Good American Family Review: Emotional Manipulation At Its Most Blatant

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https://www.looper.com/1811275/good-...y-hulu-review/

BY AKOS PETERBENCZE
MARCH 19, 2025 12:00 PM EST

Hulu's new eight-episode limited drama series, "Good American Family," based on the bizarre and scandalous real-life story of Natalia Grace, is a tough case to crack. Whether or not you're familiar with the news coverage and documentary about her troubled adoption(s), you'll find yourself conflicted about what to believe repeatedly while watching the dramatized show. While "Good American Family" aims to tell the truth, it also sensationalizes and amplifies many aspects of it by using storytelling tools that will have you questioning how accurate the series wants to be versus how manipulative it can be to draw in viewers hungry for a scandal. There's a fine line between those two approaches, and "Good American Family" struggles to balance it throughout its eight hours.

The story begins in 2019 as bestselling author and "supermom" Kristine Barnett (Ellen Pompeo) gives a speech in a mall about the hardships of parenting (she's a mother of three), particularly referring to her autistic son. Before she can get really into it, she's caught off-guard by the police and is arrested for child neglect. The charge comes from her "forgotten" adopted daughter Natalia Grace (Imogen Faith Reid in her first lead role), who she claims has tried to kill her. Then we jump back to 2010, before it all began, and learn that Kristine and her sensitive man-child of a husband, Michael's (Mark Duplass channeling a dumber version of his psycho character from "Creep" minus the murders), attempt to adopt a little girl with autism fell through. As a result, their marriage is in shambles, and none of them seem to be able to fill the void.

That's when a call from a suspicious adoption agency comes to offer a potential Hail Mary to the couple's wounds in the form of a seven-year-old girl with a rare case of dwarfism. Natalia is from Ukraine, and in a desperate need to find a new home since the adoption with her previous adoptive parents didn't work out for reasons unbeknownst to us. Kristine and Michael are ecstatic and see this opportunity as a cure for their heartbreak. They meet Natalia and agree to adopt her despite an alarming $7,000 fee they need to pay for previous "medical bills" the former family couldn't cover. The whole thing smells fishy, but the Barnetts go through with it anyway. The true nightmare, however, begins when Natalia settles in her new family's home, and weird things start happening around her.