In Season 4, 'Grace and Frankie' Avoids Pushing the Envelope (Again)

In politically charged times, do movies and TV shows have a responsibility of reflecting the current climate? Surely we cannot expect every program to center around the drama the Trump administration unleashes on the world.

For decades, however, plenty of sitcoms - ones that are now regarded as some of the best ever - have commented on contemporary issues. Norman Lear's "All in the Family," for example, took racism, homosexuality and The Women's Liberation Movement head on. More recently, the 2017 Netflix reboot of "One Day at a Time," where Lear serves as an executive producer, takes unexpected turns, making the single-camera family comedy something special. Even the upcoming "Roseanne" reboot will be political. Star Rosanne Barr said the titular character will be a Trump supporter, like herself.

"I've always attempted to portray a realistic portrait of the American people and of working class people. And in fact it was working class people who elected Trump," she recently explained.

Of course, not every sitcom did this. Both "Seinfeld" and "Friends" stayed away from getting too political and they became the biggest shows of the 90s. The same goes for "The Big Bang Theory," one of the most-watched shows airing on TV right now, which happens to star an out actor.

For the fourth season of Netflix's comedy "Grace and Frankie," which debuts in full on the streaming service Friday, the sitcom starring Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda falls into the latter category. Though the beloved stars have been politically active in their real lives, you won't hear a knock against (or any praise for) the president throughout the 13 episodes. Depending on what you want out of your limited TV-watching allowance, that may be OK.

In times of uncertainty, "Grace and Frankie" may be the perfect remedy. At it's best, the show is a light and enjoyable sitcom that's well acted and a breeze to watch; it's pure escapism. And if you're tuning into the fourth season of this show, it's safe to say you're a fan and here for the long haul. "Grace and Frankie" doesn't change from its safe course in Season 4, continuing to dole out the same kind of humor it has for the last three seasons. But if you're looking for a sitcom with some meat on its bones, you may want to spend your 30-minutes with another program. (The second season of "One Day at a Time" is right around the corner and "The Golden Girls" is streaming on Hulu.)

The fourth season finds Grace (Fonda) and Frankie (Tomlin) reuniting after Frankie moved out of their beach home to New Mexico to be with her partner Jacob (Ernie Hudson). When the duo reunites, Frankie is surprised to learn Grace has possibly found a new BFF - Sheree (Lisa Kudrow), Grace's manicurist. Feeling threatened, Frankie suspects Sheree may have ulterior motives for moving in with Grace. But as the season plays out, it's clear that Sheree is in need of help.

It's no surprise Kudrow appears on "Grace and Frankie." The show's co-creator, Marta Kauffman, also co-created "Friends," the iconic sitcom where Kudrow played the eccentric Phoebe. What is a surprise is to see Kudrow's talents squandered here. Over her short character arch, which abruptly comes to an end early in the season, Sheree is basically Phoebe-lite. Kudrow has proven herself in her post-"Friends" career as one of the best comedic actors today (her HBO series "The Comeback" was little watched but one of the best comedies of the decade), but her turn on "Grace and Frankie" is disappointing.

Once that plot resolves, things get back to normal. For Grace and Frankie's ex-husbands, Robert (Martin Sheen) and Sol (Sam Waterston) have found a new passion: activism! Which makes sense, given the married men got a taste for it when they protested the anti-gay haters who took issue with the gay theater group Robert was a part of. Though this would be a great opportunity for "Grace and Frankie" to insert a political statement and bring tension and relevancy to the series, the show fails to do so and it's really unclear what exactly Robert and Sol are even rallying against or for.

Later in the season, the men encounter a marriage roadblock (what else is new) and end up at couple's therapy. Their therapists suggest an open relationship, sending Robert and Sol into a tizzy. After bickering about whether or not being in an open relationship is for them - they say they're a traditional couple but Robert's gay friends tell him most gay couples are in open ones (hmmm...) - the men have to come to a decision as what's best for them and their relationship. The way in which the suggestion of an open relationship is handled is strange but it does come to a pretty funny conclusion as the season wraps up.

Nevertheless, Robert and Sol's relationship continues to be one of the worst depictions of marriage - gay or straight - on TV. There's also a bizarre outing subplot involving Robert and Sol and their new newlywed neighbors.

Season 4 does show some signs of hope that "Grace and Frankie" can do some interesting things, however. Towards the back half of the season, Grace and Frankie's children put their moms' health issues under a microscope. The comedy does a good job at turning their ailments, which were up to this season played strictly as laughs, into talking points about aging and accepting your body's changes and how the people you love respond to those changes. The conflict adds some much-needed tension, as Grace and Frankie are at odds with their kids' ides on how to deal with their elderly moms.

Through it all, most impressive is Fonda and Tomlin, who, at age 80 and 78 respectively, are still masters of comedy and physical comedy. The image of Fonda crawling through a doggie door is perhaps one of the best moments this season. (Equally hilarious is Fonda's Grace drunk-riding a motorized shopping cart.) Still, your mileage of "Grace and Frankie" will depend on what you're looking for out of a show. But at this stage, "Grace and Frankie" knows what kind it is.