H...is for Hi.
A is for Andrew.
TT is for Toony Tuesday,
and F is for Family.
Whoever said Family Guy was the crudest cartoon after South Park needs to check this out.
Welcome to 1973, where life is comforting, everyone knows your name, dinner time is family time, the TV is sanctuary, neighbors are your friends and you can curse around the kids, smoke in the house, offend anyone of any race, and smack your kid without fear of CFS. At least that’s what I assume, because this show has nothing nice or comforting about it.
Today, I’m talking about Netflix’s neato-est Original series, F if for Family.
And don’t worry if you haven’t heard of it before this...I haven’t either. Usually most Netflix shows get some nice advertising, mostly on social media, while others slip on by and are lucky to get word-of-mouth. For every House of Cards, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Luke Cage and Daredevil; there’s a Stranger Things, Between, Lady Dynamite, Flaked and this show (at least in my experience).
Co-created by by comedian and star Bill Burr (and based on his childhood) and award-winning former The Simpsons writer/producer Michael Price, this series features the Murphy family, a seemingly normal suburban Pennsylvania family with less-than-normal behavior and language.
-Frank is the patriarch with the mouth of a sailor (ironically while being a Vietnam Veteran) and the patience of a bear, working as an airport baggage handler
-His wife Sue is the sweet, humbling matriarch with barely enough in her to keep the family together, and half of that to keep herself together.
-Their kids are all kinds of something:
--Eldest Kevin is a delinquent with more time for wanting sex and weed than for school.
--Middle son Bill is shy and timid, with the bad luck in the world to bear witness to crazy stuff.
--And youngest child/only daughter Maureen may seem like a sweet little girl, but under the surface of sweet is a smart little brat with no time for empathy for other people.
-Then there’s the family’s pet dog Major; cute, yet dopey with a love for people (specifically, humping their leg)
Other characters include:
-Vic, Frank’s wealthy, womanizing neighbor;
-Vic, Frank’s wealthy, womanizing neighbor;
Rosie, his wisecracking best friend at Mohican Airways;
Bob Pogo, his morbidly obese boss;
At first,
This show is a mixed bag for me.
There were some parts I liked, and others I really didn’t like.
The bad:
At first, when you listen to this Frank Murphy speak, it’s quite a turn off. (It’s like Bill Burr tried voice acting the first minute he stepped into a studio) In fact, it’s quite a turn off for a lot of the characters speaking. This show has an obnoxious abundance of swearing. Seriously, not a single fuckin’ minute goes by without a character saying a curse word (and I mean any word, whether an easy one or a strong one). It’s clearly obvious that the producers are taking advantage of the show’s being a original on Netflix to use every one of them in the book...yet they’re abusing the power. It can get grating to walk through an episode hearing Frank, let alone any character, slip up every other minute.
Also, the vulgar humor. It’s not that it doesn’t sit well with me--I can handle it, it’s because it’s kinda weak most of the time--and it’s a lot. But there some jokes I laughed at and enjoyed. (and as time passed and I watched more and more, it got more funnier. So it’s no bad blood here.)
And the good:
If the show falters with its humor, it shines with this:
Throughout the first season, there is a huge story arc involving Frank when he gets a promotion at his workplace, the hub for the fictional Mohican Airlines. And before he puts his belongings on his desk, he suffers a blow-out--not only at work with his friends/co-workers, who begin a workers’ strike after he gets chummy with the company’s CEO (and is the unwilling face of of a TV special on common racism), but also at home--where his family unravels emotionally;
-his wife Susan is frustrated with her life as a housewife and wants to start work,
-his eldest son Kevin is a slacker and pothead flunking in school,
-younger son and middle child Bill is terrorized by a bully; is cruelly mocked at school, home and the neighborhood for being a wimp (or in this case a pussy); and sees and hears things a child shouldn’t see and hear (I will never look at my nuts the same way again. *did I just write that?*),
-and only daughter/youngest offspring Maureen is a bratty little shit who gets what she wants just because she’s daddy’s little princess to Frank.
I love this story arc, because it puts actual true drama into the show, and brought in conflicts that don’t just go away at the end of an episode--they stay and continue on through the rest of the season. And I so damn well enjoy it. This series exhibits some well-executed dramatic moments with the openly-crass, super-random comedy and could actually give some of Netflix’s actual drama originals a run for their money.
--There’s also some real good voice acting throughout. As the season progressed, I got more engrossed in the acting and it was more well-done. That’s a testament to the writing by it’s staff, led by co-creator Michael Price.
--The animation is really well done.
While the character movements sometimes gets on my nerves, the drawings and coloring's here are amazing. The colors and shades look amazing (especially for the time period) and the character designs are well-drawn. Everyone looks like they’re from the early 70s and show it too.
--The series has more favorite characters than I first thought.
=Frank--for being (well, trying to be) a great father to his kids and great husband to his wife while juggling work, hanging with friends, and dealing with bad people and things (his bosses, the strike, Vic [to him]), etc.)
=Vic--for being a delightful neighbor, an awesome womanizer we all wish to be, and his many one-liners.
“Yeah, you…’fucked the shit outta me’.”
Just an all-around hilarious character.
=Bill, for being a definitely relate able kid, with his tries to grow a spine being one of the best parts of the season.
=Rosie, for being the cool black friend we wish we had, and for his side-splitting wisecracks. One against his and Frank’s boss Bob Pogo is the best and will induce a migraine from so much laughing.
Random Thoughts:
-I’m so glad that Frank doesn’t beat his kids, but because of his quickness to anger and the fact that they have done some stupid things (especially Kevin), I would believe that he would do so. Thank God we have Sue to stop him.
-Bill is voiced by a woman.... (Just putting it out there. But she does a great job, and surprising to learn when you learn this.
-Bob Pogo is me if I didn’t have a better life...and had too much access to food stamps. Christ, that man looks (and is) fucking disgusting.
-The scene from Episode 5 (you know the one) will scar you like it scarred Bill. It’s funny too.
-Major is such an adorable dog. Even if he’s a dippy, dopey dog that gets busy humping your leg.
-This will never not be funny.
(considering he actually has a wife that’ll put up with him)
This series is absolutely hilarious (with a few touches of tear jerking) and definitely a much-watch. It’s on Netflix, so you’ll need an account.
(or you can go here; you don’t need one).
(or you can go here; you don’t need one).
And it’s also worth a watch because it’s second season is coming up on May 30. (Yep, that soon) It’s ten(?) episodes and much more of a must-watch from here. I’ll do a review live soon after watching the season at the end of the month. I so can’t wait.
So..
This has been my review of Season One of F is for Family.
And this has been Toony Tuesday. Thanks for being here.
And I’ll see you next week. Until then…
May the good toons be yours…!
“Or I’ll put you through that fucking wall!”
