Review: American Dad “Langley Dollar Listings”

Overview:

American Dad begins a new season with Francine and Roger at odds after an opening as a realtor on a popular house flipping reality show, “Langley Dollar Listings,” becomes available. Francine is excited for a change of pace in her life, but the unreasonable complications of her new job give her pause, not to mention Roger’s growing resentment towards her.

The rest of the Smith family get caught up in an entrepreneurial effort that spirals out of control after Jeff’s refined coffee brewing skills come to light and are immediately exploited.

Our Take:

Reality television has only become more omnipresent and it’s a well that American Dad has drawn from before with entries like “The Bitchin’ Race” and “Family Plan.” However, the subset of house flipping reality shows and the increasing number of Housewives series are the new normal and fresh territory for American Dad to lampoon. A great sense of Langley and its residents have come into focus across American Dad’s 17 seasons and so a story like this that in many ways is more about Langley itself, and its many quirks and eccentricities, is able to naturally flow and not feel like a stretch for American Dad. The series has gleefully been filling in the fringes of the community for years and “Langley Dollar Listings” succeeds as a strong extension of this.

American Dad has reached a place of effortlessness with its characters where the majority of pairings between its cast yield great results, but there’s an extra level of electricity that fuels Roger and Francine stories, whether they’re working together or against one another. “Langley Dollar Listings” is all about how Francine and Roger are both extremely determined individuals who are capable of severe perseverance. However, in Francine’s case it’s in regards to her ability to survive and with Roger it speaks to how he’s always willing to get revenge on whoever he feels has wronged him. They’re wildly different ideals, but equally strong fires burn inside of both Francine and Roger. “Langley Dollar Listings” is a satisfying entry that features Francine and Roger at odds, as well as together as a team.

“Langley Dollar Listings” has a lot of ammunition for its very specific brand of comedy as it pokes fun at the ridiculous “names” that TV realtors have as well as the absurdly embellished facts that they proudly use to advertise their homes. The episode also frequently leans into taking head confessionals and a presentation style that’s more in line with reality television. It’s helpful that the episode embraces the style of these programs so much, but at the same time this also doesn’t become a disruptive element to the installment. It’s able to compliment Francine and Roger’s storyline and make the episode feel a little unique, but not transform it into some structural deviation.

This is the natural territory for any reality television storyline to explore, but it falls a little flat here since it never truly feels like Francine has fallen in love with realty. or that she’s even particularly passionate about it. A lot more time is spent on Roger’s eccentricities and the hoops that Francine needs to jump through to move houses instead of why she’s driven by this. The infrastructure to easily get this information out is even baked into the episode with the periodic use of talking head confessionals that are turned to during the reality TV portions of the episode.

The later seasons of American Dad have increasingly put Jeff in the spotlight and it’s been a mostly effective endeavor that’s actually added depth to the character rather than having him wear out his welcome or grow into more of a caricature. One element about Jeff that helps him stand apart from everyone else is that there’s a certain purity that accompanies him and even when he’s good at something Jeff is either oblivious towards it or completely humble in a way that frequently confounds Stan. 

Between the squirrel realty and drug-fueled coffee there are a lot of manic heights in “Langley Dollar Listings” that represent some of American Dad’s broader humor. Neither of the stories here are nothing groundbreaking, but they’re elevated through fantastic dialogue, particularly from Roger, Jeff, and many of the supporting characters, like Trashelle (Julie Bowen!). There are certain lines that aren’t necessarily anything special, like Roger’s contentment over tying a string to his corn nuts, that become much funnier and achieve a greater impact due to how they’re repeated. Additionally, the emotional beats are fewer and far between in this premiere, but it’s still a satisfying dose of the Smiths that effectively spreads its wealth between the characters. 

This is a strong, encouraging start to the season that’s already having fun. What’s accomplished in “Langley Dollar Listings” should be proof that American Dad’s magic hasn’t gone anywhere after seventeen seasons. This is not a show that needs to spike its product with Bogota cocaine in order to get results. American Dad is drugs.

Oh, and don’t be worried that season seventeen of American Dad might feature any less Tuttle because he’s back, baby. Tuttle’s back.