Review: Family Guy “Trump Guy”

Forget the chicken, Peter has a new arch-nemesis to battle to the death with, President Trump.

Overview:

Peter has landed a new gig working for President Donald Trump – which is a great way to start a synopsis.  Meg gets a crush on Ivanka Trump, and they bond over both of their parents being fat idiots.  Ivanka transforms Meg into a beautiful woman – by Washington standards.  Of course, Donald makes a pass at her as soon as he gets the chance.  Unfortunately, her family doesn’t believe her until they catch him red-handed.  As Peter confronts his new boss insults fly and things develop into an all-out brawl.

Our Take:

Going into an episode where Peter Griffin gets a job working for President Trump it’s needless to say expectations are high.  With season 16 being up and down thus far, this one feels like it can make the season a highlight, or break it entirely.  With Trump being the biggest debate and hottest topic of the last couple of years, to do a Family Guy episode featuring him, it would need to go all out and pull no punches.  And, it’s fair that we expect nothing less from this show.

So, let’s start with what’s really important, how many Trump jokes are there, and how deep do they cut?  I am not gonna lie, they kind of nailed some great ones.  While there are a few heavily political jabs, there are some great hits that we should expect from Family Guy.  My personal favourites were when Ivanka Trump refers to her father as “kinda like my boyfriend,” or when they had Trump play the part of Jabba the Hutt with Mike Pence as his ratty sidekick Salacious Crumb.

I was a bit shocked that we didn’t get to see Peter and Trump become best friends, as it was made quite clear in this episode that they are both fat idiots.  But, having animosity come between them was even more satisfying.  It was best when it culminated into a fourth wall breaking debate in which Peter argues it is okay for him to be a jerk because he is an animated character and the president of the United States should be held to higher standards.  Trump admitting Bob’s Burgers is his favourite animated series was a whole other blow of its own.

Truly what this episode is about, and what it all culminates to is the 5-minute fist fight between Peter and Trump.  Much like we have seen before with Peter and his old nemesis the chicken.  But, this one takes place in the countries capital and the White House – even some nuclear weapons get fired at one point.  As a Canadian, my favourite part of this battle is the conclusion as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau comes in to save the day.  And, of course, he flies off on some Canadian geese like the magical beast he is.  They kind of nailed him.

So, with expectations high going in, how did this monumental episode hold up?  It’s hard to say.  It’s difficult for Family Guy to fit in as much as they wanted to and it kind of shows.  The beginning of the show is kind of rushed to get the story going, and it feels like we missed out on some opportunities to see Trump’s character come out more.  But, the humour is sharp, and it is clear that the goal was to show Peter kick Trump’s ass at the end – and who can complain about that?  Plus, I loved the way that they characterized the president as the orange mess that he is.  So, I guess I kind of loved it.