Review: Family Guy “Mister Act”

 

Overview

Peter gifts Lois a stationary bike for Valentine’s Day that gives her a muscular figure Stewie develops some odd feelings for. Also, Peter injures his manhood after giving the bike a try and develops a high-pitched voice that lands him a spot in a group of choir boys who don’t take kindly to being outshone.

Our Take

I honestly can’t remember the last time I watched a new episode of Family Guy live. I can say with almost certainty it was back when it shared airwaves with its sister show, American Dad, so I had no idea what to expect diving back in after missing several years of the Griffin’s misadventures. Fortunately, Family Guy is like that rowdy college friend still keeping the party going years after you’ve settled down. So I went into this review with an open mind, ready to see what a 2022 Family Guy had in store.

“Mister Act” begins with Peter being surprisingly thoughtful and giving his wife a Pedalton bike. With all the recent hubbub over Peloton’s stock falling after a grim cameo in the Sex in the City sequel series, its probably for the best Family Guy goes with a knockoff. Particularly as the bike does enough damage to Peter’s balls it gives him a comically high-pitched voice. If there’s one thing I remember about the show, it was that Peter’s misfortunes only provide him opportunities, and this one puts him in a group of choir boys at the Griffin’s church.

Meanwhile, Lois develops an insanely fit figure and her striking frame attracts the attention of Stewie. I mean, really attracts him. It’s oddly comforting to know that after being away from Family Guy for so long, jokes about incest and organized religion are still providing the show with a lot of comedic fodder. That being said, more modern references in the show such as the Epic Handshake meme and TikTok personalities make me think how weird it is that this show is still on. Or maybe I just can’t accept getting older. Six of one, I suppose.

It’s not that the episode doesn’t try, however. The majority of my time spent watching this show was when it was plagued with cutaway gags and overly long bits. To my surprise, there were hardly any of either, at least not enough to distract me from enjoying the episode. The jokes were a lot tighter and helped move the plot along at a decent enough pace.

As far as the actual narratives go, the “Stewie being into Lois” plot got kind of old pretty quick and I wasn’t exactly thrilled with Peter being bullied by a group of choir boys. And, of course, there just had to be a reference to an 80s movie when Peter blatantly acknowledges The Karate Kid parody the third act is built around. All in all, watching this episode was like going to visit family you haven’t seen in years. You’re pleased at the changes they’ve made for the better and saddened when they still have some of the same old problems.

But it wasn’t the worst thing I’ve seen and for the equivalent of Sunday night comfort food, I’ll take it.