Lucille Bluth (Jessica Walter), the matriarch of the Bluth family in beloved TV comedy Arrested Development—returning May 26 on Netflix—takes a different approach to nurturing her own. From coddling her son Buster (Tony Hale) to ignoring G.O.B. (Will Arnett) and telling Lindsay (Portia de Rossi) she needs to lose weight on a regular basis, no other boozehound mother voices disappointment in her children quite like Lucille does. And she does it all with caustic wit and some less-than-charming winking.
Thoughts on Her Children
G.O.B. has spent his life vying for the love of his mother and father to no avail. In this clip, Lucille insists she loves all her children equally, but reveals her true feelings on her son, the magician.
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Defiant Lindsay has disappointed Lucille in every way possible—from marrying eccentric psychiatrist Tobias Fünke (David Cross)—and sometimes “analrapist”—to never landing a real job and frivolously living off the family money. Lucille shows Lindsay with a simple facial expression what she thinks about spending quality time with her daughter.
In “Bringing Up Buster,” Lucille hears from her other children that her youngest son, Buster, thinks she’s “withholding” and “gets off from it.” She retaliates, and hilarity ensues.
How She Treats the Common Folk
Lucille deals with blue-collar workers with the stereotypical execution of a wealthy brat, making sure to craft her remarks to be as insensitive as she possibly can. In this clip, she is infuriated over a server touching her wine glass with her thumb, and gives her a piece of her mind.
When Lucille and Lindsay are waited on by a Klimpy’s diner waitress, the privileged Lucille—who looks out of place in this casual-dining establishment—says, “This does not bode well.”
A Love for Alcohol
In Season 1’s “Key Decisions,” G.O.B. finds a way to land in prison to accompany his father, and the events, of course, don’t go as planned. He gets shanked by White Power Bill and is taken to the hospital. Lucille has little to say, focusing instead on the alcohol accessibility in the building.
“Get me a vodka rocks” are the all-too familiar words uttered from Lucille’s mouth. She teaches Americans that it’s never too early to enjoy an alcoholic beverage. It’s 5 o’clock somewhere!
Dramatic, Much?
Lucille has always had a flair for the melodramatic and she ironically comments on the attitude of others in a dramatic fashion in the pilot episode of Arrested Development.
Lucille Bluth may indeed be the world’s worst driver. Lindsay tells brother Michael (Jason Bateman) that Lucille was featured on an episode of Fox’s fictional reality show World’s Worst Drivers, ridiculed on tape for her parallel parking. In this clip, she torpedoes down the road, blaming others for her driving mistakes, in one of her funniest one-liners.
Ignorance is Bliss
Lucille has lived the good life for so long that she may have forgotten what it’s like to go grocery shopping. She tells Michael the grossly overestimated price of a banana in this video.
The self-absorbed Bluth parents adopted Annyong from Korea for a better PR spin. Annyong, however, is neglected just as much as her other children. As oblivious as ever, Lucille is out of touch with the younger generation and gives him money to go watch “a Star War.”
