Family Guy

Something, Something, Something Darkside

Fox (2009)

R1/R4 DVD

OK, we all know the storyline. This one-hour show follows on from their earlier spoof of the first Star Wars and once again puts the Griffin family into the familiar Star Wars roles. The parodies of the original film’s characters are well done with enough original joke material to stop this cartoon being just a copy of Star Wars. That’s the main problem with this type of show – we DO all know the storyline and we know what to expect in the plot. If we also know the Family Guy characters then there’s not much left to explore once we get used to the combination.

With the plot already known, it’s hard for this sort of show to maintain the momentum. This one, however, has a pretty good try at it. Although most of the jokes are the simple one-liners and sarcasm that the Americans love, there is enough of it that sooner or later you start to get that lift in your mood that means that the film has got to you. I must admit I was surprised. Such derivative shows don’t always reach that point.

I am not a great fan of Family Guy but I have seen enough of it to be comfortable with the characters. Set in a different environment like this film, I thought they were funnier than the rather repetitive TV show. There are some interesting extras, and the disk features a version ready to transfer to computer or other media.

Give it a try. It’s lightweight entertainment but there are some good laughs in it.

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