When Will takes the wheel, you’d be forgiven for wondering if one seatbelt is going to be enough to protect you.
No, we don’t claim to know whether or not Will is a good driver. But he is in charge of Valley Forge Automotive Center, a struggling mechanic shop, the kind that would make you dread getting your oil changed.
Part of that feeling comes from its miserable employees. The worst of the lot is Shane, who isn’t afraid to make sexually inappropriate remarks in front of customers—especially if they’re women.
But, as the boss, Will is ultimately to blame when things go south. The poor, anxious man can hardly stumble his way through a sentence, let alone run a shop. Case in point: he’s busy trying to save face with the franchise higher-ups (one of whom is his father) after accidentally ordering a costly 500 tires to the shop.
The franchise is aware that this branch isn’t profitable. If Will doesn’t get his crew in gear and pull a U-Turn soon, they’ll all be out of jobs.
Is Will worried? Yes. But he’s certain he can make a change.
Because when the rubber meets the road…
…ah, who are we kidding? He’ll probably mess up then, too.
There are many ways you might describe a worthless car.
Rust bucket. Clunker. Lemon. Jalopy. Hunk of Junk.
Helpfully, those are all acceptable adjectives to describe Netflix’s Tires.
The first six-episode season of the series appears similar to a beat-up car well past its prime sputtering into a mechanic’s shop under a false hope that a worker will be able to help squeeze a few more miles out of it. But there’s not enough duct tape in the world to fix the problems with it.
Each episode relies on a belief that what viewers have desperately been craving are frequent sex jokes, crude language and…did I mention references to sex? Tires quickly becomes … ahem … tiresome as you begin to recognize that what the show considers variety boils down to whether its characters are talking about breasts or butts.
Tires refers to the rubber coverings that go around a wheel. But it might just leave viewers looking for family friendly fare feeling a little run over.
(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.)
In an effort to boost sales and gain public appeal, Will recruits a journalist to write about the store’s initiative to make women feel more comfortable at automobile shops.
We hear a couple references to sex and orgasms. Men talk about various women’s breasts and rears. A man shows Will a photo of his female cousin’s behind and asks Will if he would have sex with her. One worker, Shane, imitates giving Will oral sex. He likewise insults a man by telling him to lick his genitals. Later, Shane shames Will for not having had sex recently. Men objectify women. A couple men debate whether a woman is a lesbian because of where she works.
We hear a reference to the Holocaust. We briefly see a woman’s bruised foot.
The f-word is used over 40 times. The s-word is used three times, and the c-word is heard once. We also hear words like “d–k” and “p-ssy” used a handful of times. “A–” is used over a dozen times. Other swears, including “d–n” and “p-ss,” are heard, too. God’s name is used in vain three times, and Jesus’ name is used in vain three times, too. We hear a derogatory term for Italian people as well as a profane term for gay men.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
Violence, profanity and explicit content reign king in this mob-like series that’s crafted to show the worst of society.
Petty rivalries and sexual dalliances might make for good drama, but they don’t make much for wholesome viewing.
Fantasmas, like the crayon Julio hopes to make, has no clear message—but plenty of clear issues.
