S04.E01: The Lodger

[Bastet]

Quote

Frankie feels left out of Grace's friendship with Sheree, her new lodger.  Sol and Robert are arrested.  Bud and Allison throw a gender-reveal party.

[OtterMommy]

I'm going to admit that it took me a while to warm up to Lisa Kudrow's character...and I'm not sure I'm completely there.  She just seems like the most tropey thing they could come up with (which is saying a lot, especially since Frankie is in this show) and she's a bit to Phoebe-ish for me.  Still, I think that she works in terms of testing the relationship between Grace and Frankie, so I'm willing to accept it.

Um, armpit sniffing?  Really?  Ugh.

[Bastet]

On one hand, I was disappointed to see Frankie is in Santa Fe, Allison is having the baby, and Grace is dating Nick, but, really, I was expecting all those things and figure it will all work itself out over the course of the season.  Brianna’s pathetic stalking having worked is sad, though. 

They’re laying it on thick with Grace/Sheree, and the number of things Grace and Frankie haven't been talking about since Frankie left, but I think that will smooth out, and I like the fundamental dynamic they're hitting me over the head with - Grace got left, again, and she's actively pursuing happiness in these changed circumstances.  Frankie's the one who made the decision, and she's happy in Santa Fe, but seeing how things at home have gone on without her is hard.

That Grace finds gender reveal parties ridiculous is one of the many reasons I love her (just as Brianna referring to it as “Bud and Allison’s narcissistic we’re the first people ever to have a baby bullshit” continues to enamor her to me).  And Frankie reading Susan Faludi’s Backlash to her unborn grandchild is one of the many reasons I love her.

There was a lot of funny dialogue in this episode.

“Now available in travel size - fits discreetly into your purse.  Or the seat cubby of your walker.”

“I’ll meet you at the airport three flights after the one you were supposed to come in on.”
“I feel so known.”

“I told you, you can’t block the entrance of Build-a-Bear; those children and creepy adults get very angry.”

“Who’s Hon?”
“I’m Hon.”
“What happened to my pet name for you?”
“Kevin never really caught on.”

I can't wait to find out what the "Holy shit" revelation about Sheree is.

[Wings]

I don't like Kudrow but I knew she was a plot device to get Grace and Frankie back together. 

I really love this series. It is light entertainment so I don't tend to pick at it's flaws. 

Edited January 20, 2018 by Wings

[Arynm]

I really enjoyed Brianna saying that she never got a party for the million loads that she got. That made me laugh way too hard. I like the rapport between Mallory/Brianna and Frankie. Them seem to honestly love each other. Can't wait to see what that papers say.

ETA: I can't believe forgot about the Turquoise necklaces everyone is wearing courtesy of Frankie. It's like a mini scavenger hunt to see all of them. Poor boyfriend is wearing Brianna's!

Edited January 20, 2018 by Arynm
can't forget the jewelry

[UsernameFatigue]

Oops, since I bingewatched the first few episodes, I realized my comment belongs in episode 2 so am deleting it from this thread......

Edited January 20, 2018 by UsernameFatigue

[Roccos Brother]

I think typecasting Kudrow to play another "Phoebe"-like character was a terrible decision. It completely takes me out of the show when all I can think about is how much this feels like a cross-over with a sitcom that doesn't even have the same feel as the show I'm watching. I begin to wonder if any of the Friends cast could ever escape their characters.

Edited January 21, 2018 by Roccos Brother

[msani19]

I agree Lisa Kudrow playing older Phoebe isn't something I wanted to see, but it sort of gives a glimpse into a potential Friends reunion. 

Honest to God, Jane Fonda looks amazing, I can't even deal with it. How do I find a surgeon that good and how much will it cost me?

I've been to gender reveal parties. I was a gracious party guest but I was thinking this is the most self-absorbed thing I've had to set aside time for. It's one thing to wait until the baby is born to find out the gender but honestly these parties are too much. 5 more parties .... STFU, I'm not doing that!

As a woman who hasn't had the pleasure of these types of events, I'm trying to think of what I can invent so that I can have my friends and family show up with gifts. Open to any suggestions, o, I'm not getting married nor having kids so something that doesn't involve those will be cool.

Puff puff pass, everyone knows that Brianna. Stop hogging the joint :-)

[wendyg]

Roccos Brother: I think all the FRIENDS have managed to escape to some extent. I didn't care for COUGAR TOWN (or its title), but Courtney Cox is quite different in it, and all the others have at least had some opportunities to show what else they can do - Jennifer Aniston in THE GOOD GIRL and CAKE, David Schwimmer in theater and, before that, in IT'S THE RAGE (and more recently in the OJ Simpson thing), and Matt LeBlanc, who is so brilliantly funny in EPISODES. Matthew Perry seems to be desperately trying to escape Chandler, and it never goes well - even playing Oscar in THE ODD COUPLE, all you could think was how much better he'd be as Felix. We know Kudrow can do other things, as in THE OPPOSITE OF SEX. I didn't care for THE COMEBACK or WEB THERAPY, but she is different in them. But one of GRACE AND FRANKIE's creators is Marta Kauffman, and maybe the temptation was just too great to write something Phoebe-like again for her.

[rippleintime17]

Ack, I think this happened in episode 2! 

Edited January 21, 2018 by rippleintime17

[Duke2801]

Is Briana pregnant in real life? She looked markedly bigger to me this season! I know she and Paul Schaer (sp?) already have 1 or 2 kids ... 

 

Still loving this show. I agree that I’m not loving Lisa Kudrow’s character here- and I’m generally a big fan of hers (kind of from Friends but mostly from The Comeback). 

Also concur that Jane still looks ridiculously amazing. She honestly could pass for a well-preserved 60. 

Edited January 22, 2018 by Duke2801

[Bastet]

1 minute ago, Duke2801 said:

Is Briana pregnant in real life?

No, June Diane Raphael was pregnant at the end of last season; that's why Briana was off stalking Barry.  This season, she's freshly post-partum.

[Duke2801]

1 minute ago, Bastet said:

No, June Diane Raphael was pregnant at the end of last season; that's why Briana was off stalking Barry.  This season, she's freshly post-partum.

Ahhhh gotcha that makes sense! 

[Roccos Brother]

1 hour ago, Duke2801 said:

Is Briana pregnant in real life? She looked markedly bigger to me this season!

That's exactly what I was wondering!

[Clanstarling]

On 1/19/2018 at 0:14 PM, Bastet said:

They’re laying it on thick with Grace/Sheree, and the number of things Grace and Frankie haven't been talking about since Frankie left, but I think that will smooth out, and I like the fundamental dynamic they're hitting me over the head with - Grace got left, again, and she's actively pursuing happiness in these changed circumstances.  Frankie's the one who made the decision, and she's happy in Santa Fe, but seeing how things at home have gone on without her is hard.

That Grace finds gender reveal parties ridiculous is one of the many reasons I love her (just as Brianna referring to it as “Bud and Allison’s narcissistic we’re the first people ever to have a baby bullshit” continues to enamor her to me).  And Frankie reading Susan Faludi’s Backlash to her unborn grandchild is one of the many reasons I love her.

I found it a bit over the top too, but I'm confident it will shape up. I'm not all that sure Frankie's happy in Santa Fe, and I don't know why I have that impression. 

Funny thing, though, I didn't relate Kudrow's character to Phoebe at all. Seems obvious, now that everyone's mentioned it. But for me, she didn't really have the Phoebe vibe, even though she's just as ditzy.

On 1/21/2018 at 4:27 PM, Duke2801 said:

Is Briana pregnant in real life? She looked markedly bigger to me this season! I know she and Paul Schaer (sp?) already have 1 or 2 kids ... 

She sure is showing off the girls. :)

I'm old enough that being able to know the gender of the baby was a relatively new thing, and even then we kept it to ourselves. I feel a bit crotchety when I hear about "push presents" - something I find both kind of disgusting (the term) and have a little bit of jealousy about. The baby was the push present for me (though I did often give my friends gifts for themselves rather than the babies at the baby showers - maybe I was a trailblazer - LOL).

Edited January 23, 2018 by Clanstarling

[Nordly Beaumont]

1 hour ago, Clanstarling said:

But for me, she didn't really have the Phoebe vibe, even though she's just as ditzy.

She had more of an Ursula from Mad About You vibe to me. But different enough that I could buy her as a whole new character. Lisa Kudrow always does at least a little change to her voice when she does different roles. And now I want to re-watch the Comeback again!

[FairyDusted]

I wasn't a Friends Viewer though I'd seen it here and there so casting Lisa K wasn't a big thrill just a big ole TEMP sign. Puff, Puff, Passsss

[Madding crowd]

I thought at first she was playing Phoebe and they were adding her to the cast. Jane Fonda looks great but her mouth looks really weird and kind of corpse like. 

[Clanstarling]

3 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

I thought at first she was playing Phoebe and they were adding her to the cast. Jane Fonda looks great but her mouth looks really weird and kind of corpse like. 

She was on Colbert this week (last week?) and had a bandage over her lower lip. She said she'd had a cancer removed. Maybe it was painful (prior to surgery) or just impacted the way her mouth moved.

[Madding crowd]

Oh, I feel bad now for mentioning it. 

[echo.Echo.ECHO]

I think the thing with her upper lip is Botox or another filler. It's less obvious in later episodes.

[Nordly Beaumont]

I agree, echo.Echo.ECHO, between age and face work, Jane's lower lip looks slightly smaller than her upper lip. Just enough to look a bit off.

[Clanstarling]

1 hour ago, Madding crowd said:

Oh, I feel bad now for mentioning it. 

Oh, don't. It may be the reason things looked off, but it could have been a number of things.  

[Jillybean]

I loathe the voice Lisa Kudrow adopted for Sheree. I can't figure out why she chose something so incredibly annoying.  I also wonder whether they aged her for the role?  She is only 54 but looked a decade older, at least.

Edited January 30, 2018 by Jillybean

[Juniebaby]

I know Sheree had to move because Frankie came back, although I think the 3 of them could have lived together.  Where did she go and I’m surprised she hasn’t popped up here and there.

[OtterMommy]

4 hours ago, Juniebaby said:

I know Sheree had to move because Frankie came back, although I think the 3 of them could have lived together.  Where did she go and I’m surprised she hasn’t popped up here and there.

Taking my response to the s04s13 thread...

[Delphi]

On 1/21/2018 at 6:25 AM, wendyg said:

Roccos Brother: I think all the FRIENDS have managed to escape to some extent. I didn't care for COUGAR TOWN (or its title), but Courtney Cox is quite different in it

I thought cougar town was a fantastic show,  but that might just be my love for Christa Miller.   Did you stick with the show or give it up because the middle seasons were phenomenally above the first in terms of writing and story. 

All seasons now streaming on Hulu,  everyone should watch!

[Empress1]

I don't know how I didn't know this was back!

Ernie Hudson is SEVENTY-TWO. And smoking hot!

On 1/21/2018 at 2:13 AM, msani19 said:

I've been to gender reveal parties. I was a gracious party guest but I was thinking this is the most self-absorbed thing I've had to set aside time for. It's one thing to wait until the baby is born to find out the gender but honestly these parties are too much. 5 more parties .... STFU, I'm not doing that!

As a woman who hasn't had the pleasure of these types of events, I'm trying to think of what I can invent so that I can have my friends and family show up with gifts. Open to any suggestions, o, I'm not getting married nor having kids so something that doesn't involve those will be cool.

When you figure it out, let me know. I might get married but kids are unlikely. There's no occasion for which a single adult can ask for and expect to receive a long list of expensive gifts. I have not been to a gender reveal party, and thank God. I find the concept silly and kind of tacky. My go-to baby gift is books so the baby's gender never affects what I'm going to buy the kid. Five more parties is a hard no. I feel the same way about people who have a party every weekend for the year leading up to the wedding.

Frankie constantly pawing and groping Allison's belly was driving me crazy. I would have smacked her hands so long ago.

I'm no ta fan of Lisa Kudrow's voice in general, and it was particularly grating here.

Edited February 10, 2018 by Empress1