I'm sure, by now, most know the premise of the series - Sandy Kominsky (Michael Douglas) is an acting coach with his own school. We come in on the series as Sandy's latest crop of students files in, Sandy's best friend and agent, Norman Newlander is dealing with the terminal illness and subsequent death of his wife.
The two men have formed a very close bond, replete with barbs, disagreements and all of the elements that make a friendship challenging and rewarding. Sandy has a daughter, Mindy (Sarah Baker) from his first marriage to Roz (Kathleen Turner) - the thrice -divorced Sandy begins to date one of his students, Lisa (Nancy Travis) - what follows is a witty, thoughtful exploration of characters in their "twilight" years, coping with the travails of old age, loss, grief, etc. If all of this sounds depressing, it is at times, but ultimately, it's a mixed bag of the absurd, hilarious and the deadly serious.
I enjoyed Douglas's Sandy interaction with Arkin's Norman - these two are nothing short of wonderful and the series is peppered with guest appearances by Danny DeVito, Ann-Margret, Jane Seymour, Barry Levenson, Morgan Freeman, and many more. I didn't find Mindy's character nor her relationship with the much older Martin (Paul Reiser) nearly as compelling as Sandy's ups and downs, travails and triumphs.
I did think it a bit cheesy that Chuck Lorre, the series' producer, director and writer, enlisted regulars from his TV series (Two and a Half Men, Mom), indeed, there's a scene in Season Two where two of Sandy's male students prepare a scene FROM "Two and a Half Men" that I found off-putting - and though I am in recovery myself, you can bet that a Lorre production will have a character whos an alcoholic/drug-addled mess, to wit, Norman's only daughter, Phoebe (Lisa Edelstein) - I rather think Lorre is in recovery himself, because these characters ARE beautifully drawn and portrayed, here and in his sitcoms, to his great credit.
No spoilers here, but a caveat - if you have ANY issues about aging, if your buttons are pressed about what longevity brings to bear inevitably, steel yourself - nothing is glossed over, and again, in its perceptive and spot-on writing and acting, growing older is depicted honestly - but no matter - the series is SO worthwhile and whatever qualms one might have will be whisked away by a rapier wit and compassion for its characters that makes this series so engaging, rewarding and absolutely worth your time.
The two men have formed a very close bond, replete with barbs, disagreements and all of the elements that make a friendship challenging and rewarding. Sandy has a daughter, Mindy (Sarah Baker) from his first marriage to Roz (Kathleen Turner) - the thrice -divorced Sandy begins to date one of his students, Lisa (Nancy Travis) - what follows is a witty, thoughtful exploration of characters in their "twilight" years, coping with the travails of old age, loss, grief, etc. If all of this sounds depressing, it is at times, but ultimately, it's a mixed bag of the absurd, hilarious and the deadly serious.
I enjoyed Douglas's Sandy interaction with Arkin's Norman - these two are nothing short of wonderful and the series is peppered with guest appearances by Danny DeVito, Ann-Margret, Jane Seymour, Barry Levenson, Morgan Freeman, and many more. I didn't find Mindy's character nor her relationship with the much older Martin (Paul Reiser) nearly as compelling as Sandy's ups and downs, travails and triumphs.
I did think it a bit cheesy that Chuck Lorre, the series' producer, director and writer, enlisted regulars from his TV series (Two and a Half Men, Mom), indeed, there's a scene in Season Two where two of Sandy's male students prepare a scene FROM "Two and a Half Men" that I found off-putting - and though I am in recovery myself, you can bet that a Lorre production will have a character whos an alcoholic/drug-addled mess, to wit, Norman's only daughter, Phoebe (Lisa Edelstein) - I rather think Lorre is in recovery himself, because these characters ARE beautifully drawn and portrayed, here and in his sitcoms, to his great credit.
No spoilers here, but a caveat - if you have ANY issues about aging, if your buttons are pressed about what longevity brings to bear inevitably, steel yourself - nothing is glossed over, and again, in its perceptive and spot-on writing and acting, growing older is depicted honestly - but no matter - the series is SO worthwhile and whatever qualms one might have will be whisked away by a rapier wit and compassion for its characters that makes this series so engaging, rewarding and absolutely worth your time.
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