At the very least,
“Independent Movie” is a riff that lampoon hacks Jason Freidberg and Aaron
Seltzer will never come close to touching, since it’s a parody of a genre that
doesn’t make a lot of money at the box office. But for a broad Fox comedy that
begins with foundational animated sitcom elements and spins out more surreal
elements, the danger here is that in making fun of hackneyed, cookie-cutter
films, it could unwisely take aim at good movies that fall into this genre.
Good then, that what makes
“Independent Movie” work is that the episode both engages with and makes fun of
the tropes associated with low-budget independent American filmmaking. In the
abstract, the episode is a spoof of generic, voiceover-heavy films about
physical journeys mirroring emotional ones, but—however unintentionally—it’s
also about how people (especially kids who consume a lot of media) internalize
tropes and unwisely apply them to life expectations.
Steve, Snot, Barry, and
Toshi are just putting the finishing touches on their four life-size Lego
sculptures of the Four Stages Of Ron Howard (film director with and without
hat!) when Snot smells a deli tray and learns that his absent father has died.
Snot doesn’t really react, but Steve is so intent on emotional catharsis for
his friend that he sends them into an indie movie road trip across the country
to the funeral in Stockton, California, complete with a grainier film look, a
sepia-toned color palette, and a music supervisor-approved soundtrack (Delta
Spirit’s “California”).
Because of the timing of
the episode, I kept thinking of it as an extended Alexander Payne riff. I like
most of Payne’s movies, but four road trip movies with emotional underpinnings
in a row (About Schmidt, Sideways, The Descendants, Nebraska)
isn’t just a pattern, it’s a crutch. But Steve isn’t really drawing from
specific films, he’s just going full-generic with extensive voiceovers out
loud, which annoy Snot, or picking up a meth addict hitchhiker only to stop the
car and send everyone exploring the woods.
Steve is so hooked on using
independent movie tropes to force Snot into dealing with his father’s death
that he tries too hard. The group loses Toshi, who chooses to stay behind in a
cornfield, Barry beats up a mud representation of Snot’s father in frustration,
and Snot plays up the requisite moment of friends yelling at each other. (“I’m
not going to pretend to have a big theatrical reaction to this just to make you
happy!”) By commenting on the tropes even as the episode employs them within
the plot, “Independent Film” recalls Charlie Kaufman’s Adaptation, as
genre elements begin to overtake the story.
But Snot’s breakdown in the
motel is both a commentary on the “little moment” crystalizing the big
picture—a bag of knockoff Cheetos with the tagline “Always There For You” gets
stuck in a vending machine—and a nod to the “magic minority” character, as a
maid gives Snot the mundane advice that he has to move out of her way, which he
takes as a command to move on from his father’s death by attending the funeral.
If there’s one element that
pushes the joke to the breaking point, it’s the introduction of Zooey Deschanel
voicing a nameless girl who Steve literally calls his “Manic Pixie Dream Girl.”
The point here is to point out Steve’s glaring insensitivity to Snot,
abandoning his friend and the plot he set in motion to hang out with a quirky
stranger in a hot tub. But American Dad then commits to the murky,
ambiguous ending that’s so common in these films, courtesy of a random trucker
and a lack of reconciliation. This is writer Judah Miller’s first episode of American
Dad (he previously worked on Clone High and now writes for Axe
Cop), and it’s an above average parody without pushing too far over the
edge.
The B-plot consists of
exactly three scenes, boiling down what could be an episode of hilarious
business intrigue and inventor/investor squabble into the bare comedy
essentials. The opening scene of the episode places Stan, Francine, and Roger
at a party hosted by Toshi’s father Hideki. A shrewd investor who always
follows his gut—like destroying one of two remaining Etruscan urns to make the
other priceless—Roger and Stan took their Male Stripper Shoes idea to Hideki in
last season’s “National Treasure 4.” This time, a lackluster experience
watching cake being cut at the party inspires the “Piece Of Cake” cake slicer,
perfect for the Home Shopping Network and presumably the Sky Mall catalog.
If only for the wacky scene
of Stan, Roger, and Hidecki rubbing together grumbling stomachs and the Mexican
standoff that closes the episode, it’s a worthy runner, but it actually ties
into the main plot in a perfectly “indie movie” way. The guy at the front desk
of the motel the boys stay at watches the Home Shopping Network introduction of
the product, a bizarre bit of color that fits well in the establishing moments
of a new location. I'm always a big fan of the two (or three) plots dovetailing
in subtle ways, and it's kind of impressive that it worked into the road trip
in a way that made total sense for where Steve, Snot, and Barry ended up at
that moment.
Stray observations:
- Thing I just learned:
Reggie Lee (Sgt. Wu on Grimm, who also appeared in The Dark Knight
Rises) voices Hideki Yoshida. Mind sufficiently blown. - I don’t think using a Dawes
(!!!) song as the second bit of "indie flavor" on the soundtrack was
a sly nod at The A.V. Club, but I’m just going to interpret it like that
because it’s significantly funnier that way. - Francine’s great one-liner
contribution to the episode: “That’s the bitch who gave all my ideas to Michael
Crichton.” - Many apologies for this review appearing late,
the Thanksgiving weekend and Fox’s confusing holiday schedule caused this
episode to fall through the cracks. Everything will be back to normal for next
week’s Breaking Bad-aping episode and the delayed Christmas special the
week after.