Crime
The Residence
As much as one might enjoy solving a good mystery, there’s a fair bit of content slop to muck through in Netflix’s The Residence.
The Greens didn’t always live in Big City. Once upon a time, they lived in the country, tending to their animals and growing produce. But then they lost the farm and had to move in with Gramma Green.
Gramma’s tiny plot of land in Big City isn’t much, but it’s got a house, a chicken coop and a vegetable garden. And for the Greens, it’s home.
But the Greens still have a lot to learn about Big City.
Family patriarch Bill Green is ready to do whatever it takes to fit in with the city’s serious folk. But his family often throws a wrench in those plans.
Cricket, the Greens’ youngest child, is an adventure-seeking, chaos-loving scamp. And it’s about all Bill can do to rein in Cricket’s wild schemes. Big sis, Tilly, isn’t much help, letting Cricket drag her along and often contributing her own eccentric ideas, too.
And then there’s Gramma herself. She may have lived in Big City the longest, but the fact that her house is the last holdout against Big City’s skyscrapers shows that she’s not willing to conform without a fight—which should be easy for her since she carries an armory’s worth of weapons on her person.
But it’s not like Cricket, Tilly and Gramma are trying to make things harder for Bill. Rather, they just don’t want to lose themselves in the process of fitting in.
And Bill agrees. So, it may take Big City a little more time to full accept the family, but as far as Bill and his kids are concerned, they’re Big City Greens now.
Big City Greens is a silly show where slapstick humor and crazy antics abound. But parents should consider a few potential concerns.
Each episode features a number of “goshes,” “dangs” and “hecks,” though you won’t hear any real profanity. Characters also like to hurl the insult “weirdo.”
Cricket and Tilly aren’t always the most obedient of children, though they usually learn from their mistakes and apologize. And while the Green family isn’t trying to irritate their new neighbors, their inability to adjust to city life often causes chaos and frustration.
Younger kiddos will likely miss the more adult jokes—for instance, Bill Green dresses up as Brandon Lee’s character from the R-rated The Crow in one episode—but parents may not appreciate their inclusion all the same.
A few LGBT characters live in Big City. And given that this is a Disney show, more could pop up later down the line. (Online speculation suggests that Bill might be bisexual due to his fond friendship with another man.)
We also eventually learn that Bill is divorced. And while that’s not necessarily a good thing, he and his ex-wife, Nancy, are on very good terms, still considering each other to be family despite the separation.
Big City Greens is genuinely sweet and funny. And it’s probably navigable for some families, but it’s certainly not a home run.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at [email protected], or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
The Greens travel to Big City to live with Gramma after losing their farm in the country. Upon arrival, they get lost while exploring the city and must find another way to Gramma’s. Then, Cricket tries to impress their new neighbors by launching a chicken into space.
Cricket and his family narrowly escape death several times. We learn Bill lost a finger to a hay baler (which saves Bill later when a dog tries to bite him there). Tilly accepts a ride from a stranger with a creepy van, but her dad and brother stop her before she can get in. The family walks into a smoky, underground poker den and is chased out by patrons throwing knives and bottles. Two men punch each other repeatedly. Bill is injured by a bear trap a couple of times. Several chickens attack Cricket’s neighbors after he launches them into the sky, pecking them and causing at least one man to crash his car.
Gramma pretends to be dead to scare her family after they show up late. She swings a sword at Cricket and his friend, mistaking them for bandits, but is blocked by her own wooden leg.
When Cricket sticks his head out of the car window, a bug flies into his mouth, and then several more hit his face. There’s an emaciated pigeon. A dog with worms rubs its rear end on the ground. An alligator lurks in the sewers. A man on the bus turns out to be made of rats. A loose chicken causes chaos in a café, resulting in damaged property. We hear that same chicken ate some chicken salad, making it a “cannibal.”
Tilly has to calm her dad on a few occasions when he panics. Cricket’s hubris causes the family vehicle to get towed. Tilly and Cricket disobey their dad and encourage another young boy to disobey his parents, too. The Greens spot a runaway bride. The Greens accidentally walk through wet cement. People are unforgiving to the Greens after a few other accidents.
Several uses of “dang,” “heck” and “gosh.” One use each of “holy moley” and “holy cow.” A boy says “darned” . Cricket blows a raspberry.
The Greens are chased by guard dogs after illegally entering a tow yard to retrieve their truck. Bill tries to make things right by putting money for their car in one of the dog’s collars. Cricket realizes that instead of telling his family how great Big City is, he should have been reminding them how great they are. And they band together to finally arrive at Gramma’s house.
Cricket’s friend, Remy, sets out to prove he can manage money responsibly after his parents cut him off. Then, Bill is hurt when his family doesn’t share in his love of statues. He takes up with a murder of crows, calling them his “cramily.” Meanwhile, Cricket realizes he has no hobbies, and Tilly tries to help him find one.
We see a statue of a mermaid with a clam shell bra.
There are a few tumbles and mishaps, but nobody is permanently injured. A man renders a boy unconscious by pinching a pressure point. A boy passes out from stress. Someone is bit by a penguin. A man wipes his eye with a filthy tissue, infecting the eye. Fire ants cover a boy’s body.
Bill dresses up like Brandon Lee from The Crow. Crows attack several people and cause property damage. They steal a man’s jacket (which he gets back later) and try to kidnap Bill. They also try to force Bill to eat a rotten apple core. Cricket saves Bill by “causing chaos,” throwing objects at the birds and launching himself at them.
People purposely humiliate Remy, calling him a “money dummy” and throwing meatballs at him. Cricket hits his head against a trash can repeatedly because he is bored. Bill’s family is rude to him about his hobby, hurting his feelings. He eventually realizes it’s OK that they don’t all like the same things, and they also apologize for their harsh words.
Remy tries to cheat his parents’ money rules and nearly causes them to lose their house because of his greed. However, Tilly and Cricket help Remy to remedy the problem before his parents find out. And Remy returns to his parents having learned his lesson. (Unfortunately, this is a bit undermined since his parents reward him by telling him he can still spend lots of money, just not quite as much as before.)
A phrase starting with “What the–” is cut off. We don’t hear what is said, but Tilly tells a woman on the phone that there’s “no need for profanity.” A single use of “dang.”
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
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