Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
New on Netflix today is Grace and Frankie, which stars Fonda and Lily Tomlin as longtime frenemies forced to band together after their husbands Robert (Martin Sheen) and Sol (Sam Waterston), respectively, reveal they’re gay and are leaving them for each other.
It’s about letting go and starting over at a chapter in life when all is supposed to be set in stone. Yet, being that it stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, something should tell you these two don’t plan on sitting by idly waiting until they wither away. No siree: they’re taking on their 70s with a vengeance. So what if old age gets in the way? There’s nothing a little marijuana can’t help. Without further ado, here are five reasons to move Grace and Frankie to the top of your list.
The creators of 'Friends' and 'Home Improvement' are behind it
That’s right, Marta Kauffman of Friends and Howard J. Morris of Home Improvement are the minds behind the latest Netflix creation. But instead of working in the standard sitcom format of yore, the TV vets have revamped an old formula for the streaming age. Don’t expect any cold opens or canned laughter, but you can certainly expect to laugh.
Weed, Valium and Peyote — oh my!
If Nine to Five taught us anything, it’s that Fonda and Tomlin like to toke up every now and then. But Grace and Frankie proves that with age comes experience, and experience means they’ve had quite a bit of practice for the last three decades — because we’ve never seen old folks pop so many pills that aren’t for joint pain. And hallucinogens? From what we saw in the pilot, apparently they get better with age, too.
Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston really do make the cutest couple
Yes, it’s terrible they cheated and lied to their wives for the last twenty years — we’re not condoning such a thing — but we couldn’t help but notice Robert (Sheen) and Sol (Waterston) complement each other rather nicely. Plus their combativeness with Grace and Frankie through their respective divorce processes feels authentic as well. Remember, they’ve all worked together before between The West Wing (Sheen and Tomlin) and The Newsroom (Waterston and Fonda).
June Diane Raphael and Brooklyn Decker are in it
The very funny Raphael (Burning Love) and model-turned-actress Decker (Just Go with It) play Brianna and Mallory: daughters to Grace and Robert, and polar opposite personalities. Brianna is the snarky career gal who took over their mom’s beauty empire and doesn’t have a filter, while Mallory is a disgruntled stay-at-home trophy wife who isn’t afraid to pop a Valium to get through a dinner with her dysfunctional family. Of course, we expected Raphael would make us laugh every time she’s on screen, but Decker is a pleasant surprise, channeling her inner delinquent.
Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin are funnier than ever
Maybe it’s the fact that they’re tied on as executive producers, or maybe it’s because they’re at a point in their careers where they can literally do whatever they want, but Fonda and Tomlin are laugh-out-loud funny even during the more dramatic moments of the series (after all, it is about two women who have been abandoned by their husbands of forty years). It’s fun to see these two back onscreen together doing what they do best: making people laugh and looking pretty darn fabulous while they do it.
Like what you see? Follow Decider on Facebook and Twitter to join the conversation, and sign up for our email newsletters to be the first to know about streaming movies and TV news!
