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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
To be frank, this episode should alternatively be titled, “Ferricks Buellmort’s Day Off”. Rick and Morty Season 5 Episode 5 is titled, “Amortycan Grickfitti”. Producer Anne Lane serves as the writer, while Kyounghee Lim serves as the episode’s director.
In this spoiler review, I will discuss and analyze the details of the episode. Please beware if you have not yet seen it.
Plot Summary
In this episode, Rick Sanchez (Justin Roiland) and his son-in-law, Jerry Smith (Chris Parnell), leave the house for a guys’ night out. They invite a group of demons from Hell to join them. That is, until Rick’s daughter, Beth Smith (Sarah Chalke), tags along after attending to last-minute matters at the office.
Meanwhile, children Morty Smith (also Roiland) and his sister, Summer Smith (Spencer Grammer), sneak out of the house to entertain a transfer student. Rick’s Space Cruiser (Kari Wahlgren) takes over their joyride to have a little fun herself. In the end, the kids make it back home in time before the adults return.
Darren Criss makes a guest appearance as the transfer student, Bruce Chutback.
Troy Baker, Dan Harmon, Brandon Johnson, Echo Kellum, Tom Kenny, Maurice LaMarche, and Ryan Ridley also make voice appearances. Roiland also voices a group of sentient mailboxes from a parallel universe.
Discussion
For the most part, the crew of the episode is similar to that of the previous episode. Although, this time, James McDermott replaces Robbie Erwin as the art director. Carlos Ortega Madden replaces Kendra Melton as the character design lead, while Rafael “Rafa” Hurtado replaces Vance Caines as the background design lead. Lauryn Danae Bremmer joins in the background design, while Elora Lyda replaces Emi Chan in design clean-up.
I really liked where the narrative of the episode was headed. Anne Lane and Siobhan Thompson do great in their writing. It isn’t often that we see the old scientist character and his family take a break from their adventures. “Amortycan Grickfitti” takes a different direction. There are some obvious hints that the episode pays homage to 1980s film, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, such as Morty and Summer stealing Rick’s beloved car to do who knows what and where.
The episode also makes allusions to Hellraiser and Transformers in the most hilarious parodies yet. Rick’s car also destroys a celestial entity, which reminded me of Galactus or some other god-like character from the Marvel Comics universe.
Performances and Character Developments
This might be the first time in a while that we’ve seen Wahlgren voice Rick’s car. In fact, I almost didn’t notice it was her since I’m more used to her as the voice of Morty’s crush, Jessica. The Space Cruiser gets some development in the episode and even makes the audience wonder whether or not robotic entities should be considered characters.
In the same manner, this is the first time we see Rick and Jerry develop as father- and son-in-law. While the demons and Beth do belittle Jerry’s character, Rick does make some efforts to get close to the man who married his daughter.
Final Thoughts
There is something that both halves of the plot have in common. There is just something about pain and cringe that just feels good in themselves. Rick does this when he creates an “aversion-converting inversion-reverter” to attack the demons. The Space Cruiser overcomes some level of pain of simply being seen as “Rick’s car”. It’s okay to take a day off of the task at hand and still be a little adventurous. Absolutely nothing is wrong with that.
Overall, this episode of Rick and Morty isn’t as wild as its predecessor, which is actually a good thing. It’s fine to just calm down for a bit and enjoy what happens.
The first half of Rick and Morty Season 5 is now on Adult Swim!
Have you seen this new season? What are your thoughts on the first five episodes? Let us know! For more animation, adventure, comedy, fantasy, and science-fiction-related news and reviews, follow The Cinema Spot on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
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