Grace and Frankie - Season One

What happens when two true icons of film, theatre and television reunite, after three and a half decades, to star in a Netflix sitcom? Absolute magic. Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin (two of the three "Nine to Five" leads) push the boundaries of TV situation comedy, even when the material isn't always up to their tremendous and limitless talents.

""Grace and Frankie Season One," has been released on DVD and Digital HD just in time for viewers who do not have Netflix to binge before the May 6 launch of the second season. And, trust me, Fonda and Tomlin are reason enough to make the purchase. You'll find yourself addicted to the show. I watched all of it the first time around within 48 hours. And I devoured the DVD release in one day!

Fonda plays Grace, a vain, uptight force of nature, who plots her life rather meticulously. Tomlin's Frankie is a laid back hippie painter. The two do not get along.

In the opening segment, their respective husbands (Sam Waterston and Martin Sheen) take them to dinner in order to break the news that the men have been in love with one another for the last twenty years and are now leaving Grace and Frankie to marry each other. To say the ladies do not take it well is an understatement. "It would have been easier if you'd died," Grace deadpans to her husband, Robert.

The reveal, as you can imagine is pregnant with comic material to mine and we are given many keen and humorous scenes and situations. Creators Marta Kauffman ("Friends") and Howard J. Morris ("Home Improvement") know they're both writing for two titans and do their best to meet the challenge. My only beef is that I want the writers to push past the confines of thinking inside the typical comedy box. With such powerhouse actresses, so much more should be probed.

Highlights from the thirteen episodes include watching the two ladies on peyote, harkening back to the marijuana scene in "Nine to Five," as well as witnessing our seventysomethings letting loose and dancing on a bar together.

Tomlin does some fine work, especially with Waterston in an episode titled, "The Earthquake" where she asks him how his affair with Robert began. Tomlin rightfully received Emmy recognition for her work as Frankie.

Fonda doesn't get enough credit for what a brilliant comedienne she actually is. Watcher her attempting to sit in a furry beanbag chair or nervously being forced into an MRI machine, the gifted actress has hilarious comic timing. In addition, it's easy to overlook the subtleties in her more poignant moments. Her Grace is a lady who has no clue who she is. And she's realizing this at the age of 70!

One of the wonders of the show is it dares to explore post-fifty female sexuality (vaginal dryness is just one of the real issues discussed) and all of the awkwardness that comes with preparing for sex (something anyone can relate to at any age).

And the husbands aren't just stereotypical gay characters. They're nuanced beings with their own foibles and idiosyncrasies. And the writers dare to bring up a few politically incorrect themes. In the penultimate episode, the men wonder, "What's the point of being gay if you're going to live a conventional life?" Truer words...

The season ends on a happening that proves rife with intriguing possibilities.

Oh, and I should mention the terrific featured cast (Brooklyn Decker, Ethan Embry, June Diane Raphael and Baron Vaughn). Usually when you have Mount Rushmore as your two leads and two supporting players, the rest don't matter. Here, the actors who play the four children are all stellar.

The DVD has a few special features including a short Sneak Peek of Season 2, a seven-minute gag reel that basically becomes a profanity reel and two quite enjoyable episode commentaries (one on the finale episode, "The Vow," that includes Jane and Lily, along with the show creators)

The pi�ce de r�sistance, and reason enough to seek out this DVD even if you've already seen the show, is an absorbing 30-minute featurette, "Beginning of the End," where Fonda, Tomlin, Kauffman and Morris sit at a table and discuss the show from the fluky way it came about to casting to actor input, etc. Fonda, acting almost as moderator, is brimming with insights and we see just how much the two legends adore working together which is probably one of the reasons the chemistry is so palpable.

"Grace and Frankie Season One"
DVD & Digital HD
$19.98
http://www.lionsgateshop.com/product.asp?Id=34036&TitleParentId=10389