DVD Review: American Dad! Volume 4
Fuzzy Door Productions, Twentieth Century Fox Home Video
May 11, 2009
American Dad! is one of the centerpieces of Fox's Sunday night animated line-up, along with The Simpsons and Seth MacFarlane's other animated comedy, Family Guy.
American Dad! is a retread of Family Guy, featuring identical archetypes: the clueless dad (but this time he works for the CIA!), the long-suffering mom, the socially inept son, the terminally bored daughter and the pair of requisite freaks. Instead of Family Guy's talking dog Brian, we get a talking goldfish named Klaus, and the campy alien Roger replaces the megalomaniac baby Stewie.
Given that Family Guy wasn't the most original show to begin with – Entertainment Weekly, Ren & Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi, South Park and Mad Magazine have all slammed the series for ripping off previous hits – American Dad! is already starting in negative territory.
This becomes increasingly clear when one views the 14 episodes back-to-back in the American Dad! Volume 4 DVD. MacFarlane's formula is increasingly stale, and (stops to put on the handy asbestos suit) there are surprisingly few laughs.
American Dad! Created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker, Matt Weitzman
As one might suspect from the title, American Dad! Volume 4 compiles the 14 episodes from Season 4 of the hit show. The first episode in the DVD – and probably the most effective – is the James Bond homage "Tearjerker," in which the American Dad! characters portray archetypes from the classic spy series. Given that nearly everyone and their dog has done a James Bond spoof, "Tearjerker" manages to generate new laughs to the genre.
Unfortunately those gags are swiftly forgotten as other episodes follow a familiar track: Dad does something stupid, Mom tries to fix things, supporting characters perform random acts of comedy, and everything gets resolved with pink ribbons by the 20-minute mark. Rinse, and repeat.
Yes, there are some funny gags (like Family Guy, they're usually the throwaways) but the main stories usually generate eye-rolls. American Dad! may be one of those shows that can only be taken in small doses: one or two is bearable but watching several in a single viewing gets deadly fast.
DVD Extras
Fox Home Video probably felt they were giving the viewer a great deal by adding audio commentary to every single episode. Unfortunately, they're short on analysis and long on in-jokes and pointless rambling.
"This has got to be the most inane audio commentary I've ever heard," said one young woman who was also watching the DVD. Here's a sample, taken from the commentary for "Tearjerker."
"What inspired the look of Tearjerker's lair?" one commentator asks.
"James Bond. I like Bond."
Really, Captain Herbal-Life? It's that sort of profound insight that has viewers wondering why they even bothered putting all those commentaries on the DVD. There are a whole raft of deleted scenes as well, some of them are indistinguishable from what ended up on the disc. Interestingly enough, the James Bond character's accent changes in the deleted scene from "Tearjerker:" at first he does a Sean Connery impression, then in the next scene he sounds more like Daniel Craig. Was this deliberate or an oversight?
The 3rd disc also features three exclusive featurettes. "'Tearjerker: And Then They Will Cry" takes the viewer behind the scenes where crew discuss how the episode came together and show animatics for several key scenes. "Roger: Master of Disguise" also features the crew talking about how the wacky alien got all his costumes, and "Comic Con 2008" is a live show featuring the voice cast performing "Pulling Double Booty" in front of an audience at the San Diego convention.
The Final Analysis
Although American Dad! has its loyal fanbase, watching every episode of Season 4 back-to-back leaves one wondering what the fuss is about. It lacks either The Simpsons' originality or South Park's trenchant wit and analysis. Even watching several episodes with mildly beer-soaked companions failed to improve the show's allure. There's nothing here that other animated comedies have done before, or better.
Fans of the show will snap this DVD up no matter what. However, American Dad! Volume 4 won't convert those who aren't already in love with the show.
It gets a 4/10.
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