Review: American Dad “The Grounch”

Overview:

An innocent act of boredom on Snot’s part where he decides to rank the Smith family on their respective levels of hotness triggers an avalanche of insecurities. Everyone adjusts to Snot’s list in different ways, but Roger has the hardest time with the news and finds himself struggling to maintain his mojo when in the face of consistent sexification. Roger’s sexual confidence evaporates, but what forms out of the wreckage is a troublesome creature that’s absolutely not a Dr. Seuss rip-off.

And Stan learns that enthusiasm alone isn’t enough to run a men’s fashion magazine. 

Our Take:

Holiday specials are a cherished tradition in many long-running animated series, but American Dad has put a special level of importance on these seasonal installments. For years, Christmas episodes would be used as odd indulgences in hyper-serialziation and lore, while more recently they’ve helped American Dad indulge in other hyperbolized experiments. American Dad has explored Christmas through many different lenses over its prolific run, but The Grinch is one of the biggest holiday touchstones to parody and it’s managed to stay off of American Dad’s radar for more than 300 episodes. It’s now finally time for American Dad to tackle the Dr. Seuss classic with Roger, of course, filling the role of the nonsensical holiday curmudgeon, albeit with a sex-based twist.

A popularity list is an incendiary idea that plenty of sitcoms turn to and American Dad doesn’t waste the opportunity. It hits in many of the ways that one would expect, but it also bears some surprising fruit. One of the highlights of the episode is Snot’s earnest, matter-of-factly breakdown of what makes each member of the Smith family hot, and why. It’s a simple piece of writing that gets a lot of mileage out of its unusual sincerity and how the Smith family is so receptive to listen to Snot’s suddenly-sage advice. Also, just the fact that Snot’s rankings have seemingly become public knowledge is another fun wrinkle to this odd ego exercise. 

Roger’s ranking sends him into a depressive tailspin, which turns him into a wet blanket at his annual holiday sex party. This all becomes the catalyst for the titular “Grounch” theatrics that threaten to ruin everyone’s horny holidays so that Roger’s not the only one who’s sexually frustrated this Christmas. “The Grounch,” quite transparently, is an episode that’s all about Roger regaining his confidence, finding his groove, and feeling like he’s the sexiest one in whatever orgy he’s in at any given moment. It’s a reflective, crude story that’s still sweet and emotional in its own way. 

“The Grounch” unsurprisingly really picks up and comes into its own after Roger’s metamorphosis during the episode’s second-half. The first two acts aren’t disappointing, but The Grinch gags are just so well-executed, right down to Klaus’ rhyming narration, that they just can’t compete with this more playful half of the installment. In fact, the episode’s post-Grounch material is so strong that it’s a shame that this episode doesn’t begin under this stylistic format and embrace the medium even further. It’s helpful to understand just what Roger’s lost and the change that he experiences before he turns to revenge, but these same plot points could be covered through Klaus’ playful narration as a Grounch-ified Roger reflects back on the past. Elizabeth’s decision to betray Roger and go to Tuttle’s holiday sex party could hit even harder if the audience learns through flashback that she used to be Roger’s life instead of watching it play out in chronological order. 

“The Grounch” examines how to rebuild Roger’s confidence when it’s in freefall mode, but Snot’s list triggers a similar identity crisis in Stan. Curiously, Stan and Roger are at the opposite ends of Snot’s list, but they both find themselves subject to the most extreme changes and desperate bids for approval. There’s a lot of fun to be had with “Stan Magazine,” a men’s magazine that’s finally brave enough to review wristwatches with a boner scale, put a Pikachu on every page, and feature ironic female sex columnists. It’s an idea that’s rich enough to sustain its own episode and has plenty of room to include the rest of the cast, but American Dad basically speedruns through the premise around Roger’s own seasonal malaise. 

“The Grounch” is not American Dad’s best Christmas episode, but it’s a fun way to end what’s been one of the show’s strongest, most diverse seasons. It’s a broad episode that leans into the most lecherous and vulnerable sides of Roger’s character, with an absurd B-story that thematically compliments the seasonal sex-based shenanigans. The Grinch elements play out fairly predictably and the inner peace that Roger eventually reaches, much like his Dr. Seussian counterpart, isn’t anything that hasn’t already been covered by American Dad. It still makes for a sweet, character-driven affirmation to end the season on, which is hard to hate.

Now here’s hoping the hunt to catch the killer of Barry’s grandmother becomes an ongoing storyline through next season. Justice for the Robinson family.