If you found An American Family dull, you weren't watching it properly. In order to appreciate this documentary, you have to take it as a very special, intimate look at a family with some dramatic twists and turns, accompanied with a fascinating "slice of life" look at how things were in 1971, the year the documentary was filmed. There are so many more interesting elements to the program aside from the bits where Lance was involved -- Grant and his striving for rock and roll success while chafing under the expectations of his parents; Kevin and his struggle to carve his own identity while being a good, honorable, decent, and obedient son; Delilah and her struggles to grow up in a tumultuous family environment while keeping up with her passions and responsibilities; and Michelle and the roller-coaster of a ride she's on as she copes with the gargantuan highs and lows of early adolescence.
Then there's Pat and Bill. Their relationship and its attendant struggles forms the centerpiece of this fascinating documentary. Unbeknownst to the viewer in the first half of the program, Pat's suspicions of Bill's multiple affairs has been verified and solidified and this spurs her own to make plans of her own. But Bill is no ogreish cad -- he, like everyone else in this program, is extremely likable, so when he arrives back home at the beginning of episode 9 and Pat presents him with her attorney's information and tells him to move out, it is nearly torturous to watch. The whole of the episode is thus tinged with that element of sadness, even at the very end when Grant sits down with his family (minus Bill and Lance) and strums rock and roll songs. By that time you've gotten to know everyone -- and seen just how accurate Lance was with his overall assessment of his siblings (i.e. very accurate) -- and it feels like this is happening to friends or relatives of yours.
This is the finest example of the "reality TV" genre out there. It's incredibly emotionally involving, the Loud family are all very likable (something no other reality TV program can claim), it's a perfect time capsule for an era and a time that hasn't gotten much actual memorialization (only kitschification), and it is a highly entertaining program to watch. And it stands the test of time.
Then there's Pat and Bill. Their relationship and its attendant struggles forms the centerpiece of this fascinating documentary. Unbeknownst to the viewer in the first half of the program, Pat's suspicions of Bill's multiple affairs has been verified and solidified and this spurs her own to make plans of her own. But Bill is no ogreish cad -- he, like everyone else in this program, is extremely likable, so when he arrives back home at the beginning of episode 9 and Pat presents him with her attorney's information and tells him to move out, it is nearly torturous to watch. The whole of the episode is thus tinged with that element of sadness, even at the very end when Grant sits down with his family (minus Bill and Lance) and strums rock and roll songs. By that time you've gotten to know everyone -- and seen just how accurate Lance was with his overall assessment of his siblings (i.e. very accurate) -- and it feels like this is happening to friends or relatives of yours.
This is the finest example of the "reality TV" genre out there. It's incredibly emotionally involving, the Loud family are all very likable (something no other reality TV program can claim), it's a perfect time capsule for an era and a time that hasn't gotten much actual memorialization (only kitschification), and it is a highly entertaining program to watch. And it stands the test of time.