Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story

Having seen hell, Stewie decides to be nice but it is not long before the façade crumbles and instead he decides to spend his days drunk. Brian attempts to teach him a lesson but only succeeds in losing Peter his "normal guy complaining about trivial issues" job on the local cable station. Meanwhile Lois bemoans her lack of privacy and tries to get their kids into the opposite sex to get them out of the house more often. Distracted, they don't spot that Stewie and Brian have joined Quagmire's Cross "Cuntry" trip in a quest to find Stewie's real father.

As a fan of the series I tuned in to the film hoping for it to be the quality of the series. After a slow start I twigged that this was really three episodes woven together with some supporting material which, as someone who enjoys the series shouldn't have been a problem. All the best bits of the series are there in the target-audience film and cultural reference (the two Star Wars ones were my favourite) as well as imaginative crudity. I laughed out loud several times even though the actual plot was consistently pretty weak across the whole film. This is a valid criticism because of the length of the film.

With the episodes the asides ("like the time I") come thick and fast and easily cover the plot to the point where nobody watches for the stories, just the laughs. However with the film the hits are spread a bit thinner and as a result it does occasionally feel a bit baggy (giggly) and I remember sometimes waiting for the next laugh. So I agree with those fans that thought this was not as good as the series, not because I'm a precious fanboy with unrealistic expectations and a rose-tinted memory but because it didn't entertain me as much as I would have liked.

That said I'm glad I watched it and it did enough for me as I imagine it will do for those who enjoy the series. Viewers will rightly feel that it could have been funnier or more consistent but with a handful of great moments and a scattering of good ones it is still worth a look.