Can't Believe I Said That: He often does this before the other party has even left the room, mouthing "What is wrong with me?" while the other person's eyes are diverted for some reason.
Honest Corporate Executive: For the most part, although he occasionally slips up. It's especially admirable in contrast to how his (now imprisoned) father handled the position.
Honor Before Reason: He really should have left years ago and left his family suffer.
Not so Above It All: played straight with Michael, and parodied with the other characters
Only Sane Man: Michael is the only member of the Bluth family without any immediate glaring character flaws. Even after his own issues start manifesting, he remains the most rational (with the exception of his son) Bluth.... not that they give him a particularly high bar to jump over. In the end, he's as messed up as everyone else in the family. Being the "rational" Bluth still makes you look pretty screwed up to the rest of the world.
Straight Man: Michael is actually a deconstruction at times: despite the "ordinary guy" facade he puts on, his interactions with George Michael show him to be as completely intolerant of casualness as his family says.
Whenever his son mentions his girlfriend Ann, his reactions are always either unawareness or apprehensiveness, and he makes constant hints and suggestions that he'd rather George Michael spent time with himself and drop her altogether.
After seeing his son take a break, he assures him that he doesn't mind, but that he should probably work an extra hour to compensate.
Well Done Son,Guy: Averted. He obviously hates his father very much and doesn't want his respect or approval.
White Sheep: Pretty much explicitly designated in that role by his family.
More specifically, she's what some would call a "limousine liberal," an upper-class liberal who doesn't practice what she preaches. For instance, in one episode she claims to be an animal rights activist, and when Michael points out that her boots are made of ostrich, she basically replies that she's only interested in saving "cute" animals. Of course, the main reason she advocates all these causes is to thumb her nose at and feel superior to her conservative family.
George Oscar Bluth (GOB), his Older Brother (Will Arnett)
The Unfavorite: George Sr. and Lucille treat all their kids like crap, but Gob gets the worst of it by far. It probably puts it into perspective how badly he's treated when Lucille claims she treats Lindsay better—the one she calls fat at least twice an episode.
Lucille: "How dare you?! I love all my children equally!" (flashback) "I don't really care for Gob."
In another instance:
Lucille: (to Michael) "You're my third least-favorite child."
(later)Narrator: (as Gob enters the scene) "And then Lucille's fourth-least favorite child showed up."
"Well Done, Son" Guy: Increasingly desperate for this from his dad as the series progressed.
Franklin Delano Bluth, GOB's puppet:
Demonic Dummy: A comically racist variation of this.
Lovable Jock: He's dumb as a box of hair but still quite likeable and friendly. As well as surprisingly tolerant when he thought Lindsay was a Transsexual (It makes sense in Context).
Pokémon Speak: Subverted: everyone thinks he's continually saying his name but Annyong is actually the Korean word for hello.
His real name is Hello.
This is illustrated when Michael takes a date to a Korean restaurant, and when he walks in the door, everyone says "Annyong!" Assumedly he understood them, because he waved back to them. Why he never explained this to the rest of the family is a mystery, but perhaps he was just snickering behind their backs.
Spell My Name with an S: Due to "Annyeong" being the most common spelling of the Korean word. Also applies to his real name, which is usually Romanized "Haru".
Ascended Extra: John Beard As Himself ties Henry Winkler as Barry Zuckercorn for most frequently credited Special Guest, yet he probably has a cumulative minute of screen time.
As Himself: John Beard was the real newscaster for the Los Angeles area's local FOX affiliate.
Breast Expansion: She decided to breast implants when makers of "Girls with low self-esteem" refused to use footage of her taking her top.
Catch Phrase: considering the above, she could be angry. But no, she'll take it in stride, and let you "TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT THESE! Because it's the last time you're ever going to see them!"
Man Child: A female variant. She still acts extremely immature and like a teenager (Taking time off for spring break and partying excessively).
Oblivious to Love: Lindsay prefaces her flirtations with him with that she's looking into getting a divorce. He carries on with the rest of their interactions as if she's consulting him as her divorce lawyer.
If you don't see what's funny about his name, try saying it out loud. Or view this clip.
Gene Parmesan, his mother's private eye
Master of Disguise: parodied. He constantly turns up in various disguises and faked accents. They are all blatantly obvious , and the narration lampshades this, with the narrator saying, "Gene was far from the best." Despite this, they invariably fool Lucille, eliciting a scream of delight from her each time. However, he gets pretty much anywhere instantly, which is surprisingly so given his standard-
