There's Something About Paulie

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“There's Something About Paulie”
Family Guy episode
Peter meets Big Paulie.
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 23
Guest stars	Michael Chiklis, Haley Joel Osment
Written by	Ricky Blitt
Directed by	Monte Young
Production no.	1ACX10
Original airdate	June 27, 2000
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List of Family Guy episodes

"There's Something About Paulie" is an episode from the second season of the FOX animated television series Family Guy. Michael Chiklis guest stars as Big Fat Paulie. The name is a parody of the movie There's Something About Mary.

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The Griffins need a new car. Lois decides to buy one out of the classified ads, but Peter refuses, having concluded that buying a car out of the classifieds is what led to an acquaintance of his contracting herpes ten years earlier.

Peter and Lois go to the local car dealership, where despite Lois's advice, a salesman (Jim Kaplan the conman) convinces Peter to buy a car that has a drawing of an engine instead of an actual engine (the salesman claimed that the car was originally owned by James Bond). Instead, the car breaks down at the exit. After this Lois becomes furious with him on the count he never listens to her advice. Later at Cleveland's Deli, a Mafia soldier offers to help Peter obtain a brand-new car by destroying his new one. In exchange for this favor, the Don insists that Peter take his (the Don's) nephew Big Fat Paulie to the movies. Big Fat Paulie is "vile and disgusting", the Don even says "No one has ever been able to stand Big Fat Paulie's company for more than a minute". Despite this, Peter and Paulie get along very well.

Lois disapproves of Paulie, and when Peter explains this to Paulie, Paulie puts a hit out on Lois. Peter immediately appeals to him to call it off and succeeds, but Paulie is murdered before being able to make the call. Peter and Lois are able to call off the hit by asking the Don for a favor on "the day of his daughters' wedding." However, Peter asked the Don if he could have his snack so they lost their chance. Worse, the Don's daughter's husband-to-be is a hit-man. Peter steps in front of Lois and asked the Don to have him shot. The Don decided to call off the hit after seeing love on the day of his daughter's wedding. As Lois and Peter asked the valet to get their car, it explodes. The Don's son-in-law catches up to warn them but he was a bit too late. Peter felt that he learned his lesson and no one important got hurt.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Notes

Despite being a 1ACX episode, Mila Kunis provides Meg's voice, even though Lacey Chabert goes on to voice her in 1ACX11-1ACX15 before leaving.
When Peter talks to Paulie he has a tie on, but when he talks to Lois a few seconds later he isn't wearing it and the tie comes out again.
When eveybody goes out to see the new car, the car strongly resembles a VW Beetle. In the next scene the car's appearance has changed to a blue sedan.

[edit] Cultural references

Peter meets "the Don" at Mobster's Bar and Grill. This is a reference to restaurants in the Federal Hill neighborhood of Providence serving as fronts for the Mafia.
The plot of this episode has similarities with the classic 1972 mafia film The Godfather, including the sequence in which various friends ask “the don” for favors on the day of his daughter’s wedding. “The don” in this episode is very similar in appearance and speech to Vito Corleone, Marlon Brando’s character in The Godfather.
The cut-away scene where Peter talks about using taxicabs, depicts a scene from the classic TV show Taxi. The characters mention “the foreign guy,” Chinese American martial arts actor Jackie Chan shows up instead of Andy Kaufman’s Latka Gravas, the immigrant on the show.
The used car salesman tells Peter that a car was owned by movie spy James Bond.
Peter explains that he tried on Lois’s clothes because his friends were staging a production of the play Gigi.
Peter says he “had to rent a mustang.” The ensuing cutaway shows Peter with the type of horse instead of a Ford Mustang.
The Griffin family twice watches the ABC sitcom Dharma and Greg.
A scene showing “the mob in the movies” parodies the infamous scene in 1990 film Goodfellas in which Joe Pesci harasses Ray Liotta for calling him “funny.” In this version, he asks “Am I George Carlin funny or Spin City funny or Rita Rudner funny?”
The online navigation system of Peter’s car mimics Ukrainian-American comedian Yakov Smirnoff. Also, it speaks ungrammatical Spanish.
Peter uses a copy of the magazine Entertainment Weekly as toilet paper. This is probably because of the fact that Entertainment Weekly has been known to heavily criticize Family Guy.
Peter confuses the mafia don with actor Dom DeLuise.
Peter asks the don to "Just wack me off right now" (kill him) if the don wants him to take Big Fat Paulie to a film starring Greg Kinnear.
When Peter is at the movie theater asking for Big Fat Paulie, he runs into comedian Louie Anderson.
After Paulie dumps a small milk carton down Peter's pants, Peter says “Guess I got milk!” a reference to the got milk? advertising campaign.
Peter and Paulie see a fictitious sequel to the 1998 Angela Bassett film How Stella Got Her Groove Back.
Imitating Goodfellas once again, Peter tries to clarify Paulie’s statement that Lois is a “crazy broad,” stating that “he didn’t mean you’re crazy like Elizabeth Taylor. He meant you were crazy like the glue”
Stewie compares Paulie’s eating habits to those of actor Mickey Rourke, then curses the show Entertainment Tonight for teaching him that name. A cutaway then shows Entertainment Tonight, parodying the show’s constant showing of co-host Mary Hart’s legs.
A flashback shows Peter as one of the “cavity creeps” from Crest toothpaste’s 1980s television commercials.
James Woods High School stages a production of the play Death of a Salesman with Meg in the role of Linda Loman. A hitman tries to kill Lois at the play. Peter, still obtuse, says the “only victim tonight was the work of Arthur Miller,” the writer of Death of a Salesman.
A cutaway to the United Kingdom shows a “drive by argument” concerning a united European commonwealth.
A cutaway shows Peter on the game show The Dating Game.
At the Don’s daughter’s wedding, Peter sings country singer Glen Campbell’s song “Rhinestone Cowboy.”
Peter meets Friends' actor David Schwimmer in line to meet the don.
At the end of the episode, after the Parking Boy got killed Peter says "Nobody important got hurt" and you see his red shirt fall to the ground. This is an allusion to Star Trek redshirts.

[edit] References

S. Callaghan, "There's Something About Paulie." Family Guy: The Official Episode Guide Seasons 1-3. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. 103 - 107.
A. Delarte, "Nitpicking Family Guy: Season 2" in Bob's Poetry Magazine, 2.May 2005: 22 - 23 http://bobspoetry.com/Bobs02My.pdf