Grace and Frankie: The End
May 9, 2015 2:57 PM - Season 1, Episode 1 - Subscribe
Grace and Frankie have never liked each other--and then they find out their husbands have been secretly romantically involved for 20 years.
So Grace (a prim and proper matron sort) and Frankie (a total hippie) have been forced to put up with each other for 20 years and co-own a beach house because their husbands are partners at law. When they all show up for lunch together, they think the guys are announcing their retirement: Nope, they're announcing that they've been secret gay lovers for 20 years and now that gay marriage is legal in California, they want divorces so they can marry each other. Frankie and Sol were the best of friends so she's devastated. Even Grace, who doesn't seem to have been romantic with Robert for a long time (he thought she wouldn't mind) is very upset and scene-throwy in the restaurant.
While Robert and Sol feel somewhat bad about what they're doing to their wives, they're happy to finally be together. The ladies are not so much. Frankie gets smokes, booze, and Ben and Jerry's (and then wonders if they did more than make ice cream together) and creeps off to their mutual beach house to raid the peyote stash and have a vision quest so she can feel better. Grace is totally embarrassed to run into people she knows and also sneaks off to the beach house and is upset to find Frankie there. Frankie goes off to the beach to have her vision quest, but after pulling her back during it, has to call Grace to bring her her muscle relaxers. Grace decides to take some herself and wash them down with "the worst iced tea ever," i.e. the peyo-tea, and the two vomit and cry and compare how they ignored the signs (all the gay stuff in Robert's office, the time Sol asked Frankie to wear a dildo). As they stagger off the beach the next morning, they wonder: what's next?
The news is announced to their shocked kids, but we don't see that much of them for now. Frankie and Sol have two sons, one of them being Ethan Embry who has a substance problem and got drugs from a student--not even the one he slept with! Grace and Robert have two blonde daughters.
I'm liking it so far, mostly because I like all of those main actors. We'll see on the kids, but so far I don't hate 'em the way that I did the Pfeffermans, so I'm optimistic. Also, dude, you got drugs from your student but NOT the one you slept with?! Hoo boy.
So Grace (a prim and proper matron sort) and Frankie (a total hippie) have been forced to put up with each other for 20 years and co-own a beach house because their husbands are partners at law. When they all show up for lunch together, they think the guys are announcing their retirement: Nope, they're announcing that they've been secret gay lovers for 20 years and now that gay marriage is legal in California, they want divorces so they can marry each other. Frankie and Sol were the best of friends so she's devastated. Even Grace, who doesn't seem to have been romantic with Robert for a long time (he thought she wouldn't mind) is very upset and scene-throwy in the restaurant.
While Robert and Sol feel somewhat bad about what they're doing to their wives, they're happy to finally be together. The ladies are not so much. Frankie gets smokes, booze, and Ben and Jerry's (and then wonders if they did more than make ice cream together) and creeps off to their mutual beach house to raid the peyote stash and have a vision quest so she can feel better. Grace is totally embarrassed to run into people she knows and also sneaks off to the beach house and is upset to find Frankie there. Frankie goes off to the beach to have her vision quest, but after pulling her back during it, has to call Grace to bring her her muscle relaxers. Grace decides to take some herself and wash them down with "the worst iced tea ever," i.e. the peyo-tea, and the two vomit and cry and compare how they ignored the signs (all the gay stuff in Robert's office, the time Sol asked Frankie to wear a dildo). As they stagger off the beach the next morning, they wonder: what's next?
The news is announced to their shocked kids, but we don't see that much of them for now. Frankie and Sol have two sons, one of them being Ethan Embry who has a substance problem and got drugs from a student--not even the one he slept with! Grace and Robert have two blonde daughters.
I'm liking it so far, mostly because I like all of those main actors. We'll see on the kids, but so far I don't hate 'em the way that I did the Pfeffermans, so I'm optimistic. Also, dude, you got drugs from your student but NOT the one you slept with?! Hoo boy.
Hallucinating Frankie to hallucinating Grace: "Your anger is frightening the sand."
posted by maggieb at 9:08 PM on May 9, 2015
posted by maggieb at 9:08 PM on May 9, 2015
The first episode isn't world changing, but I'd watch these actors do anything. Especially Fonda and Tomlin get high, which gives me fuzzy 9 to 5 flashbacks.
posted by crossoverman at 10:12 PM on May 10, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by crossoverman at 10:12 PM on May 10, 2015 [5 favorites]
I would totally check this out if I didn't have way, way more on my plate than I can watch already.
I assume there is the requisite, "see, gay marriage really does destroy traditional marriage!" joke somewhere in the pilot?
posted by Naberius at 8:45 AM on May 11, 2015
I assume there is the requisite, "see, gay marriage really does destroy traditional marriage!" joke somewhere in the pilot?
posted by Naberius at 8:45 AM on May 11, 2015
I assume there is the requisite, "see, gay marriage really does destroy traditional marriage!" joke somewhere in the pilot?
It was all pretty gay friendly, and skipped most of the requisite jokes.
I'm ambivalent about the show so far. I like the approach the directors are taking, but I want a little more wit and spark. More energy. You have all these great actors; they need to find some great writers to match them.
posted by kanewai at 12:22 PM on May 11, 2015 [3 favorites]
It was all pretty gay friendly, and skipped most of the requisite jokes.
I'm ambivalent about the show so far. I like the approach the directors are taking, but I want a little more wit and spark. More energy. You have all these great actors; they need to find some great writers to match them.
posted by kanewai at 12:22 PM on May 11, 2015 [3 favorites]
Mmmm... Good actors but.... so far this kind of sucks? I feel like it's a funny idea, Lily Tomlin is great, and everyone else is kind of stiff. The jokes are delivered too fast and land flat. There's no space to let anything be funny. It seems like everyone is kind of phoning it in, like making no effort to really embody their roles. I mean, I am not buying Martin Sheen here. I know he's like the ultimate liberal actor but he's not convincing me that he's gay, or married to Jane Fonda, or anything. Not to be a hater or anything but, I'm kind of a hater.
Lily Tomlin is awesome though.
posted by latkes at 7:23 PM on May 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
Lily Tomlin is awesome though.
posted by latkes at 7:23 PM on May 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
"I must have half the beach in my vagina" is pretty good.
posted by latkes at 7:30 PM on May 19, 2015
posted by latkes at 7:30 PM on May 19, 2015
Brandon, I started watching this because of my wife too.
I am glad I did.
I was scared that this would slide into campy easy jokes. It never does and that makes me very happy. I'm not a laugh out loud kind of person, but this show made me do it. More often than I would have expected.
With this and Kimmy Schmidt, I think Netflix is doing TV right.
(My wife was amazed that I could not recall ever having seen anything with Jane Fonda in it. It turns out I had, "9 to 5" . . . with Lily Tomlin.)
posted by Seamus at 1:38 PM on May 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
I am glad I did.
I was scared that this would slide into campy easy jokes. It never does and that makes me very happy. I'm not a laugh out loud kind of person, but this show made me do it. More often than I would have expected.
With this and Kimmy Schmidt, I think Netflix is doing TV right.
(My wife was amazed that I could not recall ever having seen anything with Jane Fonda in it. It turns out I had, "9 to 5" . . . with Lily Tomlin.)
posted by Seamus at 1:38 PM on May 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
There were a number of funny jokes and individual bits, but the dialogue tying it all together felt really labored, which is a shame given the amount of talent involved. (Like most tv series that aspire to be taken seriously, it will live or die on the writing, not the sheer talent.)
posted by aught at 1:39 PM on May 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by aught at 1:39 PM on May 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
I am a year or so late here, but I binged almost the entire first season yesterday in one day. I absolutely loved the convenience store bit where Grace and Frankie are "invisible." As a woman of a certain age, it happens to me all the time! And now I've decided that the next time, I'm walkin' out with the goods :-)
posted by tizzie at 1:43 PM on August 16, 2016
posted by tizzie at 1:43 PM on August 16, 2016
I'm in season 2 now but I wanted to drop into comment in case anyone is thinking about watching this show, or still on the fence after episode one, stick it out! I consistently have at least one laugh out loud moment every episode. I appreciate that the writing isn't lazy (compared to other 'sitcoms') and the characters are challenged to face difficult truths, but without getting to dark.
posted by like_neon at 9:31 AM on November 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by like_neon at 9:31 AM on November 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
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posted by Brandon Blatcher at 3:44 PM on May 9, 2015