Mr. F

"Mr. F"
Arrested Development episode
Episode no.	Season 3 Episode 5
Directed by	Arlene Sanford
Written by	Richard Day Jim Vallely
Production code	3AJD05
Original air date	November 7, 2005
Guest stars
Charlize Theron as Rita Leeds Dave Thomas as Trevor John Beard as himself Jeff Garlin as Mort Myers Scott Baio as Bob Loblaw Bob Einstein as Larry Middleman Frankie Muniz as himself
Season 3 episodes
September 2005 – February 2006 The Cabin Show For British Eyes Only Forget-Me-Now Notapusy Mr. F The Ocean Walker Prison Break-In Making a Stand S.O.B.s Fakin' It Family Ties Exit Strategy Development Arrested
All Arrested Development episodes

"Mr. F" is the forty-fifth episode aired of the TV comedy series Arrested Development.

Synopsis

Michael Bluth sneaks out of work to see a British film, "Love Indubitably," with Rita, his English girlfriend. Afterwards, they come upon a toy store, and Rita tells Michael he should buy a train set for George Michael for his birthday. Michael, however, has already purchased George Michael's big birthday gifts, both of which he wants for the receipt. Although he cannot tear himself away from Rita, Michael feels that he has been neglecting his job. In an effort to compromise, he and Rita go to one of the Bluth Company's development properties, to see if the land is ready to be built on. When Michael and Rita climb up the hill, the ground gives out beneath them, and Michael realizes that he may have a mole problem.

Rita returns home, where she is questioned by the man she is working with, as to why she hadn't been at school that day. He tells Rita that they are there to learn, not fall in love. Rita tells him that she is tired of his orders, and that she can't help falling in love. He shows her a gold star, and reminds her of the oath she had taken. Michael returns home as well, only to find Tobias on the floor. It seems as though getting 4,000 hair plugs in one sitting is beginning to take a toll on Tobias's health. He is also exhausted from the time he has been spending at the gym with his friend, Frank. Frank, played by Jon Viener, is an agent that wants to work with Tobias. Frank actually works for the CIA, but Tobias thinks he works for CAA, a talent agency.

Michael tells Tobias that he needs to focus less on himself and more on his daughter, because her grades are terrible. In fact, Maeby has already received her first "F", but not from school. "Love Indubitably", a film Maeby has overseen while working as a studio executive receives an "F" from Entertainment Weekly and is losing money. Maeby's solution is to change the "Hell Tunnel" on the studio tour to the "Tunnel of Love Indubitably". Lindsay, also in the room, scoffs at Michael's criticism because she feels he has been ignoring the family since Rita entered his life.

When Michael returns to the office, Lucille, G.O.B., Buster and George Sr's. surrogate, Larry Middleman, are in the board room waiting. The family has a meeting with their attorney, Bob Loblaw, who explains that the Japanese investors have heard about the mole problem and are coming to check out the development property. As a way to fool the investors, G.O.B. suggests building a tiny model town, like in the Godzilla movies, and then show it to the Japanese investors, as if it were far away. Bob warns the family that no money should be transferred, as it will constitute fraud. George Sr. agrees, and tells everyone that life isn't a Japanese movie where the hero puts on jet pants, like Astroboy, and saves the day. But it does give him an idea how to escape the penthouse, so he tells G.O.B to expect a package to be delivered to the model home.

Bob, concerned about how the Japanese were alerted, warns Michael that the family might have a "mole", or a spy. He tells them that the "mole" may be someone British. The family immediately suspects Rita, but Michael denies telling her anything. Bob says his informants tell him the spy goes by "Mr. F". Upset with his family for thinking he spends too much time with Rita, Michael storms out, calls Rita, and the two make plans to go to the "Tunnel of Love Indubitably."

Before Michael leaves for his date, he tells his son he has a fun new birthday present for him. Soon after, Larry arrives to pick up the package George Sr. had shipped. The package at the front door is not the jetpack George Sr. ordered, but the train set Michael got for his son. George Sr. figures the Japanese website he ordered from has screwed up the delivery, and decides to soothe his anger with an ice cream sandwich. When G.O.B. arrives, he sees Larry with the box and opens it. He assumes that George Sr. has gone along with his "tiny town" idea. Meanwhile, George Sr. has dropped his ice cream sandwich between the refrigerator and the counter. When he pulls out the fridge to retrieve it, he happily finds a large air duct and climbs into it, hoping it will lead him out of the penthouse to freedom. Buster, seeing the refrigerator out of place, pushes it back against the wall, and inadvertently traps George Sr. between the walls of the penthouse. Buster goes to his parents' bedroom, where he finds the radio George Sr. uses to communicate with Larry. On the TV screen, G.O.B. asks his father if he wants to build the "tiny town" with him. Buster, looking to spend some quality time with G.O.B, plays the part of George Sr., and agrees.

Meanwhile, Tobias meets up with Frank. Frank needs Tobias to be a "mole" when the Japanese investors arrive to inspect the development property. Later, while Michael and Rita are on the Tantamount Studios tour, George Michael calls to say that he isn't sure if he should use the gift that has arrived for him. Michael assures him that it is okay, but he thinks George Michael is talking about a train set, not the jetpack that George Sr. had ordered for his next escape attempt.

Soon, the studio tour arrives at the "Tunnel of Love Indubitably." A voice tells the passengers to grab the hand of somebody they love, so Michael grabs Rita's hand and notices her bracelet is engraved "MR F". He asked her who "Mr. F" is, but Rita begins to change the subject. Michael turns around to see the man who had threatened him after his visit to Wee Britain and assumes he is "Mr. F". Rita tells him that the man is her uncle, and he wants Michael out of the picture. As Rita's Uncle Trevor tries to board the train, Michael throws him into a small pool. Michael, figuring Rita is a spy, tells her their relationship is over.

Minutes later, Maeby receives a call that someone has already been injured in the "Tunnel of Love Indubitably", and her career as a studio executive almost comes to an end when Michael sees her. Fortunately for Maeby, Michael is too enraged after finding out Rita is a spy to care why Maeby is at the studio. George Michael, meanwhile, is trying to figure out how to use the jetpack by using the instructional DVD it came with. Although it is in Japanese, George Michael can gather that the jetpack is extremely dangerous.

In the model home's garage, Gob and Larry are working on their "tiny town". Outside, Frank is wiring Tobias for the meeting with the Japanese investors. And Michael is on the phone with Bob Loblaw about Rita, whom he wants deported as soon as possible. Bob reminds Michael to make sure that his family do not deceive the Japanese investors, or else they can all end up in prison. But Michael does not get there in time. G.O.B. has already lined up the investors and opens the curtains to reveal his "tiny town". Surprisingly, it looks pretty good, and the investors are pleased. Michael wants Gob to close the curtains and not accept any money from the investors. But before G.O.B. can, Tobias, dressed in a mole costume, walks over the hill and begins smashing the tiny houses. Within seconds, George Michael, strapped into the jet pack, swoops out of the sky and knocks Tobias over, alluding to scenes from poorly-made Godzilla-type films. The investors storm out in anger and embarrassment. When the family walk out to see what is going on, there is high pitch feedback coming from Larry's microphone due to Tobias being wired. Tobias admits that his friend, Frank, wanted him to be a mole. Suddenly, it all makes sense to Michael: Tobias Fünke is the spy Mr. F, not Rita. He has to go find her so he can apologize. G.O.B. tells his father through the surrogate that he had the time of his life building the town, but Buster, still playing the part of George Sr., slips up and reveals himself.

Michael goes to Rita's apartment, where she is packing. The police have been called on Rita and her uncle, so they have to return to England. Michael, feeling guilty, asks Rita to marry him so she can stay and get her green card. She leaves a note for her uncle, grabs the gold star she had been promised, and rushes off with Michael. Meanwhile, the CIA agents are looking at the file they have on Rita. It is marked "MR F", revealed now to be the acronym for "mentally retarded female," which explains Rita's love for childish fashion and suspicious, silly demeanor. Rita revels in her attainment of the gold star only to peel it and reveal to the audience that it is merely a piece of chocolate wrapped in gold foil, which she consumes joyfully. Meanwhile, as George, Sr. continues to travel through the narrow passageways hidden between the walls of Lucille's penthouse, he is surprised to come across a mole himself: Annyong, who has apparently set up a secret communications base within the walls of the apartment.

Episode notes

• This is the fourth episode to feature Charlize Theron as Rita Leeds and Dave Thomas as her Uncle Trevor.
• The title, "Mr. F," is a spoof of Dr. No, a James Bond film, as well as a reference to the name of the spy within the Bluth Company and Rita's mental capacity.
  • "Mr. F" is also used as a musical interlude in this and future episodes.
• When the lawyer mentions there may be someone listening in, first they cut to the surrogate whose microphone allows George Sr. to listen in, and then a boom mic is (intentionally) visible from the production crew, near the top of the frame.
• In a callback to the episode Notapusy, where words that are not offensive when used in the British sense are beeped anyway, after Trevor is thrown into the pool, the word "fags" is beeped when he says "Oh, me fags are wet", meaning his pack of cigarettes.
• The scene in which Rita's uncle reminds her of what she was "promised", he closes the box and Rita's laugh parallels Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman.
• The title Love Indubitably is a parody of the British romantic comedy Love Actually.
• After seeing the film, Rita remarks that she hates when they hire Americans to play British people on screen. The irony is that Charlize Theron is neither British-born nor American-born; Theron is originally from South Africa. Additionally, Dave Thomas, who played Trevor, is from Canada.

References

Sources

• The-OP.com
• FOX
• Quotes for this episode on WikiQuote