Review: American Dad “Don’t You Be My Neighbor”

Overview:

The Smith family cover a wide spectrum of emotions when new neighbors on Cherry Street become the catalyst for a major secret between Stan and Francine. Francine’s excitement to welcome in this new family and befriend their matriarch grows increasingly complicated as this family goes on to bring out the best and worst in the community.

Roger rises above the entire situation–literally–with a high-flying persona that’s more of burden than a blessing…and he’d have it no other way.

Our Take:

One of the perks of a television show that’s been around for nearly two decades is that there are occasionally opportunities to “redo” ideas that have been done before. American Dad is smart and subversive enough to take such a moment and use it as a way to highlight how much its characters have changed and grown since the series’ humble debut. “Don’t You Be My Neighbor” returns to one of American Dad’s very first story ideas from all the way back in its sixth episode, “Homeland Insecurity.” In both of these episodes the major conflict comes from the Smith family’s new neighbors, but “Homeland Insecurity” and “Don’t You Be My Neighbor” couldn’t be more different in their execution. “Homeland Insecurity” represents a more outdated version of American Dad where the worst possible thing that could happen to the Smith family is that “un-American” foreigners move in next door and are ignorantly presumed to be terrorists. “Don’t You Be My Neighbor” is instead a wild and idiosyncratic story about the power of community, both in a neighborhood and in a family.

“Don’t You Be My Neighbor” sets itself up to be a really moving Francine episode where she hopes to find some sense of belonging with a similar family next door. It’s a goal that makes perfect sense for Francine and even feeds into the same themes as the recent “Frantastic Voyage.” Francine’s anxious motivations never waver in this episode, but they curiously take a backseat once “Don’t You Be My Neighbor” reveals itself to be a much more layered episode. It’s a playful twist once the rest of the Smith family, plus Greg and Tuttle, congregate as the Cherry Street Neighbors Haters Club. It’s always entertaining when diverse characters can be united through spite and this specific combination of characters have never been involved together in the same storyline. It’s a refreshing idea that also makes smart use of Greg and Tuttle, who are both at their best here.

Some of the best moments in “Don’t You Be My Neighbor” is when the episode allows this toxic group to operate in perfect synchronicity. The exaggerated pomp, circumstance, and precision behind their elaborate scheme to make the neighboring family leave is truly hilarious. It involves so many moving parts where every character plays a crucial role so that this friendly man believes that he’s guilty of murder and goes on the run as a fugitive. All of this becomes even more humorous if it’s to be believed that this exact grift is what’s been done to all of the unwanted neighbors that the Cherry Street Neighbor Haters Club has pushed out of town. It’s the perfect variety of casual madness that American Dad handles so well.

“Don’t You Be My Neighbor” also avoids the standard resolution that one might expect for an episode of this nature. So many of the events in Paul Stroud’s excellent script feel like they’re speed-running through major plot points, but in a way that only improves the episode and forces it to work harder. Francine gets her displaced neighbors back as quickly as they were expelled (it’s amazing what a free helicopter will do for a fractured friendship), but it’s not long until she’s starting to wish that she were a part of Cherry Street’s most cathartic club. The episode’s pivot to Francine hating these neighbors more than anyone is a little convenient in a “be careful what you wish for” capacity. It also slightly muddles the episode’s grander themes of community and lets Stan off the hook for his reception a little too easily. That being said, the kinship that Francine finds with the rest of her neighbors works well enough that “Don’t You Be My Neighbor” still feels like a success.

“Don’t You Be My Neighbor” is a busy American Dad episode that makes great use of the show’s supporting players and highlights the outrageous mob mentality that sets in when too many characters get together. American Dad manages to say new things on some of its signature themes and it’s a successful episode both in terms of plotting and the sheer number of gags that it delivers. Not many American Dad episodes include cooking tips, a meteor crash, and a new target that gets “Dadded!”

Remember, no one is safe!