DVD REVIEW: THE GOODE FAMILY (The Complete Series)

Show
I only remember watching a few episodes of THE GOODE FAMILY when it originally aired in the Summer of 2009.  I liked it, but I don't remember being particularly interested in watching every week. As a huge fan of Mike Judge, I kind of regretted it when I heard it had been cancelled and wished I had watched more episodes.

As the years went on, certain elements stuck with me: Che (the "vegan" dog), Ubuntu (The Goode's  "African" adopted son), and Charlie (the conservative stepdad).  Occasionally I would talk to friends who liked animation if they remembered the show, and most people had a vague memory of it but couldn't tell me much of what had happened.  As time passed I sort of forgot about the show since it didn't look like I was ever  going to get a chance to watch it again.  Now, thanks to Shout Factory I can finally sit down and enjoy a show I really should have watched in its original run.

List of episodes:
 Pilot
Pleatherheads
Goodes Gone Wild
Helen's Back
A Tale of Two Lesbians
Freeganomics
Graffiti in Greenville
A Goode Game of Chicken
After School Special
Trouble in Store
Gerald's Way or the Highway
A Goode Man is Hard to Find.

During it's twelve episode run, The GOODE FAMILY manages to touch on many of the current trends occurring in the ultra-liberal politically correct world.  An astounding amount of topics are covered and most of them are handled quite astutely.  The Goode's often find themselves not only the brunt of scorn from the conservatives in their lives, but judged by their liberal friends for not being "good liberals."  An interesting decision that shows the difficulty to fit into even the most "accepting" political groups in our society.

The standout episode for me was "A Tale of Two Lesbians" which involved The Goode's having to decide between their friendship of a local working class Lesbian couple and the new chic lesbians who just moved into town.  It was, I'm sure, a pretty racy topic for 2009, and it could probably still ruffle a few feathers.  An interesting side note is that the working class Lesbian couple was not played as a one-shot topic and actually remained as supporting characters throughout the series run.  Another smart move by the creators.

Image soure: Wikipedia

It's hard to review the animation in most modern shows because, unlike classic animation it isn't very "cartoony."  There's no "squash and stretch" and characters are kept on model with a very specific set of expressions throughout the series run.  THE GOOD FAMILY manages to set itself apart somewhat by creating a style that involves cross-hatch shading on just about every object in the Goode's world.  This  gives the show a very R. Crumb underground animation feel that serves the topic of nouveau hippies well.

Voice acting is strong across the board, but the standout for me were Judge as Gerald Goode.  Judge gives Gerald a very similar voice to his Mr. Van Driessen character from Beavis and Butthead.  Judge had already mined Beavis and Butthead when he chose to make Hank Hill a vocal doppelganger for Mr. Anderson, but I think in both situations the familiar voice matched with a new situation and character design works.  Gerald is played as a guy who will be politically correct at any cost, and this single-mindedness makes him somewhat dense in most situations.  He is not completely the butt of the jokes, but Judge is definitely trying to show that a well-rounded moderate view of the world makes a person less socially stunted.  It's the rare moment where Gerald sees the world from another viewpoint that give the show it's most potent social commentary and kept me watching.

Video
 Shout Factory has given THE GOODE FACTORY an amazing video presentation.  Colors are strong and stable.  And, although I looked hard, I didn't see any aliasing or banding.  The picture was quite pleasing and, dare I say it, pretty for a show with fairly simple animation.

Sound
Both the 5.1 Dolby Digital and 2 Channel mixes are solid.  Voices are strong and placed squarely in the forefront with good use of other channels for ambient noise and soundtrack.

Special Features

Audio Commentaries
Deleted Scenes
Unaired Scripts
Featurettes
Unaired PSA

Image source:nj.com

The standout special feature on the set are the commentaries with show creators Dave Krinsky and John Altschuler.  Because of the limited number of participants and limited number of commentaries, I felt that, unlike THE SIMPSONS, each commentary was full of info and limited self congratulatory back-patting or laughter.

Conclusion
A strong comedy gets a second life on DVD thanks to Shout Factory.  Great episodes and a strong video and audio presentation along with solid special features make this another great release from a company that is well known for their devotion to the obscure.

DVD Rating
4 out of 5

 

Top Five TIM AND ERIC AWESOME SHOW! GREAT JOB!

Tim and Eric are a very love them or hate them comedy duo.  I love them.  I've seen them live twice, I own their CD, all five seasons of their show, their movie, Tom Goes to the Mayor on DVD.....I've given them a lot of my money.  Thankfully they have re-payed me with love and laughter (single tear rolls down cheek).

5) Little Dancin' Man - Zach Galifianakis and Levar Burton have been looking for a project to do together for years.  Tim and Eric gave them that project. 

Image source: tumblr.com

 4) The Jeff Goldbluman Group - Short and sweet.  This skit gave us the unforgettable sight of 4 partially animated Jeff GoldBlumen whistling their hit "Funk Barn."

Image source: tumblr.com

 3)  The Innernette - Finally.  all the joys of the internet on one CD-Rom.  No more e-worms for you.  And with hundreds of songs in their music store, the variety seems almost endless.

Image source: tumblr.com

2) Where's My Chippy? - I had a shirt with this guy on it for about a year.  I never wore it because people refused to be seen with me if I wore it.  I no longer have the shirt...but I can still hang out with this little guy in my dreams.

Image source: tumblr.com

1) Steve Mahanahan's Child Clown Outlet - Kids are creepy.  Clowns are creepy.  Child clowns are surprisingly cute.  Don't forget to feed them, though.  Dead Child Clowns are just depressing.

Image source: tumblr.com

"Does HE MAN really need a 40 disc boxset?" and other questions every nerd must answer at some point.

At some point in life every geek is gong to be asked a question that is impossible to answer because any answer will only make you seem like an obsessive super-fan who has a need for a dose of reality.  These questions can come at any time, and can be about random complete series dvd collections that cost way too much, the need to purchase for a new version of STAR WARS, or the validity of who shot who first in a certain space cantina.  Below is a short list of a few questions I'm sure we've all heard some variation of.  I can't answer them for you.

Sorry.

Image source: media.photobucket.com

"Do you really need to watch documentaries on the making of HE MAN?"

"So what if Han shot first?  What's the big deal?"

"Why do you need the Deluxe Edition?"

"Do you really need every season on DVD?"

"Do you really need every Friday the 13th on DVD?"

"How many different Freddy Krueger toys do we really need?"

"Does the Blu ray really look that much better?"

There are, of course, many more.  But we've all got our own questionable geeky habits that should be questioned by those around us.  Leave a comment with your special questions and help others gain the foresight of what they will have to answer for in their lives.

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The Moment I Knew

I remember it distinctly.

The moment I knew I had become an adult.  I'm not saying I am completely mature, that I have ever stopped watching cartoons, or that I stopped collecting toys and comics, but I definitely hit a moment where I realized I had grown up.  And there was no turning back.

Image source: Fanpop.com

It was like any other Saturday night.  My friend Mike and I went to go see a movie at the Queen Cinema in Eunice, La.  The Queen is one of those small town movie theaters where the teens working behind the counter will let you get into R-rated movies, the walls are not soundproofed so you can always hear the movie playing next to you, the candy is all off brand and stale, and everything kind of smells like mold but the smell never actually gets better or worse.  I know it sounds crappy....but it was all we had.  We lived in Eunice, La.  We didn't know any better.

So, Mike and I sat down to watch a movie we had been waiting months for.  It was going to be awesome.

LIAR LIAR starring Jim Carrey.

The next hour and a half of film unspooled before our eyes and left Mike and I questioning everything we thought we knew.  Why was Jim Carrey ripping off EVIL DEAD 2? Was Jim Carrey funny?  Had he ever been funny?  Was there a God?  Could Jennifer Tilly's cleavage save a movie?  We looked for answers.  We found none.

To wash the stink of LIAR LIAR out of our eyeholes we high-tailed it over to the local video store to rent DESPERADO as soon as the movie was over.  The promise of potential Salma Hayek nudity would make us feel better.  Sometimes it is the simple things that make all the difference.

Like I said.  I became an adult that night.  I never said I was mature.

Rubber Hose Heaven

Image source: Woman's Day

I can honestly say that I liked the way THE SIMPSONS looked a lot better when they were on THE TRACY ULLMAN SHOW.  Of course, I know I am in the minority...but I have always liked animation that is wild and imperfect.  Early "rubber hose animation" is probably my favorite period in animation history, and I look for that "anything goes" quality in every cartoon I watch from the classics all the way to more current shows.   If I want to see a character without the ability to stretch their bodies in odd, inhuman, ways I'll watch THE SHAHS OF SUNSET with my wife (although I will admit that some of Reza's dance moves are very "Steamboat Mickey).

The Plow Boy (Walt Disney Studios, 1929)

 As  soon as I start to see a character have set "happy" or "sad" faces in animation I start to lose interest.  And this trend always seems to occur early in any cartoon's history: the longer the cartoon is on, the less interesting the animation becomes.  Even classic studios like Warner Brothers fell prey to these trends.  Just look at most cartoons produced by the studio after 1950 and you are much more likely to see a limited number of expressions for each character and a distinct lack of creativity in both storytelling and the conveying of emotion.  Sorry Chuck Jones, you are no Bob Clampett.  That's just how I feel.

Ren & Stimpy is copyright (c) John Kricfalusi

 While I have my issues with John K. (for losing his ability to create cartoons that appealed to both kids and adults and his unending belief that he is the only "good" animator working in the world today), I will agree with his belief that animators need to be given free-reign to put their own stamp on characters and to avoid the use of model sheets to designate how a character looks when they are feeling various emotions.  I love He-Man as much as the next guy.....but his happy face is kind of creepy and nondescript....like Roma Downey.

There are, however, some rays of rubbery hope on television right now.  This very second.  Go ahead.  Look.  I dare you.  See, ADVENTURE TIME is on.  I told you so.

Image source: About.com

ADVENTURE TIME has shown that it is possible to create innovative animation with characters that convey a wide range of emotions and vary in appearance based on the animators or directors who are working on them.  Television schedules and limited budgets be damned.

Plus, it has LSP.

And that's something even Bob Clampett can't claim.

Lena Dunham vs Leatherface: Round 1

I just finished the 7th episode of the first season of GIRLS.

Image source: Diabolique Magazine

I'm watching the 8th episode now. I love it.

There was a brief moment where I really wanted to see the new Texas Chainsaw.  I thought about going today.  Then I decided I would rather watch Lena Dunham than Leatherface.  I never thought I would say those words.

Don't worry....I'm not abandoning horror movies.  I'll be first in line for THE LAST EXORCISM PART 2, and I'm counting down the moments until the new EVIL DEAD movie.  The difference between those movies and the new Texas Chainsaw comes down to one word...respect.  I feel like Sam Raimi, Eli Roth, and Lena Dunham all think that people who watch their movies are smart individuals who have a pop-culture memory that extends past the nineties and who look for some redeeming social message even in the silliest of jokes or the sloppiest of horror films.

Image source: Oh Silly Me blog

After having read the reviews and articles about the new Texas Chainsaw I truly feel like the filmmakers think the audience for the movie is made up of morons who have no concept of the important historical achievement that the first film was.  Hell, even the makers of SAW 7 respected that the audiences had gone to 6 other movies, wanted some degree of closure, and remembered what had happened in the previous films.

(On a side note, I would just like to say that I did indeed go to see a SAW film every year for seven years.  While this is not my proudest pop culture moment....it is certainly not the most shameful.)

Here is just a short list of the issues I have with the new Texas Chainsaw (without having seen the movie):

1) No "Massacre" in the title.  That's right....an audience that is going to an R-Rated movie about cannibals will probably be turned off by the word "massacre."  This change reeks of some suit in a marketing office somewhere deciding that "massacre" was "too negative" to be in the title.
2) Not filmed in Texas.  Fans of TCM know what Texas looks like.  Don't try to make me think Louisiana is Texas.....
3) Women in the Sawyer family.  One of the themes in the first movie was how the lack of a mother figure can effect a family.  By adding women to the family, the filmmakers negate this important bit of social commentary and also retroactively rewrite the first film.  BOOOO!
4) Wonky timeline.  The movie starts in 73, jumps to modern times, and the heroine (born in 73) is only in her 20's.  You do the math.  The filmmakers don't think you can.
5) Another rapper turned actor.  "Hey I want to break into movies by starring in a horror film.  Have I seen the original?  Hell no.  Can I put a song in the movie too?  I can?!?  Yay, thanks."

To complain in any more detail I would have to see the movie.  I'm not invested enough to spend the time or the money.  I would rather get done with the episode of GIRLS that I just paused to finish this entry.  Lena Dunham - 1, Leatherface - 0.

Top Five Found Footage Movies of All Time

The found footage genre fascinates me.  The conceit that we are seeing the movie through the eyes of the cameraman who will not look away or let us "off the hook" is intriguing and brilliant commentary on mankind's fascination with film, and our inability to look away from the ugliness in the world.  They are the perfect horror movies for the "YouTube Generation."

Or maybe they are just scary.

Whatever.

Image source: unrealitymag.com

5. Blair Witch Project - I just saw this movie and, although I had my doubts, it lived up to the hype.  Short on visual scares but full of tension, this movie really kept me on the edge of my seat.  I had heard for years that it didn't make sense, but if you pay attention there is a reason for that guy standing in the corner.  Hint: pay attention to the interviews with the villagers at the beginning of the movie for the key to the mystery.

4. REC 2 - The first REC is a neat variation on the zombie movies, but the 2nd movie in the soon-to-be quadrilogy comes out ahead of the pack by giving us zombies that can be put down by the power of faith, creepy demon kids in air ducts, and introduces the concept of viral demon possession.  Well played Spanish filmmakers, well played.

Image source: Spinoff Online

3. Cloverfield - I still remember the first trailer for Cloverfield.  No title.  No release date.  Just footage of an unseen monster chucking the head of The Statue of Liberty down a Manhattan street.  I was hooked.  The viral marketing campaign was genius, and made what should have been a simple Godzilla rip-off much more.

(c) Steve Wilkie/The Weinstein Company

2. Diary of the Dead - Okay.  I love Romero zombie movies so I know better than anyone that this is far from his best work.  The dialogue sucks.  The acting isn't great.  The special effects are just "okay."  However, because we can only see what the camera sees, the movie make zombies scary again.  Slow zombies just aren't scary anymore....but the constant threat of an off-camera attack kept me more nervous in a zombie movie than I had been in years.

Image source: Starburst Magazine

1. V/H/S - I love anthology horror and I love found footage, so V/H/S seems like a movie made just for me.  I looked forward to this movie for two years and it did not disappoint.  While I admit it is wildly uneven, the good far outweighs the bad, and each story brings something new and interesting not just to the found footage genre, but the horror genre as a whole.

Okay.

I know.

Where is CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST?

I must admit that I've never seen it.  I am not a prude, but I do have my limits, and I decided long ago that I was going to avoid this movie at all costs. I believe that even the most violent horror films should be enjoyable on some level, and since even people who like this movie have a hard time recommending it, I decided I should spend my time rewatching Saw VII (not the best choice....but I stand by it).