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Surprised to see that this show doesn't have a thread on here. Now I can understand why some people would pass on this show. When it comes to Netflix programs, ESPECIALLY the animated ones, they are either some of the best animated series ever made (Bojack Horseman, Castlevania) or some of the worst (Paradise PD, Neo Yokio). I think it also helps that the former series tend to really differentiate themselves from what is expected from a Western animated series. Bojack Horseman being an extremely dark comedy about an anthropomorphic horse trying to reform his lovely self, and Castlevania essentially being an adult "Western anime" so to speak. But F is for Family doesn't stand out like that, as F is for Family simply a family sitcom set in the 1970s. So I can imagine people dismissing it as "Netflix's take on The Simpsons, only set in the 1970s". It also doesn't help that the art style doesn't really do much to combat this thought, as it definitely is very dull and "safe".  But despite what the show comes off as, it's actually very good. And while I currently wouldn't rank it as good as say Bojack Horseman, it is still a high quality show that is within throwing distance. The show stars Frank who is a father of a dysfunctional family. Like many of these new animated comedies, he is voiced by a well known actor/comedian Bill Burr, who does a solid job in terms of voice work and acting. He is married to his wife Sue, and has three kids Kevin, Bill, and Maureen. When the show starts things seem pretty typical. Frank is the hot head dead who is a military vet who demands respect from his family (and rarely gets it), Sue is the calm voice of reason housewife, Kevin is the rebellious son, Bill is the good kid who is a bit of a doormat, and Maureen is seen as the golden child who is actually a two faced sociopath. However, as the show goes on the characters and the topic get much more depth. We see Frank constantly having to make hard decisions in his life as he wants to support his family, Sue struggling between following the social norms of being a stay at home wife or pursuing her dreams of being a successful business woman, Kevin in trying to be a teenager trying to fit in (yes, he's the most boring character), Bill who gradually shows his backbone but is constantly challenged as he lives in a town filled with psychopath children, and Maureen who despite gets all the attention from the family also constantly gets overlooked and wants to challenge gender norms. The further the show goes, the more one connects with the characters. It also really helps as the family is always in turmoil and is constantly challenged in nearly every episode. Many of these topics deal with the struggle of the middle class, sexism, race relations, domestic abuse, mental health, etc. Now I'm not saying the show is "the wokest show on Netflix", but for being an animated sitcom by Bill Burr, it will really surprise you at times. The show is also very funny. Especially with how sadistic the humor can be In short: F is for Family is a very good show, it's better than you would assume it. It isn't the perfect, show especially the first few episodes, but it soon finds its voice and style and does well to differentiate itself from all of the other comedies out there. Let's talk about the just released Season 3.
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Dec 3, 2018 06:43
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Oh, huh. Didn't know season 3 was out. This show is okay. It's fine. It's not great. I'll watch season 3.
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Dec 3, 2018 07:13
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 "Look at that six foot two inch toddler Dunburton expects me to babysit! He sorts luggage by race!" "GO BACK TO AFRICA! "
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Dec 3, 2018 08:23
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The stuff with Chet was pretty compelling, especially the last scene between him and Frank. Toxic masculinity is dangerous and destroys people and relationships.
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Dec 3, 2018 15:06
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ONE YEAR LATER posted:The stuff with Chet was pretty compelling, especially the last scene between him and Frank. Toxic masculinity is dangerous and destroys people and relationships. I took that last scene showing just how unhinged Chet really is.
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Dec 3, 2018 19:16
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I'm halfway through season 3. Overall I do like this show, but I find it hard to watch sometimes because they lay on the mean spirited humor, hopelessness, and depressing themes extremely thick. Whereas BoJack is mostly a show that will lift your spirits while including the occasional emotional gut punch, F is For Family is unrelentingly depressing. Also, if you grew up with an abusive father, it hits a little too close to home. I imagine it also hits too close to home for any checked out parent tied down to a family. Frank is also nearly impossible to feel any sympathy for, though the show does attempt to make you feel for him many times. He's such a whiny rear end in a top hat that he makes BoJack look like a saint. Also speaking of "F is for gently caress"... does anyone seriously still find excessive swearing in animated shows funny? Not even just casual swearing, this show goes out of its way to accentuate the words as if it's still considered edgy. "gently caress" is almost always said with as much hate and anger that they can muster up. Comparing to BoJack again, but BoJack has one "gently caress" per season and it's always at a meaningful moment. Despite these complaints, I do think it's a smart show and definitely above average for an adult animated sitcom. It goes out of it's way to subvert standard family sitcom tropes by showing a realistic broken family, and you never quite know what to expect from it. SweetMercifulCrap! fucked around with this message at 06:35 on Dec 4, 2018 |
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Dec 3, 2018 19:42
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Keep watching because I felt this season actually ends on a more positive note for the main cast. e: Frank is an rear end in a top hat and I don't think the show really positions him as anything but that. That being said, he is verbally abusive towards his kids and this is addressed in some ways, but it is yet to be seen if Frank will actually change and soften up a little. As for the cursing, I grew up in an Italian/Irish family and being really loud and cursing at each other is how we show emotion/affection/annoyance/pride/any other emotions so it doesn't come off as out of place to me. My parents were the 'yell and threaten but never actually hit us or do much to punish us outside of yelling' type so in a way it's very familiar and realistic, but my brothers and I are all nerds so we never got into any real trouble. ONE YEAR LATER fucked around with this message at 21:20 on Dec 3, 2018 |
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Dec 3, 2018 21:16
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Finished watching it with my fiance. Between Bojack Horseman, Sabrina, 13 Reasons and F Is For Family there sure is a lot of abusive parent baggage to go around  Real bummer for the missus because that sort of thing is hard to watch for her.I enjoyed this season and it's never been the most pleasant show but I felt it really took a turn for the dark this time round. There are laughs to be had, some really good ones, but there are quite a few episodes where maybe it's just a little too real. There also wasn't that much character growth and I was hoping the main story arc would be a little deeper than the way it concluded, but all in all it wasn't too bad. They massively reduced the amount of gross out humour (Thinking about those nasty redneck children) compared to the first two seasons which is good to see. I think if there's a fourth season, and I would like one, they need to shake it up a notch and explore the characters a bit more. There's still a lot of potential here that needs to be explored but it feels that for the themes they're trying to explore they need to stop playing it so safe and to not feel afraid to inject a little warmth into it from time to time.
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Dec 4, 2018 18:15
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I'm surprised how much this show touches upon sexism being how anti-feminist Bill Burr comes off as.Songbearer posted:Stuff. My main problem with the show is that the characters don't really evolve. So the finally ends with Frank having a wake-up call that he has to appreciate and care for his family more...erm isn't that what happened last season? There are also interesting arcs they just abandon by taking the easy way out. Such as Bill's road of becoming a sociopath, but it turns out he stops due to his ex-president's tattling on him while has Bill...start being friends with the ex-friend again due to reasons?
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Dec 4, 2018 19:01
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Also like BoJack Horseman, F is for Family has a problem with having the characters grow each season, only to hard reset at the beginning of the next season. BoJack's most recent season (5) was somewhat frustrating (while still being possibly the best season) because BoJack himself finally had strong character growth starting in season 4 and continuing through season 5 and was making serious strides toward being a better and more positive person, and at the end they instead decided to have him crash and burn rather than keeping that momentum going. However, BoJack has so much going on on top of the character drama that it isn't as big of an issue. Here, the emotional drama is basically everything so the backpeddling each season stands out. A scene that irked me for example was near the end when Frank tries to have a gentle heart-to-heart with Kevin and pours his heart out, only to reveal that Kevin fell asleep during Frank's monologue. They then erupt back into a shouting match once again.. I get what they're going for - attitudes can't just change from one heart to heart talk. But this at least the third time now they've done this exact same thing with Frank and Kevin.
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Dec 4, 2018 19:34
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I was kinda excited for them to explore Rosies run for Alderman(?) but after the episode they had him decide I think he only had about 2-3 background gags and then about 2 seconds of screentime before the season ended. I think he's still running by the end of the season? Maybe in S4 I guess
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Dec 5, 2018 21:45
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I'm halfway through the third season, but Chet creeps me out. The exchange in the F phantom where he gets quiet then says "So I'm a bad guy?" then scares Frank was really creepy. Or how he gives the exact same Friend dialogue to other people.
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Dec 5, 2018 21:55
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Oh my god there's so much screaming. Was every line in this show always screamed?
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Dec 6, 2018 13:49
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Panfilo posted:I'm halfway through the third season, but Chet creeps me out. The exchange in the F phantom where he gets quiet then says "So I'm a bad guy?" then scares Frank was really creepy. Or how he gives the exact same Friend dialogue to other people. That's the point. Dude's a sociopath. He seems almost too good to be true to Frank and that's because he is. He manipulates the people around him so he can abuse his enemies without them knowing.
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Dec 6, 2018 17:54
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Overall, I like the show a lot. The characters are diverse (albeit all the side characters are shown to be even crazier than the Murphys,) and I really like the '70s aesthetic. Season 3 felt like it had too many plotlines going on at once, necessitating most of them to be wrapped up pretty quickly, and certain character aspects to be exaggerated again (mostly Frank and Sue totally ignoring what the kids were doing.) The idea that Sue was on to Chet and Frank wasn't, was sort of put on hold so they could have their story at the lake and introduce Sue's stereotypical disappointed demeaning parents. And then they get back and Frank realizes almost immediately what's going on. Then it gets wrapped up pretty quickly so they can end on Bill and his stereotypical psycho girl troubles (I was really hoping Bridget would be a genuinely sweet girl with a potty mouth instead of another bargain bin batcrazy.) That's the trouble, trying to present a progressive plot while also retaining what makes your characters who they are, and why they are funny. To that end, it seems like it's hard to portray Frank within these storylines a lot of the time, because they call for him to be a loser in life, getting disrespected by his bosses, trying to be the voice of reason among selfish idiots, attempting whatever meager strategy he knows to get his kid on the right track and not just be a 14 year old wannabe rockstar/criminal/drop out, and actually be fairly sympathetic a lot of the time in the process. But then also get home and take it all out on his family and be a huge rear end in a top hat and curse at his son and call his other son a pussy and ignore his daughter and patronize his wife. I really wasn't a fan of season two's dynamic between Frank and Sue (mostly Sue's portrayal,) because Frank was portrayed as desperately trying not to lose his job and family's source of income, while Sue was portrayed as a bored housewife with a good idea trying to find some excitement in her life. At the house he couldn't be supportive of her due to his personality, but outside the house it was like he was scared shitless of losing his house. And then they go on the therapy retreat and he admits that he doesn't like the idea of Sue making more money than him, ultimately the idea of him failing as a man. Her response to this wasn't sympathy, but to call him a selfish rear end in a top hat. Later on, as they leave for different monumental tasks - Frank to try and finally get the airline back running and Sue to present her invention - she goes and insults his chances of getting his job back. And then she turns back and asks him, "Frank, isn't there anything you'd like to say to me?" as if finally expecting him to back her after she's just got done hitting him where it hurts the most. Of course, Frank is presented as the bad guy because he's an rear end in a top hat, who tells her that breakfast sucked, but it gets laid on so thick on the guy, at some point you don't really buy the idea that he's just an all around rear end in a top hat. Frankly, Sue is pretty well similar to him in that department, even moreso in season three with her friends. And then the season wraps up pretty nicely with Sue getting her invention stolen, Frank getting attacked by terrorists, and the two reuniting over the crisis, just like they did when Bill was missing. Anyway, sorry for the rant there. In summation, you can't really have characters like these progress that much, because then you logically lose the traits that make up their dynamic. Put it this way, how many times have Homer and Marge been on the rocks, only for them to not only make up, but maintain a sense that they were destined to be together? You think Frank will stop threatening to put people through that loving wall so easily?
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Dec 8, 2018 08:07
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OmegaBR posted:I really wasn't a fan of season two's dynamic between Frank and Sue (mostly Sue's portrayal,) because Frank was portrayed as desperately trying not to lose his job and family's source of income, while Sue was portrayed as a bored housewife with a good idea trying to find some excitement in her life. At the house he couldn't be supportive of her due to his personality, but outside the house it was like he was scared shitless of losing his house. And then they go on the therapy retreat and he admits that he doesn't like the idea of Sue making more money than him, ultimately the idea of him failing as a man. Her response to this wasn't sympathy, but to call him a selfish rear end in a top hat. Later on, as they leave for different monumental tasks - Frank to try and finally get the airline back running and Sue to present her invention - she goes and insults his chances of getting his job back. And then she turns back and asks him, "Frank, isn't there anything you'd like to say to me?" as if finally expecting him to back her after she's just got done hitting him where it hurts the most. What bugged me the most is how Sue was so surprised by finding out Frank's real feelings. Why wouldn't you assume that a traditional '70s man won't be emasculated and jealous by his wife making more than him?
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Dec 9, 2018 02:56
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Sue seems to trust Frank an awful lot. She never finished college, did she? Frank got her pregnant with their oldest while she was in school, which is why her dad hates him.
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Dec 9, 2018 03:16
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I just finished episode 9 and it triggered some sort of PTSD i'm not sure if i love it or hate it.
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Dec 20, 2018 06:25
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OmegaBR posted:Overall, I like the show a lot. The characters are diverse (albeit all the side characters are shown to be even crazier than the Murphys,) and I really like the '70s aesthetic. I actually find Sue a much more sympathetic character. She's the one doing the honeybee scouts thing and driving her kids around. When Maureen wanted her to take them to the Hobo Jojo show (knowing that he had a thing for pregnant chicks) she went. Also, Frank getting $150 worth of vending machine merchandise eaten was his own drat fault for letting Pogo get away with too much. And instead of making Pogo pay him back, he steals the money that Sue had saved, forcing her in turn to sell his locket to make her prototype. Then in a Gift of the Magi type outcome, Frank has to hock the color tv to get the locket back, which means they ended up taking a massive loss on it, probably giving up $500 of 1973 dollars at a point in time when they were desperately broke.And all of it was Frank's fault. Had Sue not been disciplined and prudent enough to set aside the money she did, they would have been even more screwed (her parents sending her money also helped a lot, too)
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Dec 20, 2018 18:53
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You bring up some fair points, and obviously Frank does a lot of crummy things based on his own idea of how it needs to be done, like any blowhard dad. I don't know how much I agree that it was his fault Pogo ate the merch, but you can argue that he should have tried to squeeze the money out of him (granted he was trying to maintain some kind of goodwill in the hope the airline got back to business, and replacing the merch was similar goodwill to keep his current job.) Sue is indeed more responsible at times and more nurturing toward the kids, but the fact remains that she was chasing a dream while Frank was trying to keep the ship afloat, and she wasn't exactly a saint in the process.
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Dec 23, 2018 08:49
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Is there a season 4 in the works? Anyone? ...Goomer 
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Jun 27, 2019 05:00
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Panfilo posted:Is there a season 4 in the works? Anyone? https://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/netflix/278841/f-is-for-family-season-4-netflix
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Jun 27, 2019 06:10
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Season 4 is out.
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Jun 13, 2020 21:25
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Finished Season 4. I really liked how they handled Frank's father. The first few episodes make it seem that Frank is just crazy. His father manages to completely fool even you. Then it just takes one scene for him to turn into a monster. Frank also just comes across as such an irredeemable rear end in a top hat this season. They do a good job at showing how everyone, even he, knows it.
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Jun 14, 2020 01:54
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The extra attention Vic got this season really opened him up for me. Vic was always funny, but it's nice see him as a more fleshed out character, exploring and facing some of his issues. Overall, loved season 4; Bob Pogo is disgusting.
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Jun 14, 2020 04:35
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The show also displayed just how much "younger" thirty is now in modern America. Plenty of music artists and celebrities are "hip" in their thirties today.
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Jun 14, 2020 09:54
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God drat, this show really knows how to end a season on a bummer huh
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Jun 15, 2020 02:16
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Orange Crush Rush posted:God drat, this show really knows how to end a season on a bummer huh Mike Price, one of the head writers, has been posting on the subreddit's season 4 thread to dispel a rumor for next season already: People were hypothesizing that Karen's/"Cutie Pie's" baby could be Kevin's (one of Smokey's hole condoms, the timing roughly makes sense), but Price confirmed her baby is intended to be Vic's. Also, sounds like at least he's definitely expecting another season!
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Jun 15, 2020 03:07
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punk rebel ecks posted:The show also displayed just how much "younger" thirty is now in modern America. Plenty of music artists and celebrities are "hip" in their thirties today. Pretty sure that’s just a running gag in the show. I don’t think anyone in their 30s is considered old.
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Jun 17, 2020 00:41
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awesome-express posted:Pretty sure that’s just a running gag in the show. I don’t think anyone in their 30s is considered old. I mean, back in the 70's they sure did. Today yeah it's like, who gives a poo poo but back then that was the hard cut off on being young and hip.
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Jun 17, 2020 07:35
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*sigh * "This is why you never poo poo where you eat" "YOU NEVER PAID FOR THAT EITHER!"
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Jun 20, 2020 18:02
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It’s starting to be a more depressing show to watch than Bojack Horseman. That’s not a slam, but it is getting more and more difficult for me to press play on the first episode because I know it’s going to be a ride. I’m glad that the social commentary about sexism and racism is exaggerated to the point where it can be ridiculed rather than being a more depressing, more realistic portrayal. Jonathan Banks was a great choice as a voice actor. Something seemed off about the character design of the Lamaze instructor but maybe I’m too used to hearing that voice come out of a talking business cat. Alice seems too good of a person to be anywhere near this family. The R is for Rosie episode is an amazing episode. On its surface it’s great as a regular sitcom hijinks episode, but it’s a spin-off/pilot sitcom episode that they always did in the 70s; makes me think of the pilot to The Jeffersons being aired as an episode of All in the Familiy. Otto’s answering machine message had me laughing harder than I’ve laughed in a long, long time. All in all, I’m glad I pressed play.
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Jun 25, 2020 10:04
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I don't think the shows depressing. There's lessons to be learned even if they are negative ones. I've enjoyed Kevin Murphys coming of age story, and this season's arc with him questioning how he treats himself and others was pretty endearing. Bill Burr's creative lead means that it's a more realistic approach to how people act and behave. Frank doesn't suddenly become a sappy loving dad after a positive moment. He relapses, he gets angry, he has to relearn lessons. It's refreshing to see. Highly recommend the show. It's not laugh out loud funny but it's just a good story about a family in the 70s. Edit: also like to mention that it's cool to see that the angry mom pregnant with the fourth kid doesn't have to apologize at the end of the season or insinuate she was kind of wrong for being mad. Doltos fucked around with this message at 02:05 on Jun 26, 2020 |
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Jun 26, 2020 01:58
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I like how Goomer is always in other people's houses when they aren't home, putting on their clothes and poo poo.
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Jun 26, 2020 10:34
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You like that? Sheesh, found the goomer
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Jun 26, 2020 12:27
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I thought the season was fantastic.
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Jun 29, 2020 02:44
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henpod posted:I like how Goomer is always in other people's houses when they aren't home, putting on their clothes and poo poo. This season was fantastic, but could've only been better if the neighborhood as a whole, black man and white, put aside their problems and differences to beat the poo poo out of Goomer until he died; then lit his corpse on fire.
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Jun 29, 2020 14:51
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All we need is a G is for Goomer episode. Just a whole montage of creepy poo poo Goomer gets into on the reg.
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Jun 30, 2020 21:24
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Kid Bill is definitely supposed to be young Bill Burr, right?
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Jul 1, 2020 06:51
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Teriyaki Hairpiece posted:Kid Bill is definitely supposed to be young Bill Burr, right? Looking at Burr's bio and interviews, I think he is combination of Kevin and Bill, but Frank is based on Burr's real father.
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Jul 1, 2020 18:34
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