May 28, 2009
Risatrix Watches "The Goode Family''
Accidentally, but Still
I totally forgot that the Mike Judge's new series "The Goode Family" was set to premiere last night, but somehow found it while I was flipping through the channels. This was a relief, since I had been looking forward to it. It's not that I don't think Mike Judge is awesome, it's just that I didn't put it on my calendar.
For some, it seems that Judge is making too deliberate a switch, from mocking conservative-ish Texans to mocking do-gooder liberals. But even on "King of the Hill" it was clear that Mike Judge was an equal-opportunity satirist, and he really liked to make fun of hippies--a fine and admirable quality in my book. In fact, one of my favorite "Hill" episodes was the one where Hank Hill learned to love the local co-op for its farm-raised beef, but had to run the store because the hippies were so incompetent. Tee hee.
So "The Goode Family" is basically the same type of humor you've already seen in other Judge productions. For those who have been with Judge since "Beavis and Butthead", family patriarch(?) Gerald Goode (voiced by Judge) is an obvious throwback to teacher David Van Driessen. This may be distracting for some, but for me it's a comforting voice from the past.
Gerald and his wife Helen (Nancy Carell) have a biological daughter named Bliss (Linda Cardinelli) and an adopted son named Ubuntu (David Herman). Ubuntu is African--South African to be precise, and the Goodes are clearly fighting an uphill battle to keep their hulking son "civilized". They also impose vegetarianism on their dog (see clip above).
In the pilot episode Helen worries that she is not close enough with Bliss and starts to question her daughter about her sex life. In retaliation, Bliss joins a Christian abstinence group. As always, Judge targets both sides of the issue, from the creepy-ass, Christian virginity ring trend to the uber-liberal, TMI school of parenting. In the end, Bliss grudgingly agrees to tell her mother if she has sex, as long as thre are no illusions about being BFFs.
This is why I think Judge is a genius. Though he makes fun of everything, he manages to be funny and practical. His comic conclusions always feature pragmatic, workable compromises: in "Office Space," Peter finds a job he doesn't hate; in "King of the Hill", Hank Hill and the other characters find some middle ground. "The Goode Family" doesn't stop at making fun of the excesses of hippie-dom, but gently suggests that the middle road is the best one. I've always loved the pragmatism at the heart of Judge's comedy, and attributed it to his background in science.
The really great thing is that by being "fair and balanced" Judge may just be able to do what shows like the "The Daily Show" cannot, namely win over some actual conservatives. One conservative blog has already taken the liberal media to task for not having a sense of humor about "The Goode Family". I never thought I'd say this, but I think I agree with the Newsbusters guy on this one.
Anyway, despite mixed reviews I thought the pilot was funny, and probably anyone who is a connoisseur of Mike Judge will think so too. My only caveat? I guess I wouldn't recommend it for hippies.
