Review:
The Cleveland Show: Episode Twenty One

121: You’re the Best Man, Cleveland Brown

‘I think it’s great you two are getting remarried. It’s like recycling, except this isn’t a complete waste of time and effort.’ – Cleveland Junior

It’s the end of the first season of The Cleveland Show and, even though it has yet to establish its own brand, Fox has commissioned a third series. This is good news for Seth MacFarlane’s latest as it means that the show will have a chance to figure out what it wants to be. Just ten years ago, Family Guy almost never had that chance.

This week, Cleveland and family have assembled for the reading of Loretta’s will and our leading man couldn’t be happier. Unfortunately for him, his deceased, cheating ex-wife has left all her estate to Cleveland Junior, with specific instructions that Cleveland neither receive a penny or even know how much money is involved.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the main plot of the episode, where Cleveland’s mother and father, Cookie and Freight Train, return and announce their engagement. This sees Cleveland Junior offering to pay for their wedding and host it at home, much to the dismay of Cleveland and Donna.

It’s both strange and irritating that the first act in no way sets up the remainder of the episode. If anything, it seems like poor writing and the exact opposite of how stories should be structured. Even in Family Guy’s most random episodes, act one links directly to the rest of the plot. Happily, this is probably the biggest complaint that can really be levelled at the episode.

There’s a lot that’s right in this instalment, most of which comes from the character interactions. Freight Train referring to Rallo as ‘Black Stewie’ is highly amusing, as is Rallo’s James Brown-inspired walk down the aisle. Seeing the guys enjoy a strip club is also hilarious – Tim suffers from not wearing pants, while Lester says hi to his sister as she dances on stage.