Summary
- Family Guy's "Fat Gun" parody falls short in ratings despite Top Gun's potential as fodder.
- The show's history of movie spoofs includes complete parodies and episodes where characters play themselves.
- "Fat Gun" fails to impress due to overused jokes, missed opportunities, and a lack of focus on the sequel.
Family Guy recently parodied Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick in the season 23 premiere, but the episode proves that one of their strongest gimmicks is beginning to falter. The episode, called "Fat Gun," sees the animated series leaning into another movie spoof, which is something they have become known for, with their takes on Star Wars being some of their most well-known and highest-rated. However, "Fat Gun" currently finds itself as one of their lowest-rated parodies, despite Top Gun being perfect fodder for Family Guy.
"Fat Gun" sees Family Guy cast their characters in the roles throughout the Top Gun films, as they do with many of their spoofs. Peter takes the lead as Maverick, Lois as Charlie, Stewie as Iceman, and Chris as Rooster in the sequel, among many other characters that appear. It starts with Top Gun, glancing over much of the film's plot, picking and choosing moments for jokes, like taking its time with an elongated volleyball scene that sees them requiring jets to retrieve a ball. After Goose's death, the episode transitions to Top Gun: Maverick, showing Peter traveling through other Tom Cruise movies until he arrives at the sequel. Family Guy chooses to skip over much of the sequel altogether, finding themselves parodying the third act of Top Gun: Maverick for most of its duration.
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Herbert is one of the most memorable characters on the animated sitcom Family Guy, and fans wonder if he is still around.
Family Guy Has A Long And Storied History Of Beloved Movie Parodies
Family Guy has been delivering movie parodies for years, cementing them as one of their best go-to gimmicks. They have two types of parodies. The first is a complete parody that sees the cast of Family Guy playing roles other than themselves, like their Top Gun spoof and their Star Wars parodies, "Blue Harvest," "Something, Something, Something, Dark Side," and "It's A Trap." The second type of spoof is an episode that is a parody of a film, but the characters are still playing themselves within the context of the series, like "PeTerminator," "North by North Quahog," and "The Woof of Wall Street."
The series has become known for finding unique ways to lampoon movies, with Family Guy characters taking on humorous roles, like Stewie as Hannibal Lecter in "Oscars Guy," the season 21 premiere that saw the show poke fun at Silence of the Lambs, American Beauty, and Forrest Gump. It was sometimes even a simple joke, like Meg appearing as Jabba the Hutt in "It's A Trap." However, these were astute ways of incorporating humor, which they have excelled at. The episodes would also attempt commentary via jokes, taking shots at movie plot holes and often performances, finding a knack for picking the right moments to parody. Family Guy's spoofs became popular, being included in several seasons and episodes.
How Do Family Guy's Movie Spoofs Measure Up On IMDb?
Family Guy's spoofs have been met with varying degrees of success, though most rate relatively high among fans. Their highest-rated movie parody is "And Then There Were Fewer," the season 9 premiere, which is a play on Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None and the board game-inspired movie Clue, which IMDb has at a respectable 8.7/10. Their first foray into Star Wars, "Blue Harvest," also sits high with an 8.2/10. "Three Kings" features three Stephen King stories with Stand by Me, Misery, and The Shawshank Redemption, holds an 8.1/10 and is a common favorite episode among long-time viewers. Two other highly-rated parody episodes, both of which hold a 7.8/10, include "Three Directors," which tells the story of Peter's firing in the style of Quentin Tarantino, Wes Anderson, and Michael Bay, and "PeTerminator," an episode that sees Peter as a Terminator on the hunt for Stewie and Brian.
Family Guy's lowest-rated spoof is actually a TV parody episode called "HBO-No," where they lampoon Game of Thrones, Succession, and Big Little Lies, which IMDB has sitting at 6.3/10. However, when it comes to movie parody episodes, "Fat Gun" finds itself low on the list, holding a 6.6/10. It's not their lowest score, as season 19, episode 2, "The Talented Mr. Stewie," which is a take on The Talented Mr. Ripley, has a mere 6.4/10. While Family Guy tends to have more hits than misses when it comes to spoofing movies, they can miss the mark with some of the bigger targets.
Why "Fat Gun" Seemingly Didn't Land With Fans The Way The Show's Other Spoofs Have
"Fat Gun" relies on much of the same humor as Family Guy's prior parodies, playing up simple things and injecting them with their own brand of jokes. While there were laughs to be had, many of the jokes felt obvious, like meathead characters, jabs at Tom Cruise, and glaring elements like the absence of Rooster's mother from the second film. Furthermore, the original Top Gun has been spoofed plenty of times before, like in Hot Shots, so it's well-worn territory. A high-profile Top Gun: Maverick parody has not truly been done, which means the episode could have benefited from focusing solely on the sequel rather than skipping over much of it.
Given that "Fat Gun" is taking on two films in a 22-minute time span, it may have been an opportunity for a longer spoof episode, like their Star Wars parodies, which would have given each Top Gun film more time, as there are elements rife for jokes that the show never touched. Family Guy is known for their clever movie parodies, with many being fan-favorite episodes, but "Fat Gun" feels forgettable among their higher-rated spoofs. With the series being renewed for four more seasons, Family Guy is bound to parody more movies, but "Fat Gun" may have missed the mark with audiences.
Family Guy
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- January 31, 1999
- Network
- FOX
Cast
-
Seth MacFarlanePeter Griffin / Brian Griffin / Stewie Griffin / Glenn Quagmire / Tom Tucker (voice) -
Alex BorsteinLois Griffin / Tricia Takanawa / Loretta Brown / Barbara Pewterschmidt (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
- Showrunner
- Seth MacFarlane
