Arrested Development (Season 2)

From the desk of The Movie Snob

Arrested Development (Season 2). (B+) I actually finished watching this season on DVD a few weeks ago, so I'm afraid my memory is already a little hazy. As I recall, I thought the first disc was a little slow -- good, but not great -- but then the other two discs were better and propelled the show back into the high quality of the first season. Most cast members got their opportunities to shine, although I did think that Lindsay and Maebe (played by Portia de Rossi and Alia Shawkat) got a little shortchanged. One of the most amusing storylines had to do with George Michael (Michael Cera) and his very plain girlfriend Ann Veal (Mae Whitman). At first George Michael's father Michael (Jason Bateman) can't remember that Ann exists, then he can't keep her name straight, and then he just doesn't like her. Lots of great guest stars, including repeats from the first season like Henry Winkler, Lisa Minelli, and Judy Greer, and new ones like Dick Van Patten, Ione Skye, Ben Stiller, and Zach Braff. We'll see if the truncated third season can measure up....