Review: Fugget About It “Havana Kill Castro”

SPOILERS BELOW

Fugget About It follows the life of former mob boss, Jimmy Falcone. When Jimmy finds out that the mob wants to whack his Uncle Cheech, Jimmy whacks his boss and prosecutes against members of his mob. Now Jimmy Falcone lives by a new name, Jimmy MacDougal. He along with his family have been placed in witness protection. Their new home? Regina, Saskatchewan.

For many, Old Man Winter is just around the corner. People are planning their evacuations, or what we lovingly call “vacations”. Life is no different for Jimmy and the rest of the MacDougall’s. This week we see the family take a trip to Cuba and McCool is coming along for the ride.

Hanging out in Canada and poking fun at the same old stereotypes is well and great, but taking the family into a new environment opens the door for new types of situations and jokes. The kinds of jokes you wouldn’t be able to make on a regular episode are now possible and a whole new culture becomes your playground.

This episode was great for the most part. There was a lot to be enjoyed, but there were just a few things bogging it down. Taking the family to Cuba was an excellent idea. The writers got to play with the relationship that actually existed between Cuba and the New York crime families. Cuba also made sense because it’s a place that Americans recently had a difficult time traveling to (although recent events have seen that change) so the family would be safe from the mob. Some political themes in this episode may go over the heads of some viewers. McCool mentions there is no chance that the family will be spotted by the mob, but he never explains why.

The driving force of this episode is the attempt to assassinate Fidel Castro. Gina discovers that killing Castro would be a huge service to the crime families in New York and would grant them pardon for life. For Gina, Jimmy, and Cheech, this is obviously a huge opportunity to leave Canada forever and return to their old lives.

Episodes of Fugget About It that address the entire premise of the show are interesting. Whenever they have the chance to return to New York, they always jump at the opportunity. They never appropriate to life in Canada because the moment they do, their cause is dead. Bringing their goal within inches of reach creates great tension. We know they ultimately won’t succeed, but what if they did? The possibility is fun to ponder.

Meanwhile, in this episode, Petey drinks some Cuban water fresh from a drinking fountain and becomes ill and Theresa wants to spend her vacation time with a hunk from Quebec. Cookie is caught between finding Petey medical care and keeping Theresa’s legs closed. These portions of the episode didn’t serve the greater story but had plenty of clever dialogue.

This really seemed like a great Cookie story. A mother’s job never ends and this episode proved it for her. While she should have been relaxing, she was doing her job as a mom. Theresa also proves to be more than we expected in this episode. While visiting the guys at Fugget About It in Toronto, they mentioned to me that we would see more of Theresa’s character this season. Fewer bimbo jokes. That’s what we got in this episode.

Unfortunately, a lot of the story was gas and poop jokes. But just from a character perspective, it was a great watch.

Overall, I really enjoyed this episode. It took a stab at a new approach and it paid off. Plenty of clever dialogue, a new setting, smart humor, and an overall plot that addresses the premise of the show. All things that make Fugget About It the show fans love.

How did you like Havana Kill Castro? Like it? Not so much? Be sure to share your thoughts with us!

Fugget About It is on every Friday night at 9:00 EST on Adult Swim Canada!