Review: Family Guy “Fat Gun”

This “Top Gun” parody chronicles Peter/Maverick getting together with Lois/Charlie, the tragic death of Joe/Goose, and Peter/Maverick’s blooming relationship with Chris/Rooster.

Our Take

Tom Cruise and Family Guy go back decades in parody so why not make it official and take care of one of the Golden Globe winning actor’s most notable starring roles, that of “Maverick” in Top Gun. And not JUST the first Top Gun, no, both of the blockbuster films get a real wallop at the behest of long-time writer Artie Johann. Want more? How about a quick montage of parodies for most of Tom Cruise’s other notable roles in film?  “Fat Gun” has it all this week and even the return of a long-lost Family Guy cutaway gag star did a lot in helping me forget that shitty NASCAR made me wait an extra two hours to watch the show’s season 23 premiere on FOX.

I do have a few gripes that are small and most have to do with the fact that I kinda wish this parody episode got the same treatment as the Star Wars sagas in terms of giving us a full-hour of power to see what else the writers could’ve came up with if we were allowed to flesh out a bit. Could we have then gotten some additional cameos that would’ve been better than with what we got with Stewie and I for one would have liked to have seen Meg in some of those Top Gun training missions.

Overall, “Fat Gun” is a strong return episode for Family Guy. It’s been a while since this show has really swung bats at easy pitches by way of Hollywood like how the show did in the earlier 2000’s, but if this is just the start of the show’s 23rd season then I think we’re going to have a fun few months here on FOX, just so long as NASCAR can find a different night of the week to have races on…or better yet, move AniDom to another night so we don’t have to keep dealing with this overrun bullshit.