I thought I wrote all about this adult cartoon back when it debuted on Netflix years ago. Worse, I warned you all to avoid Pacific Heat…twice, it is that bad. Well, F is finally airing what will be its fourth season next month so I rewatched the first three again for what was probably the third time, I just find it funny in a painful way.
F is set in the early to mid Seventies, a time when the social changes: ERA, whatever the Sixties started; were anchored to horrible economic pain: double-digit inflation, the OPEC oil embargo, outsourcing to Asia was starting, etc. Family patriarch Frank obviously is having trouble dealing with it from every angle because he’s a standard male product of the mythical Fifties. Having a bad temper doesn’t help.
How is this funny? Frank doesn’t have his facts right. His oldest son Kevin isn’t too bright and thinks he can be a Prog-rock start. His middle kid Bill is dealing with puberty. Maureen the youngest is somewhat evil but brilliant; she wants to pursue Computer Science. Frank’s wife Sue is also dealing with her crises; the kids are old enough to let her have a part-time job or something mentally stimulating. Throw in the goofy neighbors, lazy co-workers, sprinkle it with real-world swearing, occasional adult situations and Phil Hendrie providing the voices of TV show hosts, you’ve got a version of All in the Family Norman Lear could only imagine he could’ve made.
I really enjoy F thanks to my age. Although all the kids would’ve been older than me, I remember many elements of the Seventies decently. The Earlier years, no. Around 1974, definitely and beyond. It was a tumultuous decade all the way through, unlike the Sixties. The Sixties started off optimistically and ended with the horribleness of Vietnam, riots and assassinations. The Seventies already began with a turd sandwich and it never let up since it ended with the election of B-movie actor and reality-impaired St. Reagan leading the movement to take America back to those mythical Fifties. Meanwhile, F has many details down pretty well to laugh at: the clothes, the goofy TV shows on a parody of ABC when it was the desperate, third-place network, the casual sexism, the chain-smoking, drunk driving not seen as a public-safety issue. It’s what I said about Anchorman, it was the last decade when inappropriate behavior was the norm and through this show we can laugh at it. Why? Many people are still alive (like me) to reflect on this question, what were we thinking?
Give F is for Family a try, it’s a great remedy for all shot annoying family sitcoms in which all is great and the biggest problem is the oldest son having two dates for the prom.