Arrested Development season 5 review: The Bluths are back and as bad as ever

Fans of Arrested Development will be happy to see the Bluths back together again, but the show fails to recapture its former glory. Season 5 is a mixed bag of missed opportunities and familiar shtick but still clever enough to entice viewers.

Let’s start by addressing the fact that season 4 of Arrested Development was a monumental disappointment for fans. What works about the show is how the Bluths interact as a family. When they fly solo in diverging storylines, the series loses its oomph which is exactly why the series’ initial reboot was an epic fail.

Season 5 does do a good job of righting that particular wrong. This time around, the whole dysfunctional clan shares much more time together onscreen (with the exception of Portia de Rossi who only appears in five episodes.)

The relationship between George Michael (Michael Cera), aka” George Maharis,” and his dad (Jason Bateman) remains strained after they discover they are both dating Rebel Alley (Isla Fisher). Lucille Austero (Liza Minelli) is missing and presumed dead, George Sr.(Jeffrey Tambor) is still trying to come to terms with his overly-sensitive and flaccid self, while Gob (Will Arnett) can’t stop thinking about his dalliance with Tony Wonder (Ben Stiller). And Lucille (Jessica Walter) is scheming to keep the wall project viable.

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Wacky hijinks ensue, including bad disguises, witty wordplay, back-stabbing, mistaken identity, long-lost relatives, characters will bizarre names, nefarious schemes gone awry and lots of dry, dark and absurd humor.

Arrested Development  has perhaps never had the capacity to be as culturally relevant than it does right now. The similarities between America’s first family and the Bluths are undeniable which is nothing short of serendipitous, considering the characters were created when Donald Trump was just a gleam in the Alt-Right’s eye.

There’s the inept son, the daughter with no real political convictions, a domineering, outspoken, racist, head of the family, the disappointing son-in-law, the conspicuously absent spouse and the often forgotten and embarrassing offspring/siblings (although all the Bluths have their Tiffany Trump moments.)

The Bluths have no real interest in anything other than themselves, they’re surrounded by bumbling accomplices, and they are equally ineffectual at thwarting collusion as they are at committing it.

Even though the timeline doesn’t add up, Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign is briefly addressed. There’s a storyline that has the Bluths entering the political arena, which results in a few digs at the current President, specifically some of his insulting remarks about women and immigrants. There’s also a coy reference to Colin Kaepernick. This plot veers off course as is often the case with Arrested Development, but it would be interesting to see the Bluths become a political dynasty.

While the first eight episodes of season 5 are a vast improvement over season 4 in its entirety, the show bares a disjointed resemblance to its FOX incarnation.

The twentysomething George Michael lacks the goofy naiveté of his younger self, played so adeptly by Cera, and the more antagonistic relationship makes us long for the smothering, overprotective Michael’s tight-knit bond with his adoring and amiable progeny.

Another parent-child relationship that devolves is the one between Buster (Tony Hale) and Lucille. Their delightfully creepy, co-dependent dynamic has waned. Circumstances continue to keep them apart. The characters themselves are still entertaining. Lucille remains one of TV’s least nurturing matriarchs ever, and Hale’s portrayal of Buster never crosses the line from oddly endearing to completely annoying.

The same can’t be said of a more bloated, scenery chewing performance of Arnett’s Gob. The eldest Bluth son spends all of his time obsessing over Tony Wonder and struggling to come to terms with his sexuality.

Michael continues to be torn between cutting all ties with his family and trying to make them less deplorable people — a Sisyphean task. The Bluths will never become better people and whether its due to nature or nurture (or lack thereof), the next generation is carrying on the family tradition of duplicity.

The remaining eight episodes will air later this year, and fans who are willing to give season 5 a chance (despite the controversy surrounding Tambor) are likely to wind up like Michael — pulled back into the family fold, willing to stick it out for as long for it takes to see the Bluths to get the ending they deserve.

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Will you tune in to season 5 of Arrested Development? What are your thoughts on another revival? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Arrested Development is streaming now on Netflix.