The First Five of "Grace and Frankie"

It's easy to see how "Grace and Frankie" has managed to outlast just about every other Netflix show currently running. It's a thirty minute sitcom about the adventures of two newly single women in their 70s, with an absolutely incredible cast. Businesswoman Grace (Jane Fonda) and artsy hippie Frankie (Lily Tomlin) have been married to their lawyer husbands, Robert (Martin Sheen) and Sol (Sam Waterston), for decades. In the pilot episode, Robert and Sol announce that they are leaving their wives - and marrying each other.

Grace and Frankie make for a good odd couple, forced to share a beach house together while sorting out their upturned lives. We also spend time with Robert and Sol, who are settling into a new phase of their relationship, which is not without its own bumps. And then there are the kids - Grace and Robert's daughters Briana (June Diane Raphael) and Mallory (Brooklyn Decker), and Frankie and Sol's sons Bud (Baron Vaughn) and Coyote (Ethan Embry), all grown adults. Since Robert and Sol were partners at their law firm together for ages, they've all been socially in each other's orbits forever, and there's quite a bit of past history. Coyote, for instance, is recovering from substance abuse and still has an unrequited crush on Mallory.

For the most part, however, the show stays firmly focused on Grace and Frankie and the woes of being an aging woman. Within the first five episodes, they contend with health scares, obsolescence, and the prospect of retirement homes. They drive each other crazy, but provide each other invaluable support. The leads are well matched - though Tomlin tends to fall into a supporting position more often. It's good to see a show this high profile putting the realistic woes of its underserved older audience front and center. However, everything stays within the format of your typical sitcom. One episode is set at a friend's funeral. One episode involves an awkward dinner party. As touching as it is to see Jane Fonda taking out her hair extensions, or being ignored at the liquor store, every episode ends with some laughs and uplift, avoiding much introspection or melancholy.

And this is perfectly fine, but it's not long before the material starts to feel very familiar. It's easy enough to imagine any number of other older actresses in the parts, and it becomes increasingly clear that the show would not exist without the participation of Fonda and Tomlin. These actresses are icons of the '60s and '70s, and I can't help feeling frustrated that a fairly standard sitcom is the best that Hollywood has to offer them. It's not as bad as the dreadful "Book Club," which Fonda starred in a few years ago with Candice Bergen and Diane Keaton, but "Grace and Frankie" doesn't offer much of a challenge for either actress. With Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston, at least there's the novelty of seeing them play a gay couple. I haven't seen Ethan Embry in anything in years, but he's perfect as a still-twitchy ex-addict. I've seen Fonda and Tomlin play very similar characters before - to the point where I think it would have been more fun if they switched roles.

Still, I have to keep in mind that most sitcoms aren't at their best in their first seasons, and "Grace and Frankie" is currently on their sixth. By all accounts, the show improves considerably in its second year and has found a loyal audience. I haven't been a regular sitcom watcher in a while, and it was surprising how difficult I found it to get back into the particular rhythms of a half hour comedy. Just when I think the show is making the slightest bit of headway with a character or situation, suddenly we're magically back to the status quo and nothing has really changed. The fifth episode is a particularly egregious example, where a really big, interesting turn of events turns out to be a dream sequence.

Then again, "Grace and Frankie" isn't trying to be more than light entertainment that pointedly acknowledges some of the age-related challenges facing its leads. And in that respect, it's pretty successful. It's not a show for me, and this is where I plan to leave it, but it's the right show for plenty of people out there. When I mature a little more, I'm sure I'll come to appreciate it far more than I do now.


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