peter getting fired from the brewery if it was made into a movie.
Family Guy poking fun at three Hollywood directors was fun in an odd sort of way.
I can't decide if I liked the Quentin Tarantino version of Peter Gets Fired better or the Michael Bay version, but both were a lot more interesting than the Wes Anderson version of the story.
I'll think I'll go with the Michael Bay version because it was so utterly ridiculous.
Peter is all buffed up and tasked with fighting Transformer-like machines in order to save the Seven Wonders of the World. He gathers his equally buffed-up friends and they fight the machines off, as expected, with Peter becoming the hero and returning from the dead.
Even if you enjoy Michael Bay's films, watching Family Guy poke fun at his style makes you wonder why you watch his films in the first place because they are over-the-top, just like Quentin Tarantino's films.
And although I like Grand Budapest Hotel (mostly because of Ralph Fiennes), watching pieces of it in cartoon format did put it in a different perspective.
Yes, Wes Anderson is boring, at least compared to the other two directors. He's a lot more intellectual and artsy.
Bay and Tarantino are just fun, mindless entertainment, like Family Guy is sometimes.
According to Fox, this was Carrie Fisher's penultimate episode, so we only have one more episode of her as Angela. Adam West also made an appearance as the President of the United States in the same segment.
The best parts of the Michael Bay segment had to be Angela and Peter's tongue kissing and the end fight between Peter and the machines. It never occurred to me how all those close-ups and fast action sequences made it hard to follow the story, but isn't that the point?
Everybody loves a good action scene, and who doesn't like attractive people in skimpy clothes? I loved the little digs they threw in with Peter dancing and a close-up of Angela's boobs. There was something for everybody.
Quentin Tarantino's films are sometimes hard to watch and you either like him or you don't. I like Tarantino (Pulp Fiction is still my favorite), but I only remember snippets of Kill Bill.
Peter dressing up as Ronald McDonald got a laugh mostly because it was the outfit Peter would choose no matter who was directing that segment.
You have to give credit to Family Guy for poking fun at itself with Tricia Takanawa's insight about the lack of diversity on Family Guy. It's a big deal now, so why shouldn't Family Guy jump into the pool?
But it wasn't only that, it was the fact that Tricia was the token Asian fighting Peter ninja style as if only Asians can fight like ninjas. Even though there were umpteen Tricia Takanawas, Peter still kicked their asses with no problem at all. Purely absurd, but wasn't it an accurate depiction of Tarantino's style?
And all that gratuitous violence and squirting blood. I'm almost embarrassed to admit I enjoy Tarantino's films.
The best part of that segment was the end when Peter sliced Angela in half and her squirting blood danced along to opera music. Yes, even in animation I find squirting blood amusing, but what is the difference between that and a Tom and Jerry cartoon with Jerry pulling out Tom's eyeballs? Think about it.
The final segment featured the story in Wes Anderson style and it was completely different from the other two, but, again, the segment pointed out things that I probably noticed, but never fully registered such as his symmetrical style.
Okay, I never noticed his symmetrical style. I'm not a film student, so thanks, Family Guy, for enlightening me. I'm serious.
There were no traditional Family Guy cutaways, but Peter did introduce each segment, and, of course, he was able to fit in a dick joke. What would Family Guy be without its dick jokes?
Overall, this was a decent installment. Odd, but fun.
What did you think of "Three Directors"? Which segment was your favorite?
Did you learn anything new about any of the featured directors and their styles?
Was there anything in particular that stood out or made you laugh?
Hit the comment and share your thoughts below.
If you need to catch up, you can watch Family Guy online right here via TV Fanatic.
