"Arrested Development"
The Ocean Walker (2005)

Director:

Paul Feig

Writers:

Mitchell Hurwitz (creator) and
Jake Farrow (staff writer)

TV Series:

"Arrested Development" (2003)

Original Air Date:

5 December 2005 (Season 3, Episode 6)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Michael plans to marry Rita, but that's not before her uncle Trevor intervenes, and Michael discovers Rita's handicap. When the family learns that Rita has millions of dollars, they try to speed up the wedding process.

Plot Keywords:

Narrator | Orange County California | Narration | Cult Favorite | Identical Twins

Cast

Jason Bateman	...	Michael Bluth
Portia de Rossi	...	Lindsay Bluth Fünke
Will Arnett	...	George "Gob" Bluth II
Michael Cera	...	George-Michael Bluth
Alia Shawkat	...	Mae "Maeby" Fünke
Tony Hale	...	Byron "Buster" Bluth
David Cross	...	Tobias Fünke
Jeffrey Tambor	...	George Bluth Sr. / Oscar Bluth
Jessica Walter	...	Lucille Bluth
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bob Einstein	...	Larry
Charlize Theron	...	Rita
Dave Thomas	...	Trevor

Trivia:

Buster moves his arms robotically while singing along to Styx's "Mr. Roboto". Tony Hale, who plays Buster, previously did the same thing in a Volkswagen commercial in the USA.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Both the Narrator and George Michael say there are 3 houses of Parliament. There are two chambers - The House of Commons and The House of Lords, but in the UK, sovereignty rests in a triad of the "Queen (King)-in-Parliament," so there are indeed three components of Parliament in Britain: the Houses of Commons and Lords as well as the Crown, which acts as its head.

Quotes:

Michael: [after watching Rita walk across the pool] Is that your trick, GOB?
George "Gob" Bluth II: No, Michael, that's not my trick.
Narrator: On the next Arrested Development...
George "Gob" Bluth II: It's my illusion!
Narrator: Michael relives a wedding nightmare.

Movie Connections:

References Monster (2003)

7.5-8/10

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This is the fifth of five episodes of Arrested Development to feature Michael's love interest Rita, a British woman who, unbeknownst to Michael, is mentally disabled. In The Ocean Walker Michael and Rita are planning to marry so Rita can stay in the country, and Michael begins to worry he and Rita won't have a physical relationship. However, his son figures out Rita's condition and tells an astonished Michael. Meanwhile, George and Lucille learn Rita is worth millions and on those grounds approve of the marriage, even though they know Rita's mentally challenged. Michael calls off the wedding and discovers his parents nearly let him go through with it.

The Rita episodes are sometimes mentioned whenever the question is raised as to whether the show jumped the shark. I wouldn't consider myself anti-Rita per se (and I certainly don't think the show jumped the shark), but nevertheless I'd include three Rita episodes, For British Eyes Only, Mr. F and The Ocean Walker, in my bottom five. And The Ocean Walker is the weakest of those, and the second weakest episode in the series. (Forget-Me-Now was good and Notapusy was the best Rita episode, though she was hardly in it). The idea of pairing Michael up with a mentally disabled woman is ludicrously tragic, and thus true to Arrested Development, but the execution isn't as good as the idea. The problem appears to be two new writers (who, like Mitch Hurwitz himself, appear to have started out as writers' assistants) who recycle way too many jokes from previous episodes. Apparently they lack the self-confidence to come up with new material. Whenever we get new jokes, they're good, and I liked the flashback sequence when Michael realizes Rita's mentally disabled, but generally this episode isn't a standout. As for Michael's parents nearly letting him go through with the marriage, although that isn't a stretch for their characters, ending the episode without any kind of reconciliation between Michael and his parents leaves The Ocean Walker feeling somewhat incomplete. (Buster also knew and nearly let Michael go through with it, and Lindsay, though smiling at the wedding and thus probably aware of Rita's millions, still seems surprised when the disability is revealed). Nominated for an Emmy for editing.