Brian Does Hollywood

"Brian Does Hollywood"

"Brian Does Hollywood" is an episode of Family Guy and the conclusion of the two-part story arc (Part 1 being "The Thin White Line"). It is the 30th episode of Family Guy. It guest-starred Jenna Jameson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ron Jeremy, and Ray Liotta as themselves. The title is a play on the title of the 1978 pornographic film Debbie Does Dallas.

Plot summary

The episode continues where "The Thin White Line" left off, introduced with a fake "Previously on Family Guy..." sequence, showing action-packed events which never actually occurred, parodying Hollywood thrillers, with the only factual item being Brian's leaving in "The Thin White Line".

To pursue his screenwriting ambition, Brian moves to Los Angeles, California, where he stays with his gay cousin Jasper. After some menial jobs, such as waiter, and car washer, he lands a director job for pornographic movies, though at first he does not understand it is x-rated. His first work resembles Bang the Drum Slowly, "except the drum’s a chick."

Stewie auditions for Kids Say the Darndest Things in order to unleash a mind control device, and the family goes to Los Angeles, forcing Brian to keep up appearances. The Griffins dine at the Musso & Frank Grill, an actual Hollywood attraction[1]. Brian is correct that writers Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner drank there. While sightseeing, Peter is beaten by the cops in the manner of Rodney King and Meg points out the gutter the cops laughed in when Eddie Murphy gave the excuse about the transvestite.

On Kids Say the Darndest Things, host Bill Cosby grabs Stewie's device and unwittingly foils his plot. While hypnotized by Cosby, Stewie says Cosby's film "Ghost Dad was the best movie I've seen since Leonard Part 6", another Cosby film. He also says he likes pudding; which Cosby has advertised for.

Brian ends up into his career, making several movies. Some of the movies are Add Momma to the Train, The Purple Head of Cairo, You've Got Male Genitalia, and Shaving Private Ryan are spoofs of actual films Throw Momma from the Train, The Purple Rose of Cairo, You’ve Got Mail and Saving Private Ryan. The family tries to visit Brian's set, mistaking it for a regular movie. Brian throws them out.

Jasper tells the Griffins the truth about Brian's job. Peter and Lois arrive at the Woodies, the porn version of the Oscars, just in time for Brian to accept his award.

At the end of the episode, Peter kidnaps Jenna Jameson, ties her up, gags her and takes her home with him. In later episodes it is revealed Brian becomes addicted to marijuana but he never returns to rehab.

Notes

The actual annual awards ceremony for the American pornographic film industry is the Adult Video News Awards. Woody nominees for best musical score include Walter Murphy and Ron Jones, both of whom have made the music for Family Guy. (The third nominee is John Williams, who has his fingers crossed when the camera turns to him.)

Michael Eisner, whose car Brian washes, will appear later in the season in "Screwed the Pooch" and "Family Guy Viewer Mail #1", in the fourth season episode "Brian the Bachelor", and in the fourth season episode "The Courtship of Stewie’s Father." Ricardo appears again in "You May Now Kiss the...Uh...Guy Who Receives."

In the closing credits, the disclaimer (in all caps) "The persons in this film are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons or events is unintentional" appears, which is a typical disclaimer found in Hollywood movies. Despite this, the appearance of Jenna Jameson's likeness is definitely intentional.

Censorship

When Brian wins the "Woody" award, the award is pixelated (possibly because the term "woody" is slang for an erection, meaning the statue was probably a model of an erect penis.)

An edited version of this episode aired with "The Thin White Line" as the third season premiere of the show in Mexico. In the Mexican version, the fake "Previously on Family Guy..." sequence was cut, so the two episodes looked like a single one. Also, in the Mexican version, the name of Jenna Jameson is changed to Pamela Anderson, since the former is barely known there.

Cultural references

• The fake Previously intro has Peter and Cleveland driving a speedboat around a "Miami-like" environment is an homage to the 1980s TV show Miami Vice. Chris and Peter shooting pistols in suits is a reference to Reservoir Dogs.
• A flashback shows that Peter used to live with mass murderer Charles Manson's "family." Peter tells them he got an invitation to a party at Sharon Tate's house. Manson and his followers murdered Tate and four others in 1969.
• Meg's star map shows "the actual gutter where the policeman fell over laughing when Eddie Murphy told them he was just giving the transvestite a ride home", referring to the notorious 1997 incident.
• When Brian arrives to the Adult Video award show, he is greeted on the red carpet by Joan Rivers and her daughter is also there. Joan Rivers says that all the "studs and sluts are arriving" a reference to her style of insulting some of the people who walk down the red carpet. She also alludes to the numerous plastic surgeries that she has had. In the end, Brian discovers her microphone is not plugged in and that she is merely acting and she is on television in her mind, a reference to her declining career and popularity.

References

• S. Callaghan, “Brian Does Hollywood.” Family Guy: The Official Episode Guide Seasons 1–3. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. 132–135.
• A. Delarte, “Nitpicking Family Guy: Season 3” in Bob’s Poetry Magazine, 2.August 2005: 35–37 http://bobspoetry.com/Bobs02Au.pdf

External links

• Template:FGwiki