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Everyone’s favorite failing family of real estate and banana stands is coming back for a reunion – of sorts. The word on the streets of Orange County is that the whole cast of characters known as the Bluth Family will be coming together once more and allowing us to witness the absurdity and hilarity for what’s rumored to be a good hour and a half. Mitchell Hurwitz, the creator of Arrested Development, is penning the family’s next misfortune as we speak and hopes to direct the feature-length movie soon for a release date coming sometime in 2012. While we’re all very excited for the chance to see more Bluth blunders, the obvious question is raised – will it work as a movie?
Let’s look at the facts. It was a highly reviewed show with low ratings. The cult following is in full effect and DVD sales of the show are making up for the poor ratings. So there’s no question it will open successfully at the box office. It has a built-in audience and a loyal one. However, will the form used in the show be used in the movie by Hurwitz? Or will it be changed to fit the long form?
I think everyone is going to be smart and make it exactly the way it was made for the show. I’m sure you’ll see quick cuts, lots of narration by the perfectly toned Ron Howard, and inside recurring jokes that follow the paths blazed by the three-seasoned show. What is uncertain is which story-line the brilliant scribe will choose. Perhaps Michael Bluth will be trying to escape his family once again, as he planned in the pilot episode and the opening episode of the second season. I think everyone wants to see more of George Sr. trading places with his twin brother and running from the law, and I think it would be wise to introduce another love interest for Michael.
Tampering with what is already a television comedy phenomenon is very risky, I just hope the time is spent to simply make a longer version of what the show already was. If it’s popular, what’s the harm in making a series of movies? You don’t have to tie everything up at the end of this movie like any other movie. Of all the TV shows that were made into movies, this one should be, must be, formatted exactly the way it was when it was in a half-hour series format. Perfection through the eyes of true fans is a delicate flower, and since most fans of Arrested Development are true fans, every measure of care must be placed in the resurrection of the Bluth Family.