Once again, Atlanta diverged from normality with its eighth episode, “The Goof Who Sat by the Door,” a fictional, documentary-style, stand-alone episode with no connection to the show’s main characters. Even compared to all the anthology episodes of season three, Atlanta took new risks and reaped new rewards as it changed its style and format entirely.
The documentary introduces us to the setting of Los Angeles during the 1990s and the unrest within the city after the beating of Rodney G King – a very factual occurrence. It then introduces us to the main fictional story of how Thomas Washington, played by Eric Berryman (Marriage Story, Bonding), an assistant animator at Disney, became the C.E.O. of the same company in such a significant time for black culture. The documentary’s name is the same as the episode’s name. Thomas Washington was named after Tom Jones and was bullied for his love of drawing. His friends and family labeled him as white, and his mother notes how much this angered him.
Thomas develops his work in college and obsesses over the character of Goofy, who he sees as a representative of black men. His father passes, and he makes a short film about this experience that lands him a job at Disney. At the same time, riots and shootings are going on in Los Angeles, and even though Thomas wants to go and join to help the cause, his mother advises him to riot with his pen and paper. He tells his cousin, played by Jay DeVon Johnson (Greenleaf, Good Girls), that he won’t hold back when he makes a movie if he gets the chance.
After a couple of issues with new C.E.O.s, Thomas gets voted into power accidentally by a board who thought that the name of the man they were voting for was Thomas Washington, not Thompson Washington. And, with all eyes on them after the success of Beauty and the Beast, they have no choice but to accept their new C.E.O. Thomas begins work and immediately starts having an impact as he seeks to prove himself. He asked a fellow black animator to help him create “the Blackest movie of all time,” which he decided would be A Goofy Movie. It was going to cover all of the systemic problems that Goofy faced as well as single parenthood, incarceration, gang violence, limited career opportunities, and much more. Nobody could believe what had happened, and somehow a black assistant animator was the head of Disney during a time of immense cultural significance.
The documentary then exposes Thomas’ downfall, beginning with an introduction to his wife, played by Sherry Richards (Ozark, The Walking Dead) and son, played by Maurice P. Kerry (The First Lady, MacGyver). Thomas told his wife to show his son the movie if anything ever happened to him, which she was too afraid to ask more about. Thomas becomes less and less subtle in his work at Disney and what his movie means to him. He doesn’t want Mickey in the movie, who he calls a white boy, and seems to believe during one moment in a meeting that he is Goofy. Thomas begins sleeping in his office and is mean to his wife, who leaves him. He raises his fist at his son, who this is all supposedly for, and brings a gun to the office in his briefcase. Those around him believed his insecurity over his blackness caused him to act out. He had ideas for the movie ending, including Goofy being pulled over and shot by a pig police officer or Goofy being shot as he ends up on stage at a concert; neither of these happens. Thomas’ death is then revealed. It is unclear whether or not it was an accident.
Just before he died, there is a tape of him where he claims he needs to finish his work. After he was fired, Thomas attended the movie screening that was pieced together behind his back. His ending had been changed and now included Big Foot, whose mystical nature brought fantasy into a movie that he had hoped would be so truthful to real life. He drove away from the screening, and his car was found at the bottom of the lake he used to take his son fishing at, the same one that inspired the movie. His wife noted how in the end, Thomas was successful in being a part of black culture and creating the Blackest movie of all time.
The story of Thomas Washington and the reimagination of A Goofy Movie was captivating. There were moments of pure comedy but also heartbreak, similar to how Thomas’ short film was described. The callback to Goofy hats and the reappearance of B.A.N. were welcome and fun. The filming of the documentary was eerily realistic. “The Goof Who Sat by the Door” was thought-provoking, funny, and powerful as a piece of fiction that felt incredibly real.
Rating: 9.0/10