Mr. F
- Episode aired Nov 7, 2005
- TV-14
- 30m
The family's meeting with Japanese investors backfires big time when Tobias mistakes a real government agent for a talent agent. Gob tries to connect with his father, who is controlling a Su... Read allThe family's meeting with Japanese investors backfires big time when Tobias mistakes a real government agent for a talent agent. Gob tries to connect with his father, who is controlling a Surrogate. Meanwhile, Michael has another encounter with Rita's uncle, and Maeby's romantic ... Read allThe family's meeting with Japanese investors backfires big time when Tobias mistakes a real government agent for a talent agent. Gob tries to connect with his father, who is controlling a Surrogate. Meanwhile, Michael has another encounter with Rita's uncle, and Maeby's romantic comedy is a total flop.
Photos
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAfter Rita (Charlize Theron) leaves with Michael (Jason Bateman),, the two CIA agents in the surveillance van are reading her file. Much of the text is obscured by her photo but appears to be reports of her meetings with Michael. However, the last paragraph is briefly visible and reads, "Any future inquiries should be directed to Brad Elliott in the Property Gold room as he is the one who spewed all of this out onto his laptop in order to make a prop that nobody will likely ever see. If this has been seen by camera, then perhaps he hasn't done his job well, and should continue to type information relevant to the show."
- GoofsDuring the first board meeting, after Bob Loblaw reveals there may be a leak in the family, a boom mic is visible. Bob states that there may be a spy among them with a listening device, and the camera comically zooms in on the surrogate and a glimpse of the boom mic.
There always seems to be something deeper going on in this show, and with these last few episodes, it's clear that they've been looking to the rom-com genre for a bit of inspiration, ultimately taking it in a completely different direction. I'm still not entirely sure about where this story arc is leading, but I'm having a lot of fun with it is so far. I think they're generally managed to pull out all the strong suits for what they're doing with this, and even when they take it too far, they still manage to keep it grounded, or at the very least, incredibly hilarious.
I've heard some say that this isn't a particularly strong episode when thinking about all the others great, and in many ways, I know where they're coming from. However, this show keeps reinventing itself as something new over and over again. It always comes up with new ways of making sure that it stays relevant, mostly in terms of the structuring. This entire Rita arc is definitely sillier than much else that has happened in this show - and silly things have happened! - but it just shows the latest iteration of the show, and it does it in the best way.
Now, the episode does feature a twist of sorts that could be seen as more than a little problematic in today's day and age. It could be seen as making fun of disabilities; I'm not going to go there, because I don't know how it's going to end up with this arc, but we'll see by the end of it. I thought that the reveal itself was quite hilarious, and it actually added a lot to Rita's character who just seemed like a disposable addition for most of her episodes. This, at least, gave her some interesting traits to explore.
And I think that Charlize Theron's portrayal of the character is absolutely awesome. There is a fun joke in the beginning where she talks about American actors being hired to portray Brits and how it always sounds fake. It's funny, but she's also earned the right to make that joke, since she does actually sell the accent and the mannerisms very well. And of course, the general ensemble is great as always, with the standouts here being Tony Hale and his desperate need for his brother's companionship, and Jason Bateman as Michael, still only able to see what he wants to.
"Mr. F" may not technically be one of the best episodes of this show, but in terms of its entertainment value, it's a top-notch episode. It had awesome moments of revelation for the characters, cool development, and a reveal that, while controversial, may actually say more about the ideocracy of the lead characters than anything else.
- lassegalsgaard
- Jul 20, 2022