Common Sense Media Review
By Matt Springer
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Crass, witless animated teen comedy with vulgar jokes.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
What's the Story?
In the animated comedy GOOD VIBES, Mondo (Josh Gad) is a teenage boy recently relocated from New Jersey to the gorgeous beachfront of Playa Del Toro, California. He starts finding his way through the unique universe of his high school and new hometown thanks to his new best friend, Woody (Adam Brody), who guides Mondo through an endless cycle of girl-watching and joke-cracking. Struggling to impress his dream girl, Jeena (Olivia Thirlby), he attempts to make sense of life and California at age 15.
Is It Any Good?
This half-hour animated comedy trades on the lowest of lowbrow humor, painting a portrait of teenage life as a fever dream of borderline stalker behavior, cartoonishly objectified women, a parade of constant insults and indignities, and relentless mockery over your weight.
Which might work (for the right viewers, anyway) if the jokes were at least funny. Instead, nearly every quip or sight gag plays as a reject from the Family Guy writers' room. It's clear that's the type of territory the series is trying to stake out -- perhaps a "hipper" version of Fox's block of edgy animation. But while Good Vibes might get the tone sort of right and is most certainly animated, in every other sense it fails as a TV series.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the show's depiction of drug use. Is it an accurate portrayal of how drugs are actually used and perceived by today's teenagers?
Does the show seem to reflect a typical teenage experience? What are some of the stereotypes about teenagers that come across in this show?
What's the appeal of a show like this? Is there anything harmful about edgy humor like this? Or is it all in good fun?
TV Details
- Premiere date : October 27, 2011
- Cast : Adam Brody , Debi Mazar , Josh Gad
- Network : MTV
- Genre : Comedy
- TV rating :
- Last updated : October 3, 2022
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