A Review with Discussion Questions for Family Reunion review and No Good Nick:
Two new Netflix shows that are very bingable with surprisingly heavy episodes for being aimed towards a pre-teen/teen audience. Parents and teens will enjoy these shows but we suggest you watch them together.
Netflix: Family Reunion Review
Show Name: Family Reunion Review
Rating: TV-PG
Age Suggestion: 9+yrs because of some of the jokes and topics discussed
Episode Length: Currently there are 10 episodes that run about 20 minutes each
Where to Watch: Netflix
Warnings: This show is aimed at a little bit of an older audience, it feels very much like a throwback to 90’s family comedy sitcoms. The show includes: Jokes about religion, Serious religious moments, Family tension, Minor sexual references, Teen relationships and gossip, Popularity, Moving, Alcohol, Police Brutality, Racism, Colorism, Toxic masculinity, Minor cursing.
Summary:
Moz is retired from the NFL and ready to move his whole family back home to small town Georgia after living in a big city. They move in with his parents. His four kids have strong feelings about the move and their new home. While his wife, Cocoa, struggles with the adjustment more than she thought she would. A throwback to the early 90’s family sitcoms.
Questions: **Spoilers beyond this point**
1) If you have moved states or to another country- how did you handle the news?
2) Which character do you relate to the most and which do you think is the funniest?
3) How does your grandmother compare to this grandmother? Could you talk to her the way her grandkids do?
4) Talk about why we can trust civil servants in general even though there are some that are not trustworthy? How do we balance that?
5) Could you relate to any of the difficult experiences the McKellan’s had? Or do you have any funny stories like their roadtrip story?
Family Reunion Review:
Characters/ Acting:
-Tia Mowry-Hardrict and Anthony Alabi (mom and dad) are amazing. Loretta Devine (grandma) is hysterically intense. The kids in the show (Talia Jackson, Isaiah Rusell-Bailey, Cameron J. wright, Jordyn Raya James, and Lance Alexander) do a wonderful job playing believable siblings/friends.
-The chemistry is good, but a show with so many leads is hard to get attached to in just ten episodes. I’m particularly excited to see more of the youngest sister in the next half of the first season- she stole every scene she had lines in.
-Story/ Script:
–Though very predictable, and sitcom cheesy, the script is entertaining and well delivered.
-Once I got a couple of episodes in, I wanted to binge the rest.
-There were some stiff moments, but there always are in the first few episodes of a new show, especially comedy sitcoms with a large cast.
-I loved how they addressed difficult topics. Particularly how the parents are loving, aware and not afraid to admit that they’re still learning too. The tough stuff the kids run into is always addressed with a parent. I especially loved how they addressed colorism, racism, and choosing paths outside of what your parents intended for you. Super interested to see how they continue to address drama, teen and adult, and gossip in the next half of the season.
-There are SOO many great opportunities for good conversations with your kids with this story!!!
-Film Quality: Multicamera sitcom that is done very well. It definitely is intentionally shot as a throwback sitcom show.
–Similar Shows: It reminds me of a lighter version of a Blackish and Modern Family mash up. Similar to other Netflix sitcoms, possibly a little lighter than most of the others. It also seems like a throwback to the 90’s sitcoms like Step By Step, Full House, Family Matters, Boy Meets World, and of course- Sister, Sister. This is definitely more family friendly- but that does not stop them from broaching some big topics. I LOVED the guest appearances of Jaleel White and Tempestt Bledsoe and I hop they have some more awesome guest appearances/ throwbacks to 90’s sitcoms.
-Other:
One of the neat things about this show is that each of the writers got to dedicate an episode to someone important to them, and occasionally it relates to the episode. The dedication flashes through at the end of each episode. Which made me think of Chuck Lorre’s messages at the end of his show- just with a lot more sentimental meaning. There’s one episode which addresses a racist cop that flashes a memorial at the end for slain teens which says “They could have been our sons” which was so touching that I teared up the first time I saw it. It’s a fun and meaningful thing that sets the show apart.
Netflix: No Good Nick
Show Name: Family Reunion
Rating: TV-PG
Age Suggestion: 10+yrs because of some of the jokes and topics discussed
Episode Length: Currently there are 20 episodes that run about 20 minutes each
Where to Watch: Netflix
Warnings: This show is aimed at a little bit of an older audience as well. There are some pretty mature and difficult topics discussed in the show and because of the nature of the topics discussed I definitely feel like this is one to watch WITH your kids. The writings interesting enough that everyone should get a laugh or two in most all of the episodes. The show includes: -Adult manipulation of children, Teen Relationships, LGBT teen relationships, Foster care, Incarceration, Mob storylines, Politics, Social media impact, Social influencers, Cons, Minor cursing.
Summary:
The Thompson’s are a regular family that are struggling to really connect, when all of the sudden an orphaned relative turns up on their doorstep. This con artist, teen, relative may not be all that she appears to be. There are lots of laughs and tender moments on the way to discovering how to be a family again.
Questions: **Spoilers beyond this point**
1) Do you feel like the volunteer squad was really making a difference? How could they have done things differently?
2) Which of the characters did you connect with first? Who was your favorite?
3) How do you deal with extremely stressful situations? Who is a safe adult you can talk to besides your parents if you need to have a sounding board for something stressful?
4) Every character found that their actions, even the things they did unintentionally, had consequences? Who did you feel the most and least sympathy for?
5) The Thompson family really came together and bonded- what do you think caused the change? Is there a small thing you can do this week to communicate more with your family?
No Good Nick Review:
Film Quality: This is a very typical multi camera sitcom. The shots are well done and not distracting from the story.
Similar Too: Other Netflix sitcoms; It reminds me of a darker Liv and Maddie or 8 Simple Rules.
Characters/ Acting:
–I love both Melissa Joan Heart and Sean Astin! I was excited to see them in a new family sitcom together. They play clueless but loving, involved parents. They definitely do not disappoint. (Although I wish there had been a couple of throwbacks to Sabrina)
–The writing and jokes are very typical teenage sitcom.
-All the child actors did very well, and there were a lot of intense, dramatic scenes. Especially for the three lead teens; Kalama Epstein, Lauren Lindsey Donzis, Siena Agudong. I was very impressed with them.
Story/ Script:
-This story is a really interesting twist on your typical sitcom. It is not the cheesy, simple sitcom storyline. Well, it is cheesy in places. It still follows the sitcom tropes and dad humor; but the plot is a lot darker than typical. Mainly because it centers on adults making awful decisions and manipulating kids that we generally assume ‘should know better’.
-The show and writing is witty and fun. There are a couple of throwbacks to old shows as well, though not as many as in Family Reunion. I wish they had put a comment in there about living with crazy aunts who told you that you were a witch or something like that. I’m sure that’s a lot more complicated than I’m giving it credit for.
-**Here’s where I took issue with the show. It portrays the foster system, foster parents, and most importantly foster kids in a very negative/stereotypical light that could be hurtful. Because I am a foster/adoptive parent, I am most assuredly more sensitive about this than your typical viewer would be to be fair. More is noted about this below.
-To be fair, the show really did harp on the fact that everyone had screwed up and everyone’s actions had consequences.
-There were also a lot of positives because although the Thompson’s were at times clueless, they were a wonderful example of a family that’s supportive, loving and inclusive.
-It does bring up some good conversation starters about fostering and adoption.
Favorite moments: I loved all the moments that the Thompson’s really connected and laughed together. The parent conversations were always great, relateable and funny. The scenes with Nick and Molly were always great too.
Other:
-**Why I took some issue with the stereotypical ways the foster system was portrayed:
The foster system is shown as so screwed up that no one can really navigate it and no one really knows where the kids are all the time. While our system is definitely messed up. There are also definitely wonderful people and really hard working social workers who work hard to ensure that these kiddos are in the best possible spots that they can be. Yes, there are clerical errors, system oversights, and things that seem comically difficult within the system- but it’s what we have to work with and the kids are worth fighting with and against the system for. The foster parents in this show were great actors but their characters were terrible human beings. The kind of people that foster to gain money and turn kids into criminals. Which takes me back to another 90’s throwback- the buttkisses in the Mary Kate and Ashley movie “It Takes Two”. The foster family who “collected” kids to have free labor for their scrapyard. Whereas in this sitcom, the foster parents want extra cash. There is a rigorous system in place for foster parents, and yes, there are some horrible ones. Again though, there are a lot of really awesome ones that don’t deserve to be stereotyped this way 90% of the time in media. By far the thing I took the most offense to though, was the portrayal of foster kids. The two kids that had the most screen time both had endured trauma, their parents incarcerated, and they were the “messed up” kids who were manipulative, manipulated, and criminal kids. Trauma doesn’t turn everyone into a hardened criminal and while often foster kids do have a lot of scaring trauma to work through- they aren’t damaged or criminal because of it.-But I will reiterate that I did appreciate that the writers did examine the fact that adults choices have severe consequences for the kids they impact. As well as the fact that the kids actions had consequences as well, regardless of the reason they were doing whatever they were doing.
-Cool point of trivia I learned from IMBD; In every opening Nick is on the stairs with something that relates to her con scheme in that episode!
If you enjoyed our No Good Nick and Family Reunion Review, check out some of our other reviews…
–You Vs. Wild –Brene Brown: The Call to Courage –Marie Kondo Special
–Descendants 3 –Carmen Sandiego Netflix –Alls Faire in Middle School
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