Susan Granger’s review of “Good American Family” (Hulu/Disney)
Autism and Adoption are two ’trigger’ words in today’s culture – and Hulu’s “Good American Family” delivers a double-whammy on both.
“There are three sides to every story,” actress Ellen Pompeo explains. “Or six sides. Or nine. This is why art keeps us alive. Because everybody gets to see things their way – to make sense of them.”
Branching out from her surgeon character Meredith Grey on ABC’s hit medical show “Grey’s Anatomy,” Pompeo tackles suburban supermom Kristine Barnett in “Good American Family.”
Based on a real-life adoption-gone-wrong case, the limited series is told from multiple perspectives. A legal disclaimer precedes every episode, describing it as reflecting and dramatizing conflicting points-of-view, rather than determining a definitive truth. (Keep that in mind because it’s ultimately frustrating.)
Since they have three biological sons, Kristine and her husband Michael (Mark Duplass) are determined to adopt a daughter. After working with their autistic son Jacob and others in their Indiana community, Kristine has already established herself as a competent, passionate advocate for disabled children.
So when they receive a cold-call from an adoption agency, Kristine and Mark immediately agree to pick up Natalia Grace (British newcomer Imogen Faith Reid), a seven year-old girl from Ukraine who suffers from a form of dwarfism.
As time passes and behavioral issues arise, Kristine increasingly suspects that their newly adopted daughter is not a child but a malicious adult woman posing as much younger for disreputable, perhaps exploitable reasons. As the noncommittal chapters unfold, the sense of doubt grows.
Then midway, there’s a switch to Natalia’s contradictory perspective as she’s abruptly abandoned by the Barnetts and forced to live on her own, eventually becoming part of another family, headed by Cynthia Mans (Christina Hendricks) and her preacher husband Antwon (Jerod Haynes).
The conclusion revolves around America’s flawed legal system which is filled with loopholes and, apparently, pivots more on precedent than on justice.
Or as Detective Brandon (Dule Hill) notes: “If you tell a story well enough, the truth doesn’t always matter.”
Problem is: As scripted by Katie Robbins and Sara Sutherland, Kristine is diabolically manipulative while Michael is a dumb, dependent loser. And if the premise is familiar, Investigation Discovery produced a somewhat similar, multiyear, three-season docuseries titled “The Curious Case of Natalie Grace.”
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Good American Family” skewers a sorrowful, suspenseful 7 – with all eight episodes streaming on Hulu.
