Arrested Development: The Complete Third Season

Review By: Andrea Tuccillo
AndreaTuccillo@TheCinemaSource.com

Yes, I will admit it. I am one of the people who killed Arrested Development. I read the rave reviews, heard the critics lavish it with praise and watched it win multiple Emmys. But, like so many other people, I just never got around to watching the actual show. And it really is a shame, because we non-watchers are responsible for letting this genius comedy slip through the cracks.

Those who missed this show when it was struggling on Fox now have the chance to spend some quality time with the wacky Bluth family by viewing the third and final season of this off-beat comedic gem on DVD—and boy will you be glad you did. Spending time with the Bluth clan is a lot like spending time in a circus—with their crazy schemes and antics and out-of-left-field plot twists—but you’ll enjoy every minute of it.

Arrested Development was created by Mitchell Hurwitz and executive produced by Ron Howard (who also narrates the show with terrific vocal cadence) and centers on Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman), the most responsible, well-adjusted member of his nut-job family. He has been running the family real-estate business ever since his father, George Bluth Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor), was arrested for stealing from the company. George Sr.’s arrest left the once wealthy Bluth clan strapped for cash and in desperate need of some sane guidance, so Michael made the (oft-regretted) decision to keep his family together.

This season the family brings Michael even more headaches. It begins with Michael discovering that his father has escaped from prison and has left his twin brother to serve time in his place, and ends with Michael and his two brothers discovering some shocking truths in Iraq. Don’t ask, just watch—it’s better that way.

The matriarch of the family is Lucille (Jessica Walter), a boozing, insult-throwing socialite of a mother, always looking for new ways to recapture the family’s wealth and stature. Gob (pronounced Jobe and played by the hilarious Will Arnett) is the oldest brother, a wannabe magician with questionable morals and a desperate need for his father’s approval. He’s also not the brightest candle on the birthday cake, and this season has him dealing with the newfound revelation that he is the father of a teenage son. Younger brother Buster (Tony Hale) must deal with the aftermath of a frightful seal attack that left him with a hook for a hand.

Michael’s spoiled twin sister Lindsay (Portia de Rossi) spends much of this season trying to get a divorce from her closeted, aspiring (read: unemployed) actor husband Tobias (David Cross). Tobias is busy trying out some new hair plugs in an attempt to jump start his career, but they end up causing him more harm than good.

Their rebellious teenage daughter Maeby (Alia Shawkat), meanwhile, struggles to balance her home life with her secret life as a movie executive. Add to that Michael’s awkward son George-Michael (the spot-on Michael ...