Animation
Good Times
Netflix takes a classic sitcom, Good Times, and turns it into a vulgar, violent, sexually-charged TV-MA show.
Bunk’d, a spinoff of Disney’s successful (and marginally better) sitcom Jessie, plucks three of the four Ross siblings—pretty and popular Emma; geeky, giant lizard-owning Ravi; and the precociously cute Zuri—and plops them down at Camp Kikiwaka, a very camp-like camp set in the wilds of Maine.
It was a natural destination, really, given that their parents met and fell in love there as counselors. Indeed, the camp still reverberates with their magical time, and counselors still speak in hushed tones about the future Mrs. Ross’ fabled skills: “Her dream catchers actually caught dreams,” gushes current counselor Lou. So it’s clear that Emma, Ravi and Zuri—the latter two officially “counselors-in-training”—must quickly learn to embrace their family’s proud Kikiwaka heritage.
But, alas, Kikiwaka isn’t all just hot dogs and s’mores. Gladys, the camp’s adult Grand Poobah, has never gotten over her own crush on Mr. Ross and therefore harbors a deep grudge against the kids’ mother. And because camp is weird that way, the cycle seems to be repeating itself: Head counselor Hazel—Gladys’ daughter—has a thing for hunky, guitar-playing counselor Xander, but he’s far more interested in Emma. Nuts, says Hazel, and makes it her mission to weasel in between the two aspiring lovebirds.
All of that—and the presence of the mysterious Kikiwaka monster—is just the minimalist backdrop for yet another joke-rinse-and-repeat Disney sitcom.
Disney, as much as fans may appreciate Frozen or a ride on the Matterhorn, hasn’t made a truly funny sitcom for years now. But Disney has excelled in concocting (largely) inoffensive, (mostly) clean comedies that the whole family can (kinda) enjoy. Most come stocked with at least one strong adult role model, a smattering of well-meaning kids and maybe a moral or two.
And on Bunk’d? Well, Gladys, the show’s silly stand-in for an adult, is an embittered crab of a woman, and her mean-girl daughter’s well on her way to being just like her. The show sporadically lauds rule-breaking and authority-flaunting. There’s a gross reliance on potty humor for a wan attempt at laughs, and the morals we see are the sorts that we might expect from National Lampoon: lighten up, have a little fun, don’t let that evil counselor get you down. It almost feels like the Mouse House’s sitcom pitch meeting was mysteriously overrun by Garbage Pail Kids.
Am I being too hard on the show? Maybe. So in fairness, let me say that it’s not like Disney turned around and created a camp-y version of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
That’s the best I can do.
The Rosses are now the official owners of Camp Kikiwaka and have relectantly put Emma in charge of the camp. Ravi wants to be the coolest counselor, while Zuri and a new camper named Destiny fight over decorations.
Potty humor is plentiful, as are jokes about personal hygiene. Other jokes touch lightly and sarcastically on child-labor laws, avoiding the police, getting hurt, hurting others, dating, embezelling and losing limbs. Dead animals, attractions to celebtrities and people dying also turn up in various conversations.
A girl screams into a pillow and mentions shoving a stick up somone’s rear. Someone exclaims, “Thank the gods!” We hear the phrases “diddly squat” and “bloodbath.”
Emma, Ravi and Zuri Ross arrive at camp and meet its wacky inhabitants, including Tiffany (a camper living in perpetual fear of her overbearing mom) and Jorge (whose one clear skill seems to be passing gas). Several jokes are made about the boy’s ability in that arena (particularly on burrito night), and his wind-breaking technique becomes, ahem, instrumental in supposedly driving off the monster Kikiwaka. A counselor says the blast, which gets front-and-center screen time, probably killed all life for miles around.
There are references to a place where kids sneak off to smooch. We see a girl mimic making out. There’s talk of “turn-ons,” one of them being a girl covered with mud. Gladys laments her love life.
The “demon beast” Kikiwaka inspires goofy “spiritual” rituals. (Ravi calls the camp a cult.) Jorge claims he was abducted by aliens, prompting questions about “probes.” Gladys tells campers that urinating in the lake is just fine, but that defecating in a canoe is inexcusable (something Jorge did). Xander plays guitar with his fungus-filled toenail—which Hazel kisses. People cheat and lie and diss their parents. Girls do mean things to each other. Zuri talks about hollowing out her mattress to hide stuff. We hear characters say “fart,” “jeez,” “heck,” “ding-dang” and “OMG.”
Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.
Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).
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