'The Four Seasons' comedy series on Netflix

Trailer.

Previously on DL...

"So it's like White Lotus meets...The Office!"

Will my ugly daughters make an appearance?

I hope it works. Tina was really downplaying it on a podcast. Saying it’s just a very quiet sweet show. I personally like that sort of thing. Hope it finds an audience.

Without my hilarious "I'm Italian!" jokes, I don't see how this can measure up.

They lost me at Steve Carrell. I can’t STAND that guy.

Nor can you spell his name.

What part does Frankie Valli play?

All eight episodes out today.

Wasn't really felling the premiere five minutes in, but it quickly found its footing. It's really charming, even for someone like me who's not in a relationship. Nice runtime too, thirty minutes.

Carol Burnett and Rita Moreno make cameos as the chambermaids who can't afford to retire. Hilarity ensues!

Alan Alda has a cameo in the second episode and he's shaking so much it's sad to see. He can deliver the lines just fine, it's just those damn shakes...

6 episodes in i am liking it much more than expected. It feels actually real and nothing to do with The White Lotus. Just go through the first episode,

The italian guy is a little over the top, but everyone gets their moment to shine. The dorky husband has a great t body.

Also, the lumberjack.

Tina Fey. No thank you.

I'll stick with the movie, thanks.

I really liked the movie.

[quote]Alan Alda has a cameo in the second episode and he's shaking so much it's sad to see. He can deliver the lines just fine, it's just those damn shakes...

He was in the original movie and I'm sure Tina Fey wanted him for a cameo and he was probably thrilled to get the call. But no matter how they shot his scene, you could see his right side shaking.

There's some really obvious post-production digital beauty work on Tina, especially in the second episode where she and Will Forte are outside in a gazebo. Her face is smooth white and her neck is tanned and natural.

Lovely to see Kerry Kenney get a chance to play with bigger stars, and she acquits herself very well in comedy-drama.

Love Colman Domingo! He's a fantastic actor. And finally we get another gay storyline. I swear we have seen fewer gay couples on tv lately. It's sad.

[quote]He was in the original movie

Seriously? He WROTE and DIRECTED the original movie, as well as starring in it.

New York Times.

Tepid Trouble in Middle-Aged Paradise

Just finished it, this was so delightful. Easier on the comedic aspect, though not not funny either. I've always been single, but all these relationship dynamics were incredibly interesting to me. Even the couple who communicated the most (Tina and Will) had issues towards the end. I just found it odd that they only mentioned their kid once, and even then by accident. Most of the time, you'd think they were childless.

My favourite moment was when Nick's daughter asked him if he thought of her when he decided to cheat on her mom, and he told her in a roundabout but very compassionate way that parents are their own separate people with their own lives.

The standout for me was definitely Kerri Kenney-Silver. Haven't heard of her before, but she's great. Her brother posted on Reddit how proud he was of her for getting this role, which I though was sweet.

The Guardian reviewer loved it.

[quote]Part White Lotus without fatalities, [bold]part Gilmore Girls on HRT or Golden Girls with men[/bold], The Four Seasons is Fey and her writing and acting ensembles on fine form, everything informed by her rigorous intelligence, wit and experience. Rest your aching bones and enjoy.

Lol!

There were some truly gorgeous establishing nature shots featured in this show. And of course the El Conquistador resort looked stunning. Very Greek coded, but not in a gaudy Vegas way.

[quote]Seriously? He WROTE and DIRECTED the original movie, as well as starring in it.

The original film was also one of the Top 10 grossers of 1981!

I'm about halfway through right now, and I'm enjoying it very much. It's pretty low-key and calm which I need right now.

I was a little worried when it was first announced because I have such a soft spot for the original. As Tina Fey has said in interviews, the movie was on HBO four or five times a week when I was young, so it just sort of beat me into submission (SEE ALSO: Eddie and the Cruisers, The Incredible Shrinking Woman, and Buckaroo Banzai.)

Oddly enough, I developed an elementary-school obsession with Sandy Dennis. Her mannerisms just fascinated me. No shit,....when I was in 6th grade, we were supposed to do a five minute oral report on a famous person. I chose Sandy Dennis. ("Ms. Dennis is one of the few performers to win the prestigious Tony award two years in a row!" I'm sure my teacher was screaming "faggot" in her head.

Anyways, it's a good show.

It's such a comfy digestible watch, I could do with many more shows like this. It has that ASMR-like quality of inane Hallmark crap and the clever, insightful writing of prestige dramas at the same time. At no point was I stressed watching it, which felt nice and different.

Also, the gay couple's inclusion was so organic and they never once felt tacked on or more trivial compared to the other two couples.

I started last night. I think Steve Carell gets hotter as he ages. The gay couple is cute. I can't place the actress playing the Sandy Dennis role. She looks familiar but like someone else too. I kept thinking aged Chloe Webb.

She is THE FORMER MRS. LAUPIN, BITCHES!

I knew she looked familiar. Thanks R28.

R12 you kinda called it. Alda died today.

WHAT?!

Vanity Fair just published this today, please tell me you're joking, r30.

Hopefully he's still with us and this was all a mistake.

I'm crossing my fingers that this project has brought Marco Pigossi, into Fey's orbit and might result in comedic work for him down the line.

Wasn't High Tide one of those Very Serious Dramas? I had no idea Pigosi could do comedy, and he's so good at pulling faces too. He was like a ray of sunshine in this show, a perfect pairing for Colman's character.

I did find it strange that he was named Claude, given that his character was Italian. Maybe it was Americanised.

I actually really liked this show. Thought it was good.

Marco Calvani is the half of the couple in The Four Seasons, R34. It's the other Marco I was referring to, the one from Invisible City and Generation V.

It's lovely to see something for grownups that's deft and light.

r36 Thanks, I keep mixing up the two Marcos. This never happens with straight couples!

Terry playing the guitar was hilarious.

If I was facing life with Claude a fatal heart attack would seem like a mercy.

r38 Imelda and Ferdinand? I can tell them apart!

I like that they fleshed out the drippy wife more and the "ugly" daughter was not just an emotionless robot like in the movie. Is it just me or did the actor playing Tina's husband seem femme as hell?

I recognized Terry with the guitar right away!

He was the "NOBODY BEATS THE WIZ!" commercial guy on Seinfeld.

So was it just one season?

[quote]Is it just me or did the actor playing Tina's husband seem femme as hell?

Yes, Will Forte is more on the gentler side. But he's just a goofy straight guy, I've always liked him.

r42 He's one of those actors who's been on every show imaginable, his IMDb list is pretty incredible. He featured most extensively in Dickinson as Emily Dickinson's dad, which is where I remember him from.

I love that movie. I quote it all the time. "Now, come on are you really afraid of your underwear?" I may know it by heart, I'm not sure.

I started the series today. It's ok.

Alan Alda can't be dead. I just saw him on the show!

The irony would be too much for me. Somehow I will feel personally responsible for his death., like I cheated on him and he dropped dead.

Alan Alda's not dead.

But he does have Parkinson's.

I think that poster saw the obituary-like shot and headline of Vanity Fair's article at r32 which came out that day, and jumped the gun.

It's understandable, but please don't do it again.

I really enjoyed this series (I hope there is a second season....it left us with a bit of a cliffhanger).

I think it got better, more poignant as we got into Fall and Winter. Although, not in the same situation as most of the characters i.e. coupled, a lot of the premises resonated with me.

The comedy is quite mild - in some places, almost non-existent.

Which made those signature Tina Fey comedic observations land that much harder when they did happen, I thought.

I dont know who those guys are at R2. They are very handsome.

We had a thread about them when High Tide came out. Beautiful auteur couple, though the movie was apparently just so-so.

Sandy Dennis was the best thing in the movie. Alan Alda, as usual, gave the most self indulgent performance.

I really liked it.

Kerry Kenney was probably my favorite in what I think was the trickiest role - a beautiful judged comedy-drama performance.

Domingo was also wonderful and clearly having an absolute ball. And while I often find myself grading Fey’s acting on a curve, I think she was objectively really good in this. I also think her writing of the dynamics among and between the couples were more interesting than in Alda’s version - I think his performance felt self indulgent as you say, R54, because he so clearly wrote himself a much juicier part than what he gave Burnett. Fey was much more generous.

Fey gays? No way.

r55 I agree, I think Tina actually phones in most of her performances, and you can spot it immediately too. Not here, though. This was obviously her passion project and it shows in her acting as well.

it was okay, although i admit i paid only half of my attention to it over the two days i was watching it because of a situation with the bipolar neighbor upstairs.

R32, my partner texted me that the other day all upset that Alan Alda died (he loves him). So I just believed him and didn't give it any more thought.

So sorry to spread a falsehood! Yikes!

Thrilled Alda is still alive and kicking. I did think it was weird that we had no DL threads about it, but, again, I kinda forgot about right away.

Mandela Effect in play here re: Alan Alda.

I also thought he was dead. Not because I read anything or heard anything, it just seemed like he should be.

I liked the show but some of the edited was off or I just wasn’t paying attention during some of the episodes. They checked into a hotel for the funeral and then all of a sudden they are staying in the daughter’s room. Made no sense. I loved the daughter’s play, especially after she made the dad buy her the bookcase. LOL

r61 No, you're right, that was odd. I'm sure they have an explanation for it, but I remember being confused as well.

“lol”

Colman Domingo has sexy feet

[quote]Thrilled Alda is still alive and kicking.

Well, maybe not kicking so much these days.

Kick shake turn

1 out of 3

R61 I was totally confused by that, too! As much as I could figure, they were reserving a block of rooms for the out-of-town people attending the funeral, which you could do online.

I almost wondered if it was because the girl playing the hotel clerk (who had just gotten the boot from SNL after one season) had been up for the daughter part and Fey wanted to be kind and give her a consolation part.

They booked 12 rooms and yet some of you couldn't work out that they weren't for them?

Is the audience for this middle aged fraus? A man would never watch it.

I just finished it today. It’s a nice, light series. The writing is good, even shape at times. In general I don’t like Steve Carell as his delivery in comedies is subpar. But I like him in dramas, or dramedies. (He was wonderful in Dan in Real Life.) I thought he was good in this.

The Millennial girlfriend was well done, especially during the ski trip episode. It was comedy and tragedy simultaneously.

I gave it a 6 on IMDB.

It was good. I liked that it was short episodes.

I love Dan in Real Life, and Carrell in it - such a great movie. One of the few DVDs I have kept and like to watch from time to time.

"Put in on my tab..."

[quote]especially during the ski trip episode.

That ski trip looked like my worst nightmare, with all those Zoomers judging every word coming out of his mouth. I hate that Ginny made Nick feel like shit when it's actually her friends who were unreachable cunts and never really gave him a chance. Just laugh at the newbie's jokes and anecdotes even when they're not that funny in order to make them feel more included, this isn't rocket science.

I don't know how many episodes I got through (some time after the play) but I finally gave up and shut it off.

I was bored. So, my final review-Meh. Full disclosure - I love the movie and I have for lo these 43 years.

Alda was at the premiere and generously praised Fey who was visibly moved. Maybe Alan has humbled with age.

My friend binged and liked it but wondered why gay couples are always either cheaters or in an open relationship.

Because, proportionally speaking, they tend to be open more often than straight people (this goes for gay men, not lesbians) and so it makes for an interesting dynamic to explore. However, their openness was never once the thing that caused them to argue – they clashed over things wholly unrelated to that, which I found refreshing.

I actually found it really cute, the way they scoped out that small town together via Grindr, with not a hint of jealousy or competition.

I am enjoying it way more than I thought I might. Will Forte is looking way sexier than I remember him.

I really liked it.

I've wondered that too R77. I was going to recommend this to my mom but she would really dislike that part. Obviously not the gay couple but the 3-way would make her uncomfortable and she'd invariably get curious and ask the next day if that was the norm and about my adventures and sex life. No bueno.

The original was basically a tv movie with theatrical release and had way too much Alan Alda.

This is a streaming series that is actually pretty good for a streaming series. There were some little things that do detract. Colman Domingo is good and the boyfriend would be better if he wasn't quite so goofy, which would have made them more believable as a couple. The girlfriend is a little too much of a stereotype and the Sandy Dennis character lacks the natural ability to be really, really neurotic--a bad haircut, an unused pottery shed, and a goofy boyfriend aren't enough. Will Forte is better than I expected as is Tina and thankfully Forte is nothing like the insufferable Alda.

I never thought of the Dennis character as particularly neurotic, just really, really boring.

No Sandy Dennis character can not be neurotic because of who is playing her.

There was a sitcom version many years ago, but no one but Jack Weston and the Alda daughters returned from the movie.

Marcia Rodd took over for Rita Moreno, and other people (Tony Roberts, Barbara Babcock and Joanna Kearns) played new characters.

Colman Domingo is a really good actor and you can see how much fun he's having in this role, but it's Kerry Kenney's time to shine and she nails it. Her character on "Reno 911" was hilarious but so broad and she gets to be gently comedic and dramatic in this role. I hope she gets an Emmy nod and a lot more work.

R79 - I’ve always thought Will Forte was sexy, and also had/have a hard time believing he’s straight. Marries and starts having kids at 51 with someone who’s at least 15 years younger…

Now watching the original movie on Netflix. Tina Fey did a smart update in retrospect.

Alan Alda, as always, plays everything a notch too high. Smartly, Carol Burnett reacts by downplaying her lines.

Alda's dialogue slips into bad Neil Simon territory too often ("One of them farts, the other one thinks they're listening to Guy Lombardo!" ba-dum-ssss).

But I'd forgotten Bess Armstrong plays the younger woman and she's very good. Always thought she was cute and spunky when young, but she handles the sexy part well and doesn't overplay.

I'm glad Kerri Kenney's path finally crossed with Tina Fey's. I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner.

This show got the Alan Alda cameo, and Hacks got the Carol Burnett one.

I have finished it. The Anne character was infinitely better developed in the series than the movie. AI really supposed to give a damn about a woman who spent three years of her life photographing vegetables? Snooze.

However, Claude was no Rita Moreno.

Forte and Fey were so much better than Alda and Burnett.

It's funny that Rita Moreno played "Italian" in the film and that character is now played by an actual Italian....man.

Ugh, I tried. Too many stars being themselves.

I’ve always thought Colman had nice arms and chest..but I’d never seen him in shorts before this. He obviously skips leg day. He is great in this, though. They all were. But yes, Kerry Kenney steals the show. Loved her on Reno 911, but she’s even better here.

[quote]I never thought of the Dennis character as particularly neurotic, just really, really boring.

C'mon she was heartbroken. She was abandoned, not just by the husband but by her friends too. It was the 80's, there was no texting or internet to keep in touch when you needed your friends. They were traipsing all over the place with her replacement. Team Anne!

I don't get the love for Kerry Kenney, especially with that haircut. No one could do endearingly neurotic like Sandy "I dance like the wind" Dennis and giving a bigger version of the part to an inferior actress makes it worse. Dennis managed to be a scene stealer with all her tics like treating sentences as though they were injured birds while seeming to be economical in her acting otherwise.

Look at his feet, I’m quite hard

Claude, short for Claudio, r34.

That's the thing, the Italians don't shorten it like that. And they said his name the French way too in the show. Whatever, I just thought it was curious, I wasn't nitpicking.

And I noticed I again wrongly called him Pigossi in that reply, lol.

Having just re-watched the first 2 seasons of THE CROWN (Claire Foy is nothing short of astounding!), I need some light Netflix fluff and will begin it tonight!

I really enjoyed it. It gets better after first episodes and stays good. Light, fun entertainment for us olds. Doubt it will resonate with anyine under 40.

Very little resonates with anyone under 40.

[quote]This show got the Alan Alda cameo, and Hacks got the Carol Burnett one.

Palm Royale got Carol too, and also has an SNL connection.

I know, but that was a proper role not a cameo and it happened last year. I just found it funny we got these two in the space of two weeks.

I enjoyed it. However, as with a lot of Netflix and other streaming stuff, I will probably never watch it again.

Cynically I thought Tina Fey had one of the female roles turned into a gay man in this version so she would get more airtime and would have no other female co-stars. But Kerri Kenney-Silver really shines in this and gets the better character arc. The series is also much kinder to the Anne character than the movie version which dumps Anne (much like her friends) after the divorce.

I did not need the image of Kerry having her getting eaten by that bald guy.

[quote]r106 = I did not need the image of Kerry having her getting eaten by that bald guy.

Please tell me Vivaldi wasn't playing in the background.

[quote] I did not need the image of Kerry having her getting eaten by that bald guy.

He's the Whiz. And nobody beats him.

Would you prefer my snatch buffet on Hacks?

For weeks I've been watching police procedurals and detective stories about serial killers, and true crime documentaries. So I am loving this. Truly. I needed to take a break.

r110 we could be twins. I watch true crime docs and detective stories about serial killers all the time (interspersed with various Star Trek shows).

Last weekend, I also decided I needed a break and watched this.

Grazie mille to Mr. and Mrs. Calvani to bring two hot gay sons into the world. Luca has just a bit of an edge over Marco.

Damn, they both gay? Their poor Italian parents!

Eh, once she's eventually widowed their "poor" Italian mom will probably have her choice of devoted gay sons to take care of her.

I liked it and mowed through it in one day. That being said, I found a lot of the characters tiresome in their relationships. I felt sorry for the Kerry Kinney (spurned wife) character. Are we supposed to like these people? Because few of them are that likeable. I don't think I could be friends with any of them except the gay couple and the spurned wife. The strawberries thing was hilarious.

The eco resort episode was hilarious.

I liked it, but I never stopped judging Nick for replacing his wife with a younger woman. I don't usually judge people for huge age differences, but I have no patience for cheaters. Which he was.

R116 right. Instead of doing the hard work and talking to his wife about feeling unfulfilled, feeling in a state of ennui, going to counseling, working on himself- then offering to work with her too - he takes the easy way out and ends up hoping to find salvation in a new person. When he gets there he feels like a stranger in his own life and wishes he was back with his old friends in a comfortable relationship and friendships. I didn't feel sorry for him. He brought that misery on himself. I didn't think he was a great fit with the younger girl (who obviously was more into him than he was into her, aside from her looks).

I had SO MUCH sympathy for Will Forte!

I loved this series, & the original one written by, directed by, & starring Alan Alda is also on Netflix!

Alan Alda was such a handsome, yet understated beautiful man when he was younger. I enjoyed the OG film as much as the new series.

Wasn’t it a bit of a party foul for Anne to make “the big announcement” at the end? Though maybe the younger woman asked her to make the announcement. (Blanking on the character’s name)

R119 Alan Alda paled in comparison to his father Robert Alda who was a famous heartthrob actor in the 30's and 40's.

C'mon one quibble, they all had money if they were traveling four times a year. And not one sent flowers on their own to the funeral?

I found it somewhat amusing that Tina Fey and Will Forte's characters never talked about their kids (was there more than one) and didn't really care when the one they definitely did have blew them off during parent's weekend at the college.

Yeah, I kept expecting a lesbian announcement or a pregnancy at the very least.

Just started watching this yesterday and binged the first 4 episodes. I'm a little surprised for all the love it's getting here. I enjoyed E1 but found with each succeeding episode it became more trite and unfunny. In particular, I find Tina, Steve and Will very actory and unreal. Their line readings mostly sound like stand up comedy.

I thought the young woman who played Steve Carell's gf looked familiar and looked up her name to discover I'd just seen Erika Henningsen as Sandra De in the new Broadway musical Just in Time, a bio juke box musical about Bobby Darin. She seemed much slimmer and petite as Dee than she does in this series. The camera really does add 15 lbs.

R117, I judged him HARDCORE at first, & then after a few episodes of their eco-resort stay, it hit me… He outgrew her, or perhaps she outgrew him, but it was clear they were going in different directions, & he, or either of them had the right to call it quits after 25 years. Growing apart, & no longer having anything in common, or becoming incompatible, doesn’t make either of them evil.

He missed his friends, NOT his ex wife, & indeed, he was MUCH happier with the new girlfriend, & he deserved every single day of that happiness, even if his choices led him to a fate he hadn’t necessarily expected, at least not how, where, & why he experienced a fateful evening that would change the course of all in the friendship group.

I think this was the lesson in this version: Don’t be totally reckless, but DO be happy, DO let others move on with their lives WITHOUT you if that’s what they choose to do, & do try to wish them all the best & hope they get the happiness they want with whom ever they choose, even if it means they DON’T choose you.

Old lesson we struggle against but makes us better people when we practice it: Acceptance is key. It’s the key to absolutely everything, & it’s the beginning of growth, middle, & eventual end of it, too.

I don’t think Tina Fey could get less visually enticing if she tried.

She was never going to be a bombshell in anything, but dressing up like a camp counselor from 1979 at a tropical resort and then accenting it with pajama pants is about the most clueless and unrealistic wardrobe choice in recent memory.

We get it, Tina. No one will ever exploit your “looks.” Such a strong, comedic woman. Now try to pretend you’re actually grown aduly and not a 15-year-old nerd for 10 seconds.

Maybe you should try pretending you're a grown adult

I don't think it's about her fearing someone might exploit her looks. She's just clearly self-conscious about certain parts of her body, as evidenced by her wearing that grandma swimsuit.

Tina is playing a wife and mother in her 50s. Seems to me the wardrobe is spot-on for her character, dowdy or not.

That play in episode 5 was certainly something

I’ll give her this, she wrote herself a despicable character and played it as written. She and Carell were the most odious of the bunch.

Domingo was the most authentic and likable.

And, of course, two of the three gay characters presented were effeminate, walking hate crimes. Sorry, Tina. No points for you there.

At least she casts gay actors in gay roles. Have you seen the leads in the two gay movies announced this week?

R134 Which movies?

Who was the third gay character? The lumberjack?

I don’t think Danny (Colman D) was efeminate.

Ginnys extremely flamboyant Genz travel friend?

I enjoyed it. How many comedies about middle aged people are there that aren't totally stupid. This at least had some connection to reality. I think Netflix should do a sequel. Either with the same people or a year in the life of three different couples.

My fantasy is a remake of A Letter to Three Wives. Unfortunately will cell phones, it would hard to keep the mystery of the missing husband going.

...with cell phones...

[quote]I don’t think Danny (Colman D) was efeminate

Do you have a head?

[quote] Ginnys extremely flamboyant Genz travel friend?

Correct. Beyond caricature. Aren’t we past this nonsense?

Where is the Fall season supposed to be taking place? I assumed Boston, what with the Beacon Street scenes, but the campus and the inn looked like they were nowhere near Boston.

And what happened to the Fey/Forte daughter? She never reappeared or was even mentioned. Weren't they there to spend some time with her? Weird/sloppy omission.

R142 It was Vassar College and the town was Beacon NY.

Ah! Thanks, r143. If Vassar was mentioned, I guess I missed it.

R142 I think the daughter reappeared during the Frisbee game. I think it was kind of a joke that neither Forte or Fey cared much about their daughter (did we even learn her name or if she had any siblings?), suggesting that they were so wrapped up in their own marital drama and drudgery that they didn't much think of her.

Oh. That was supposed to be a joke. Okay......

The manic pixie dream girl was exhausting and I loved that the scorned wife broke the news on her. Annoyingly when I looked it up to watch I didn't notice they skipped to the last episode so I watched the final one first. It was good and a good piece on relationships. Alan Alda is a goddamn treasure. sorry to hear that he has Parkinson's. I loved his autobiography.

Steve Carrell’s character was fucking annoying. I liked the show a lot, but both he and yoga girl were just irritating.

I want to be Danny when I grow up.

Netflix just renewed it for a Season 2.

I hope its a new cast and friend group. Frankly these couples have so many issues I'm not sure I'd buy shared butterfly induced depression over a dead friend and near death experiences papering over the cracks enough for them to be happy. Also adding a baby.

They HAVE to do a new cast.

My guess is they’ll keep the old cast and give scorned wife a steady boyfriend. I can’t imagine the younger girlfriend staying in touch with these people.

I thought this was just okay. The relationships just didn’t feel very lived in, which is the main draw with something like this. It certainly wasn’t The Big Chill.

I thought Kerry Kenney stole the show and I like the Italian too - at least he had a character. The other three men were so blandly characterised.

The episodes at the eco resort really felt like Temu White Lotus.

The daughter’s play was a hilarious high point.

Carrell’s demise was so poorly orchestrated. It certainly wasn’t Gary’s death on Thirtysonething. It felt more like they didn’t have the budget to stage it properly or like Steve Carrell had to abruptly leave the production. It wasn’t even edited very well.

Can’t imagine what they pitched for a second season. Obviously, the girlfriend will get a new partner or something. She was likeable enough.

Good luck to them.

I liked how abrupt the death was. Life is like that.

One minute he’s buying gluten free crackers, the next…

Funny how the actors we didn't know previously, Kerri Kenney, Colman Domingo and Marco Calvani, are the three we liked the most. It's because they didn't bring the years-old baggage of Fey, Forte and Carell. We could actually believe in the first three as real characters.

I very much enjoyed it. Lots of recognisable situations, some of the lines were very funny. There were some beautiful, poignant moments, too. Life is messy.

They obviously set-up next season with the (spoiler alert!) pregnancy. They might give the young girlfriend a love interest and perhaps another couple with some contrast to the two who are left.

Oh right. Forgot about that.

[quote]Funny how the actors we didn't know previously, Kerri Kenney, Colman Domingo and Marco Calvani

Many of us know the first two. And Domingo was a Best Actor Oscar nominee for the past two years.

[quote] Many of us know the first two. And Domingo was a Best Actor Oscar nominee for the past two years.

And many don’t. The world doesn’t revolve around your specific experiences so stop generalizing and using yourself as a definitive reflection of the audience. These were virtual unknowns to many.

Domingo’s nominations were for movies that made $20 at the box office. He was the best character but this was his first exposure to many.

I think his was the best thing I’ve seen in a while. I think it is great that Carell started out as a pretty unsympathetic character and became someone much more complex. At the start he is a typical drama/comedy figure, a man seeking a younger woman, who is doing things and wearing clothes which don’t suit him, but by the end he is in vindicated in his sense that time is fleeting and that he consequently has to grab happiness while he can.

All the relationships were complex though: proper grown-up relationships. The gay couple felt flawed and real, and solid, with one guy who is seemingly more stable and fully aware that he has married a volatile drama queen but who is himself deeply scared and unable to face up to ageing and his own health issues. It becomes clear as time goes on that the drama queen is in fact the more grounded and capable of the two, which Colman D’s character seems to acknowledge when he defends him against Fey’s drunken mockery.

Kerri Kenney is so good. Her role could have been purely comedic: a tragicomic victim left on the shelf to become an alimony recipient, but it’s far more interesting to see her as a woman who is content to age and as comfortable with who she is. Her husband sees her as a dullard, but she is just someone who feels no urge to capture a youth which we can never recover anyway. And the strength and emotional intelligence she shows in dealing with the bereaved, scared younger girlfriend in the last episode was really touching.

I’m glad there is more of this coming. This may be Fey’s best work.

That lumberjack was hot. Who is he?

Jacob Buckenmyer. He's been in some gay stuff, but is straight. Also a trainer, so his Insta is one big thirst trap.

[quote]That lumberjack was hot. Who is he?

Brawny

Since someone mentioned gluten free crackers, I'll say that the friends of the gf were all a huge drag. No way I'd last in that vacation cabin with them. Mushroom coffee? All the dietary restrictions?

I didn't even mind the mushroom coffee or the dietary restrictions, it's the fact that they never even gave him a chance that pissed me off. Then they acted all offended when they wouldn't join him for dinner. No one his age wants to feel like they're back in high school, unless they have a humiliation fetish.

[quote]it's the fact that they never even gave him a chance that pissed me off

R167 that story the Steve Carrell character was trying to tell, about the tradesman who wouldn't leave, was dead boring. Couldn’t believe he was so unaware as to keep on trying to tell it. It was a you-had-to-be there story.

Meanwhile, his old friend group were having a great time retelling it, because they'd all been there. He was having a much worse time with his new young girlfriend’s friends than she did with his friends.

You started to feel sorry for him, missing his old friends like that.

I don't know, I found his anecdote entertaining enough. I think it really is just the age gap between him and the group that in some ways simply can't be reconciled. I was waiting next to some teenage skanks at the bus stop yesterday and you would not believe the crap they found funny. Shit I found hilarious myself once, of course.

Yes, that’s why it’s pretty fucking stupid to think you will find “happiness” by blowing up your old — very nice— life and running around with an airhead who’s almost thirty years younger. There are consequences.

It’s also really shitty that he foisted all of this into his friends.

I think it is actually very unrealistic for the friends to go along with this. I would have “noped” out so hard on the yurt trip.

It's ok, not great. I thought 1 season should be good enough. I don't need to see them another 4 season cycle, it might get tedious. Anyhow, it probably sucks for Carrell that he keeps getting killed in a series. Wasn't he got killed in The Morning Show as well?

[quote] Yes, that’s why it’s pretty fucking stupid to think you will find “happiness” by blowing up your old — very nice— life and running around with an airhead who’s almost thirty years younger. There are consequences.

Admittedly I haven't seen the Winter episodes yet, but Ginny didn't strike me as particularly airheaded during the Fall episodes. She clearly had reservations about intruding on the Parents' Weekend that Nick talked her into ignoring (presumably at the direction of his Viagra'd-up penis, as it was clear he put no brain power into considering beforehand). And she showed good instincts and grace in how she handled the situation after the play.

Now, she did plan an island getaway without a backup plan in case of tropical storms, but all six travelers are guilty of not checking the forecast before getting on their flights.

[quote] You started to feel sorry for him, missing his old friends like that.

Not even for a second. He made his choice. And now he’s stuck with the non-binary, perpetually offended, outrage-addict, vegans. Including the flaming gay guy straight out of a bad 90s movie. When the girlfriend said one of the dry friends was offended he brought champagne, I just rolled my eyes thinking “What doesn’t offend these clowns?”

Agree with R170.

Also, and I haven’t seen this mentioned, about three to four months after he asked for a divorce, he had a new younger girlfriend not only going on vacation with the group, but planning the vacation.

It’s obvious he was fooling around with her prior, despite his protestations, but what kind of narcissist would subject his successful friend group to the whims, tastes and budget of a Gen Z/Millennial whatever? It was enough that they accommodated her presence but allowing her to plan her hippie bullshit trip for a group of people who can afford far better? What a prick.

The most satisfying moment other than the play was when Danny and his partner went to the elegant resort for the day and got the fuck out of that dumpy tent commune. If only they had the balls to flat-out leave and get a room there.

The girlfriend, as naive as she was at times, was a far better human being than he was. As was the ex wife. His demise did not redeem him. He was a lying, Cluster B heel and won’t be missed.

I watched this but didn’t find it at all engaging enough that I could argue about characters’ intentions and motivations on a message board. It was okay. I didn’t find it particularly involving.

fuck this is boring

Finally finished the series today. So artificial on every level. By the end I thought even the more interesting actors were hamming it up.

I liked it. There’s something 1990s about it. Maybe it’s the idea that people have a set of friends they do everything with . (Yes, I realize it’s a remake of a movie from 1981.)

But I’ve always found that “my 6 best friends for 30 years and I are inseparable” thing a little off-putting. Even if you see your friends from college / grad school / whatever once a year or so, that would be a lot.

And implying that this is how people live is so alienating for the average person who might only have a couple of friends and / or be lonely at times.

I see your point, R177

Of course, these people are all very wealthy and privileged; with their money making money for them, etc. Lots of spare time to hang out with friends in exquisite locations.

The winter episodes reminded me a lot of Wham's "Last Christmas"

[quote] And implying that this is how people live is so alienating for the average person who might only have a couple of friends and / or be lonely at times.

I guess we should only create fictional entertainment that doesn’t “alienate” anyone. That will surely result in bold, adventurous filmmaking.

Was it “offensive?” Were you “outraged?”

You sound like one of the girlfriend’s insufferable woke pals.

What I found off-putting about their much ballyhooed depth of friendship developed over decades of shared experiences was that they all seemed like they’d just met at the table read.

That struck me, too, R180. I was thinking how it would have been more believable if they had reminisced about "that time in Peru" or "remember when xyz happened in Thailand?".

There was that one story at the end, about the looming plumber, but it came a little too late.

Also: As much as I always enjoy watching Steve Carell, it very much felt like a "Steve Carell + Friends" type of show. Maybe it's his loud personality, his energy.. I don't know. Like I said, I like him a lot, but he pretty much entirely owns any scene he is in.

[quote]Of course, these people are all very wealthy and privileged; with their money making money for them, etc. Lots of spare time to hang out with friends in exquisite locations.

This. A big part of fiction is the wish fulfilment aspect of it. Believe it or not, but the working class don't just want to watch themselves and their problems reflected on the screen after they clock out from work.

So, so MUCH hugging!

If Nancy Meyers directed a miniseries for The Hallmark Channel (but R-rated for "language"), this is what that would be.

R179, I said I like it.

Are you retarded?

Is that anti-woke enough for you?

Except there'd be far more stylish production and costume design in a Nancy Meyers miniseries.

That's one of the ways this series has failed. It's all very dowdy and generic looking. No style.

I think that was a stylistic choice, R185. They wanted to depict "well-off but not filthy rich" people.

I love the show, but does anyone remotely buy Steve Carrell and Kerry Kenny Silver as a couple? Maybe it's that awful haircut, but I can't imagine for two seconds that Carrell would have been into her.

At least with Len Cariou and Sandy Dennis it made sense.

Because Sandy Dennis was, you know, such a sex kitten?

I totally bought them as a plausible “we met in the nineties” couple - what I didn’t quite buy was Carrell’s character as a hedge fund manager.

Sandy Dennis didn't resemble a lesbian lumberjack.

Carrell’s character was a pinpoint depiction of someone with NPD:

Liar? Check.

Cheater? Check.

Manipulator? Check.

Discarding his partner without a concern for anyone but himself out of boredom? Check.

Destroying others’ lives then claiming to be the actual victim? Check.

It’s like they used the DSM-5 as a script guide.

Also, he bragged about firing the Will Forte character from his job yet manages to still be one of his best friends? On what planet is this normal?

The character was a piece of shit and it’s great he won’t be around for the second season. Although they’ll need a new villain to fill that void.

A lot of people are enjoying this but I find all the characters insufferable spoiled elitists

R191 everything you complained about is ridiculous. I’ve known people just like him. And in their own minds they aren’t a villain or wrong or bad ever. It’s everyone else. Those types exist.

R187 he was with her since they were younger. They have a daughter together who is in college. She clearly didn’t look like this when they were younger

Danny got on my nerves with how he reacted to Kate saying something about Claude. It wasn’t that deep and she was telling the truth. The fact he didn’t speak to her for months because of that would make me feel he didn’t actually care about our decades long friendship.

And… I like Nick. He clearly was going through a midlife crisis. Many people do. Especially men. Danny was going through one also, wanting to party every weekend, started smoking again, started doing cocaine, drinking a lot and wanting to start doing 3somes at 54 years old.

I liked Nick too. He was in his 50s and no longer attracted to the woman he had been with for over 25 years. It happens. Realistically he was going through a midlife crisis and wanted a young woman to make him feel like his younger self again.

A lot of men trade in their wives for younger women once they’re older.

In the end you could tell Nick felt out of place with the young group and missed his friends and even Anne.

The younger people were cartoonish.

The younger people felt like real young people today. Ridiculous, pretentious, try-hard, easily offended and lacking humor.

They stayed in Beacon to visit Vassar, which is in Poughkeepsie? Or did the try to pass off Beacon as Poughkeepsie? Did they film at Vassar?

Pretty school.

I find Claude very sexy.

High maintenance, yes — but also sexy.

Claude was too feminine for my taste but handsome. He looked good with Danny

Watching Tina Fey emote is cringe.

[quote]"I really thought he needed someone Italian, a bartender, or waiter, who says 'pizza and lasagna,'" the Emmy contender thought when his friend Colman Domingo approached him for a role on the show.

[quote]By the end of our lunch, our waiter stopped and asked if Calvani, the eloquent and delightfully charismatic, out-gay Italian actor and filmmaker who now lives in Los Angeles, was in fact the guy from “The Four Seasons.”

This was all terribly boring.