It’s one thing to watch a 70-year old woman frolic down the beach, but to watch her frolic
surrounded by a platoon of giant, purple, elderly-friendly vibrators is quite another. And so
begins, season three of Grace and Frankie.
We catch up with our favourite septuagenarians right where we left them in season
two as they prepare to launch their new business Vybrant. Since coming to terms with their
new lives after their husbands leave them and bring their secret affair to light, Grace (Jane
Fonda) and Frankie (Lily Tomlin) find themselves alone, together. But for some reason, just
as they both begin to find their feet again, the are treated by their community and their own
children as old ladies with nothing to contribute.
What soon becomes apparent is that rejection and underestimation are two things
these women will not stand for and so in an effort to fight back, the seasons shenanigans
begin.
Appalled by their children and ex-husband’s reaction to the thought of an older
woman’s sexuality, Grace and Frankie are determined to defend and provide products to
assist an underrepresented market and prove to everyone that you’re only as young as you
feel. Their business venture of selling vibrators to the elderly is certainly the bang that we
may not have expected, but is as entertaining as it sounds, especially when they call their
friends together for a focus group to understand the needs of their target market. It’s an
awkward conversation to say the least, but one that addresses an important, and often taboo
discussion for society.
In addition to their savvy business operation, both women find new love, and the men
they choose represent the new-found confidence, and sexuality that both women have bucket-
loads of. Grace’s new man is Nick (Peter Gallagher), the handsome, wealthy younger man;
and Frankie selects a hunky farmer named Jacob (Ernie Hudson), who she lovingly refers to
as her ‘Yam Man.’
As the affair and relationship of Robert and Sol recedes into the background of the
show’s plotlines, season three refocuses on Grace and Frankie and how their lives have
moved on. Frankie is no longer dependant on Sol’s companionship, and Grace finds the
strength to face Robert without wanting to throttle him. It’s steady progression that addresses
the highly tender reality of being fallen out of love with, and Fonda and Tomlin deliver a
spot-on performance with real-life candour. It’s not all sunshine and daisy’s but they make
the best of their situation, and we love them for it.
Grace and Frankie’s unlikely friendship is warm and delightful, full of emotion and
hilarity, and is only as good as it is because Fonda and Tomlin are so brilliant at bringing
their real-life friendship to the screen. And what’s more, Grace and Frankie highlights how
sometimes the most important people in our lives, the ones we simply cannot live without are
our very best friends.
Grace and Frankie handles all the realities of growing old with a hilarity and honesty
that is a delight to watch. The troupe of actors that support Fonda and Tomlin are brilliantly
cast and provide the equal amounts of love and ridicule families offer each other in
abundance and without warning. As always, Fonda is as graceful as ever in her attempt to
steer the ship and maintain composure, and Tomlin delivers with a frankness that is as
steadfast as it is nurturing. To put it bluntly they are both spectacular.
Grace and Frankie is laugh-out- loud funny and heart-warming as hell, and you won’t
be able to stop watching once you start. Luckily for you, season four is ready when you are.
Review by Isabelle Aswad