Review – ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT Season Four

A little under two weeks ago Netflix unveiled what is arguably their biggest gamble to date, a fourth season of Arrested Development. Arrested Development, one of many beloved shows to meet the axe at the hands of the Fox Network, although to its credit it lasted three seasons before it was “abruptly cancelled.” Much like the other countless shows from the Fox Graveyard, it was what we would call a slow burn. Like Family Guy, Futurama, and Firefly the show gained its popularity from DVD sales and word of mouth but it simply didn’t pull the numbers Fox execs were looking for while it was on the air.

You’ve probably already heard that story, and odds are good that when you heard it was being picked up by Netflix approximately ten years after its cancellation you were worried. How would the Bluth family continue after Michael and George Michael left the family to their own devices? Would the show carry on the same energy or after watching the season would I want to take a “forget me now?” Is there still money in the banana stand?

Much like the first three seasons, season four is strong. There are MANY uproariously funny jokes/bits that occur within the first three episodes which continue throughout the season. In true Arrested Development fashion the show makes fun of everything from the show’s cancellation, to Michael Cera’s “Explosion,” to even the fact that they tried to make a movie and then maybe make a TV show. The casting of new side characters (Isla Fisher as Ron Howard’s Daughter, Maria Bamford as Tobias (David Cross)’s love interest Debris), the casting choices for younger AD alums (Kristin Wiig as Lucile Bluth is spot on), and even some of the reoccurring side characters steal the screen. Lucille 2 (Liza Minelli) has been given a lot more screen time this season and really steals the season. There are some amazing uproariously funny circumstances and jokes for both Tobias and GOB (Will Arnett) but any show that can have Liza Minelli call another person a drama queen and mean it is phenomenal.

Season four, much like its predecessors, does suffer from a few flaws on the first watch through. Arrested Development is, and always has been, cringe humor. Cringe humor meaning that a lot of the jokes and comedy stem from feeling uncomfortable listening to and seeing what the characters do. It always had those moments before but they are incredibly emphasized this season. Whether it’s Michael being kicked out of George Michael’s dorm room, Tobias mistaking a Methadone clinic for an acting workshop, or Buster not understanding motherly signals vs. sexual innuendos the season borders on depressing on multiple occasions. The humor still comes through, but this is by far the most depressing season to date. Michael in this season also feels like such a sad sack. Without the company and splitting off from the family he seems to have no purpose. Certainly he has a purpose in the plot but Michael just seems sad and listless, even while pretending to be a big time producer for Ron Howard. I hated this aspect upon first viewing but as I watched it a second time it just solidified that Michael is in fact a Bluth, he had just been so much better at hiding it before.

We all knew it wouldn’t be “The same old show,” but the fifteen episode takes place over the course of about a month culminating in a “Cinquo de Quatro,” annual celebration where the events leading up to Cinquo are shown at various points in time. The problem with this structural choice is that while we see an episode about each character’s individual struggle for that month it pulls away from the family dynamic. The family all appears at one time or another together in one of the better slow building cringe-worthy jokes but so much of what made the show the hit that is was had been the full family dynamic, so it feels fractured.

Like the first three seasons there are some really good jokes on first watch through but so much of the humour is built on replay. A very intricate plot was created for season four and many of the jokes aren’t funny the first time but it’s in the replay value that Arrested Development has constantly and consistently set up that make season four a success. Season four is an investment but completely worth it. As real estate investors and convicted sexual predators in the show state “Get in Bluth!”