Arrested Development - Series 2 (DVD)

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Outstanding
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Standard
How does it compare to similar films?	Outstanding

Advantages:	Absolutely brilliant story, characters and development .
Disadvantages:	None

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Arrested Development is a highly rated and yet cancelled American comedy, it was seen on BBC2 at ridiculous o'clock many nights but never really got the coverage it deserved here. It is being talked about as a film in 2010 as many of the stars are now film actors (Jason Bateman, Michael Cera) and people miss it. I have included a main character synopsis from my Series 1 review as I think that was only read by 2 people (Go read it if you fancy finding out how wonderful that series was!!!).

With wonderful characters such as the controlling mother, the closet transvestite fancying lawyer, the magician/idiot son and the repressed main character. Narrated by Ron Howard he fills in the gaps and makes the story flow so well, the acting is fantastic, the writing is deep, intricate and your viewing is rewarded with numerous in-jokes about cousin loving, Tobias sexuality, the Bluth's relationship with their mother and even digs at the Iraq war with an FBI expose on WMD being found in Iraq having a connection to the Bluths actually being a photo Tobias actually took of his testicle!!! Genius this rewards your viewing and if you watch it you'll get so much from it.

£17.99 on Amazon or Play, you should watch the first series first and you'll be hooked and then series 3 to finish this tour-de-force of modern comedy.

The Characters

Jason Bateman - Michael Bluth - Michael is the main character and possibly the only sensible (sane) member of the Bluth family, following his fathers arrest for fraud, Michael takes on responsibility for the family business as well as looking after the fragile members of his family.

Michael Cera - George Michael Bluth - Michael's Son, George Michael is a sensitive and sensible teenager, who occasionally succumbs to wanting to be as mad as the rest of his family but is as sensible as his father. He is in love with his cousin Maebe and is constantly thinking up schemes to be closer to her, despite sharing a room.

Jeffrey Tambor - George Bluth Sr/Oscar Bluth - George Bluth Senior is a devious trickster, he lies, cheats and loves it until he gets caught. He spends most of the first series in prison having his life unravel as his personal secrets are discovered.

Portia de Rossi - Lindsay Bluth-Funke - Michael's twin sister, Lindsay married the psychologist Tobias Funke and has regretted it ever since, a spendaholic who doesn't know if she wants to be a charity worker, a slut or a good mother, she can veer between all three although sporadically, a great character, has many spats with her mother, her daughter, her husband and her brothers.

Will Arnett - Gob Bluth - Pronounced Jobe, Gob is a magician who was struck off the magic register, entering rooms to his theme tune, 'the final countdown', Gob manages to make the family yacht disappear (Sink) at a live spring break show for Mtv, gets married for a dare, rides around on a strange mobility scooter and generally adds madness to any scene he enters. Constantly wishing to outsmart Michael, he does have a big heart, but a very small brain!!!

Alia Shawkat - Maebe Bluth-Funke - The test tube offspring of Lindsay and Tobias, Maebe has no qualms with pretending to be disabled to raise money for herself or make her cousin jealous, she is a sassy character and while far smarter than her parents still has that air of being a Bluth

Tony Hale - Buster Bluth - Mollycoddled youngest son, Buster is addicted to Juice, he lives with his mother and sometimes sleeps at the end of her bed, a crazed man, he falls for Lucille (Liza Minelli) his mothers best friend and has a general penchant for older women and being a bit silly, he develops into an integral character by the second series.

David Cross - Tobias Funke - Psychologist and wannabe actor, he becomes the protégé of Carl Weathers (Action Jackson, Apollo Creed), Tobias is unwittingly the campest man in the world, and also has a strange psychological condition that he must wear cut offs at all times being a never nude. Whilst proclaiming to have the agility of a cat, Tobias seems to get run over and beaten up an awful lot.

Jessica Walter - Lucille Bluth - The matriarch of the family, a gold digging, selfish woman happy to square her kids off against each other, she adores Buster as her servant and son, doesn't like Lindsay or Gob and tolerates Michael, utterly materialistic and petty, she is an integral part of most stories.

Ron Howard - The Narrator - Narrating each episode and throwing in asides throughout, Ron Howard is Richie from Happy Days or the director of a number of classic Hollywood films including the recent 'Frost Nixon', his narration sounds innocent but is full of digs, asides and funny remarks, absolutely vital to the story and how brilliantly it flows.

Liza Minelli - Lucille Austero - Lucille Bluths best friend and rival, she lives next door to Lucille and seduces Buster with her vertigo and his short sightedness, a woman with a heart of gold and feet of jelly, this is a great return to the screen for Minelli.

Henry Winkler - Barry Zuckerkorn - The Bluth's family lawyer, Barry is incompetent and he knows it, with a penchant for transvestites and truck stops there is more not said than said with Barry, he is a fantastic character and a world away from 'the fonz' although the odd in-joke plays on this, his incompetence never works to the families advantage he even sues family members at various stages, but continues until his successor (you'll have to watch to find out but its a wonderful in-joke) takes over in later series.

Episodes:

The one where Michael Leaves - After learning the family had dealings with Saddam Hussien Michael and George Michael leave for Phoenix but go back to ensure the family misses them. Lindsay wants to have an open marriage, which causes Tobias to try to join the Blue Man Group under the impression that they are a support group for depressed men. Lucille signs Buster up for the Army after being goaded by a Michael Moore look-alike. Gob becomes president of the Bluth Company.
The one where they build a house - Gob promises a model house for a new development in only two weeks to impress a model he has met. To meet this commitment, everyone in the family (Plus the action hero Tom Jane portraying an actor portraying a homeless man) helps to build a fake house that is empty on the inside. Lucille begins an affair with her husbands twin brother, Oscar and George Snr gets arrested in Mexico after being mistaken for his twin brother Oscar.
Amigos! - Lucille hires a detective who locates George Sr. in Mexico. Michael goes to collect his father, accompanied by George Michael and his girlfriend Ann as well as Maebe and Lindsay, Ann gets left behind in the inevitable chaos. Buster having been referred to the army hides in the car trunk and falls asleep he gets out of the car when Michael drops their Mexican cleaner off at her house and believes he has left the country, but is only 10 minutes from home. Gob hires a bounty hunter named Ice to keep tabs on Michael (and be his friend) and incites a Mexican with his famous Chicken dance.
Good Grief - George Michael is dumped by the drab Ann and then discovers his grandfather died in Mexico (He didn't!!) he goes off to be alone and finds his grandfather hiding in a hole in the model home construction site. Buster is told they are celebrating his fathers birthday rather than funeral and helps Gob with his magic trick being buried in his fathers place in the coffin!

Sad Sack - George Sr. is concerned about the romance growing between Lucille and his twin brother Oscar and takes matters into his own hands to find out. The prosecutor turns up new evidence supporting the Bluths "light treason" charge.

Afternoon Delight - Gob gets upset at the Bluth company Christmas party and fires all the employees, Michael in a rare state of relaxation takes to the karaoke with neice Maebe and sings a wildly inappropriate sexual song, Michael attempts to placate the employees holding a second party at the banana stand but Lindsay and George Michael repeat the Karaoke mistake while Lucille crashed her car into Gob (dressed as a giant banana) while stoned!

Switch Hitter - Gob quits the Bluth company to go and work for a rival, Michael feeds him ideas to show his father he is good and his father is more worried that the rival has stolen Gob for the annual softball tournament.

Queen for a day - The families stock is unfrozen and people get a bit trigger happy with the money, meaning Lucille 2 takes over control of the organisation, Michael buys a corvette and Tobias buys a gay club called the Queen Mary and then attempts to rehabilitate a group of street toughs (actually the hot cops from series one).

Burning Love - George Snr hides upstairs, George Michael takes part in a Christian record burning night organised by Ann, but confusion reins as people turn up believing it to be a cd burning party. Lindsay tries to entice a right-wing actor by wearing a fur coat but ends up being shot with tranquilisers by Tobias who believes her to be a wolf, Michael continues his incredibly unsuccessful wooing of Sally Sitwell.

Ready Aim Marry Me - Thinking Lucille 2 (the majority shareholder) and Stan Sitwell are plotting against the Bluth company following the charity auction, Michael sets up Lindsay to go on a romantic get-away with her fake Uncle Jack (Martin Short) on the condition that Jack would bail out the company again, Tobias follows and fights the old disabled man for his wife. Lucille 2 and Stan Sitwell are followed on their date by Gob and Buster.

Out on a Limb - Gob files for divorce, Michael finds out his former love, Maggie Lizer (Julia-Louise Dreyfuss) is now pregnant although he has doubts as she previously pretended to be blind. This causes him to split with Sally. Tobias and Lindsay break into her house to collect a pee sample to confirm her pregnancy. Buster swims in the ocean after being told not to by his mother and has his hand bitten off by a loose seal (Which has a taste for blood following a magic trick involving Gob and a cat).

Hand to God - Michael tries to find a way out of raising his baby, Maeby passes herself off as a studio executive and gets her homework done by professionals while making a film, Buster is given a hook to replace his hand and Gob admits his part in turning the loose seal carnivorous.

Motherboy XXX - Lucille, ashamed of Buster's missing hand, recruits George-Michael to compete in the annual "Motherboy" contest with her.

The Immaculate Election - Michael and Gob try to help George Michael win school elections against Steve Holt and George Snr becomes a Christian. Lindsay kicks Tobias out, but he returns, disguised as Mrs. Featherbottom, to become their singing British housekeeper.

Sword of Destiny - Gob performs the Sword of Destiny act in an amazing double bluff as Busters Assistant to impress his nemesis played by Ben Stiller. George Snr tries to recontact his employees by tape but one angry employee passes this onto the FBI who believe he made it in Iraq.

Meat the Veals - Michael introduces the Bluths to Ann's conservative parents in hopes of turning them against George-Michael and Ann's pre-engagement. Oscar throws Lucille a party to celebrate her wedding anniversary.

Spring Breakout - Michael tries to get his mother into rehab, while Kitty tries to get a Bluth boy of her own by stealing George Snr's sperm. Lucille challenges her to a drinking competition with George as the prize.

The Righteous Brothers - The model home collapses, Kitty and Tobias head to Las Vegas together, Michael is arrested while George Snr double crosses Oscar and gets him arrested.

This was the smartest most knowing comedy on television, with wonderful writing, acting, narration and direction, the stories build wonderfully, the characters build and you understand their actions or not as they develop. The show was shut down due to lack of ratings or something silly, but is one of the best American comedies ever. The characters are amazing, the narration is fantastic, the subtle story links and the wonderful ability to allow the audience to be smart and think about it, mean this comedy never sinks to the level of some other shows.

DVD Extras

18 Episodes
Audio Commentaries on Selected Episodes
Season one in 3 minutes featurette
Deleted/Extended scenes
Blooper Reel

This review has also been posted on Dooyoo under the same username.