Only the creators of South Park have successfully
been able to push the envelope of good taste to not only come out alive
but grace a feature length movie, and now you can add to that list Seth McFarlene and
his endless array of characters from the cult hit Family Guy. Premiering as a half hour animated comedy on the Fox network in 1999, Family Guy
was quickly compared and lambasted for being the poor illegitimate love
child of Eric Cartman and Homer Simpson. Lasting just three
seasons, the show was axed in late 2003 due to poor ratings.
However, like several programs of late (none more successful than Joss
Wheadon's Firefly and subsequent film Serenity) Family Guy
defied the odds by finding a huge audience through DVD sales. So
much so, that in 2005 Fox not only recommissioned the series but
also two spin off programs, the largely similar American Dad, and this - the Family Guy
movie. In all fairness to film-making, it's more a three-part episode
than a movie - but the title says movie, so that's what I'm
sticking with. The rather loose plot of the film, which most of
the time gives way for a series of unrelated gags, revolves around
Stewie. The maniacal baby genius of the family, Stewie finds himself
distracted from his plans for world domination after a near-death
experience. Scared of the possibility of spending eternity in bed with
Steve Allen, Stewie plays nice, thus creating an alternate
goody-two-shoes version of himself. Convinced that a man on TV (his
future self) must be his real father (after all, how could he possibly
share genetic material with the dimwitted Peter?), Stewie sets off on a
cross-country road trip to find him. But his incredible journey leads
him to discoveries far more vile and shocking than anything found in
his diaper. There is something invigorating about watching a
program that makes the jokes political correctness has brainwashed us
not to tell around the water coolers at work. Seth McFarlene
really pushes the envelope on more than one occasion with hilarious
results. From Asian news correspondent Trisha Takanawa humping
David Bowie's leg screaming "Me love you long time, fish ball soup,
fish ball soup" only to have the studio news anchor proclaim "Thank you
Trisha, you have set your people back a thousand years". To the
Griffin's mother explaining how she was destined for the Olympics before
she became pregnant with her daughter so now she's "pro-choice". There is no social taboo that goes unnoticed. Thrusting one of Family Guy's
more popular characters into the forefront of the storyline sometimes
backfires. Stewie was a standout during the regular series, as he
appeared sparingly with his English toned rants - however, too much of a
good thing is never a smart idea - and the film perhaps suffers for
it. However, thats not to say that the Gag-Per-Second ratio isn't
at an all time high. One of the film's more humorous non-plot
orientated gags would have to be a mock trailer for a new film starring
Vince Vaughn and Susan Sarandon entitled "Two People Who Look Like They
Never Sleep". It is that type of irreverence that makes the Family Guy movie a blast, and the series as a whole, one of the great comedies of the past decade. Certainly
not for the easily offended, but if you can keep an open mind and give
into that little thing inside all us - the sense of humour - you may
get more than a few chuckles out of this one. DVD
Extras Surprisingly
disapointing in the extras department. There is a humorous
commentary by creator Seth McFarlene along with some of the films co-writers, as well as a preview for American Dad. Most
interesting here are the two Multi Angle Animatic Comparison Segments,
in which the storyboards are compared to the final animated results Conclusion:
Movie 80% Extras: 50% 
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