Family
Guy Presents – Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story! (**)
review by Jon
Waterman
Stewie is the talking baby of the Griffin family. He’s
also the resident megalomaniacal genius living amongst buffoons
and nitwits…and a talking dog named Brian. Stewie’s
main mission in life is to kill Lois, his mother. After that,
he’ll go conquer the world, and maybe go to elementary
school if there’s time. His plans get put on the back
burner, however, when he sees a man on television that looks
just like him. Convinced that he just found his biological
father, he sets out to find this man with an equally bald,
football shaped head. But is he really prepared for what he
might find out?
I want to say right off the bat that although it took some
time, I am a fan of “Family Guy.” I learned to
appreciate it before it went off the air originally, but it
took repeat viewings. I think the same could easily be said
about this movie. Even those loyal to the show may have a hard
time really getting into the nearly ninety minutes of random
pop-culture references and out of place flashback sequences.
It might take multiple screenings to let it all sink in and
to get past some of the faults.
A big fault I found is that they don’t fully take advantage
of the freedom a straight to DVD release provides. The movie
is actually composed of three consecutive episodes book ended
by some new material showcasing the cast and crew at the premiere
and after party for the movie we’re watching. The stench
of the lack of creativity is everywhere in this presentation.
Some of the better and more risqué jokes come during
these movie only segments, but the premise is extremely tacky
and most of the stuff missed.
What’s worse is that they aren’t taking advantage
of the free reign. Pasting a few episodes together doesn’t
really allow for the creative writing team to showcase their
full capabilities. There are a couple swear words, but that’s
hardly outrageous or noteworthy. I wanted more. I wanted to
see “Family Guy” unrated and uncensored and what
I got was some relatively sub-par regular “Family Guy.” To
me, the movie is cheapened by the fact that it is really just
three episodes played right after another. The separate parts
each have definitive breaks and different styles, foci and
atmospheres, which detract from the overall experience as well.
Hopefully, if mastermind Seth MacFarlane decides to do another
movie, it’ll be legitimate and take many more risks.
As it stands, hardcore fans may even have a hard time with
this one right away. Watch it with friends a couple times and
let it sink in. You might learn to love it. Either way, I just
see it as a cheap way to release a few TV episodes.
respond to jon@filmbrats.com
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