I've seen a lot of episodes of television that may not be perfect, but actually ended up giving me so much enjoyment that I was able to look past possible mistakes it had and appreciate it square for what it was. I've had that with a few episodes of "Arrested Development." There are definitely episodes that don't hold up to the standards of the greatest that I've led slide and not really paid attention to. And maybe that's not entirely fair, but I've never been a big fan of that disgusting 'N' word 'nitpicking.' I simply don't believe that we should actively look for things to be mad about in something that we otherwise loved. Especially if it doesn't do much to actually change your feelings about the product, which in most cases, it doesn't. So, when I finished watching this episode, I was left with a lot of questions to myself. I wasn't really sure what I thought to begin with, as I hadn't been a huge fan of preceding episode. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized how absolutely hilarious I'd found these 20 minutes of television. This may not technically be one of the greatest episodes of the show, but for me, it's a homerun. It had certain aspects that may not be appropriate for today, but in the context of the show, I found it hilarious and I think it said more about the incompetence of our ensemble than anything else.
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.
