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Two 70-year old women greet each other with fake smiles at a restaurant, as they wait for their respective husbands, who will join them shortly. It’s clear that they don’t see eye to eye, but within a few minutes, their relationship changes drastically. Grace (Jane Fonda) and Frankie (Lily Tomlin) are told by their husbands Robert (Martin Sheen) and Sol (Sam Waterston) that both men are leaving them to get married to each other! So, after 40 years of both marriages, Grace and Frankie find out that their husbands are not only partners in a law firm, but also lovers.
It may sound like a drama, but it’s actually a comedy created by Marta Kauffman, who’s also responsible for “Friends”. “Grace and Frankie”, which is now streaming on Netflix, is a breath of fresh air in a year when dense dramas are so successful. Grace dresses formally and clearly takes more care of her appearance, whereas Frankie is a hippie, with a very different life style. So when they both decide to leave their houses and find themselves living together in a beach house owned by both couples, the funny situations start to pop-up.
Besides, it’s also funny to see Robert and Sol living together, after 20 years of a secret affair. They finally realize that living under the same roof can be challenging and they also miss their ex-wives.
The cast is wonderful, but Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin really steal the show. Their portraits of women whose lives turned upside down and who are forced to put up with one another is a delighting experience to watch. Sam Waterston seemed a little off his game to me a few times, with his acting sound too fake, but nothing that would prevent the final product from being funny.
There were a few moments when I thought the situations were a little forced, like one episode with a flashback to when one of Grace’s daughter is in labor. Or the fact that Frankie keeps using drugs even though she has a son who using recovering from addiction. But is really refreshing to watch a comedy that shows that love life is still possible to seniors, straight or gay.
