Fuller House Review: Friendly Competition (Season 4 Episodes 7-9)
The comedy is in full swing with hilarious moments of friendly competition on Fuller House Season 4 Episodes 7-9. The families all get into their fair share of hijinks and trouble due to school elections, party fouls, male stereotypes, science project favoritism, and the good ole BASBAs (Bay Area Small Business Award).
For the first time this season, these episodes are a purely fun comedy. There isn’t really any serious personal issues bringing in an element of drama. That doesn’t mean there aren’t moments of serious amongst the laughs.
In fact, there is another major father moment for Fernando on Fuller House Season 4 Episode 8, “Driving Mr. Jackson.” Only this time, it involves Jackson instead of his actual child.
However, let’s not let that outshine the beauty that is Juan Pablo Di Pace’s comedic attempts at covering the kids’ party foul.
When Jackson and Ramona text him during the BASBA ceremony, Fernando is instructed to pick them up but to do so without making a scene. He proceeds to try and make an exit peacefully but somehow manages to create chaos with every step he takes. The moment is made even funnier by Fernando saying, “I was being discreet!”
The comedic timing of it all really just adds to the ridiculousness of Fernando’s character and makes him that much more lovable. If the moment had passed without Fernando saying anything it wouldn’t have been as funny. The true laughs come from Di Pace’s delivery.
“Driving Mr. Jackson” is also funny for the competition that arises between newly forgiven Matt and D.J. When Matt wins the BASBA over D.J. her jealousy seems a bit over the top and misplaced.
Matt adds to the whole situation by attaching his award to a higher pedestal and then placing it on the front desk. It kind of reminds us of when our siblings would win something when we were kids and then they’d rub our face in it.
Matt and D.J. acting like this really clue us into how they see each other now that they’re no longer romantically involved. It seems that they’ve now moved into friends/sibling territory. This adds a different kind of element because that used to be the D.J. and Steve dynamic, so in essence, D.J. has simply flipped a switch between the two men.
It makes fans wonder what D.J.’s husband must have been like if she tends to like men such as Matt and Steve, who both separately fill the voids of friend and lover.
If Tommy were still around would the dynamic duo between Matt and Steve become a trio? Would it rival that of the She-Wolf Pack?
Another really adorable example of friendly competition comes on Fuller House Season 4 Episode 7, “President Fuller,” when Max and his girlfriend, Rose, go after the same class president position.
It’s obvious from the beginning that Max doesn’t really want the position he just wants to flex his prowess. However, once he gets the idea in his head, much like any grand scheme he ends up pursuing, he can’t stop until he’s dominated.
When Max turns ugly it is his mom who has to step in and give him perspective. While the whole ordeal was borderline maniacal, which added to the light-heartedness of it all, it is nice to see it come to a cleaner end.
The mother/son talk is in true Fuller House style and really brings the meaning of it all back into clear focus. It gives Max’s journey purpose and reason. Without it, audiences wouldn’t find interest in the episode as a whole.
Of these three episodes, Fuller House Season 4 Episode 9, “Perfect Sons,” is by far the greatest episode. Everything about it is well-balanced and perfectly timed.
On the one hand, there is the slightly comical, yet timely relevant story about Max learning a hard lesson on perfection. On the other, there is the beautiful story of what it means to be a successful father figure to a child who isn’t your own.
Both of these stories come together in beautiful harmony to create one cohesive tale about fathers, mothers, and sons. A family is deeper than blood and sometimes they’re the ones who have to feed you the harshest of truths.
Elias Harger is always a comedic treat playing Max who’s funny without meaning to be. Much like Di Pace, his dramatic scenes are that much more noticeable due to being a tad bit on the rarer side. Each time he nails the scene and hits it out of the park.
Max is a kid who never fails at anything. He’s “the perfect kid.” Unfortunately, that makes failures that much harder on him because he isn’t used to it and doesn’t know how to handle the situation.
He ends up going into a small identity crisis that catapults a chain of events which end with the destruction of the “Wake-Up San Francisco” set. When D.J. pulls him aside to tell him it’s ok to fail once in a while, we either take note as a fellow parent or a former child who’s been there.
It’s a super relatable moment that is handled delicately, and with the utmost care.
Another successful story is the one of Jackson learning to drive from Steve. D.J. has to take a knee in this parenting moment because she knows she can’t handle it.
She calls on Steve who gladly takes on the task. Steve is actually very successful but hits a snag when the car stops working and he doesn’t know how to get out of the jam.
In walks Matt, and what could’ve been a terribly competitive moment for the two men becomes a moment of unity and joint problem-solving.
These two men are both totally inept when it comes to fixing cars and instead of letting that moment of toxic masculinity take over they use their other skills to solve a problem their own way.
It gives Jackson, and young viewers a positive example of how men should act and treat one another. These two extremely non-fatherly type guys become the exact example of father figure that Jackson needs in his life.
Once again, Fuller House takes a serious subject matter and uses humor to convey it in the most relatable way possible. Not all competition is a bad thing and sometimes it even builds on a character’s already great qualities to make them a stronger character.
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What did you think of these episodes of Fuller House? Share your thoughts in the comments below! Be sure to catch up on our review of Fuller House Season 4 Episodes 4-6 right here.
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Fuller House is streaming now on Netflix.
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Mads Misasi
Mads is a part-time entertainment journalist and full-time marketing content creator. They love any and all TV Dramas with a few sitcoms mixed in. Join in the fun talking about TV by following them on Twitter: @dorothynyc89.