This quickly became one of my favorite shows. I rarely watch comedy, more of a fan of dramas and thrillers. However, I decided to give this one a shot, primarily because of my love for Alan Arkin. And boy am I glad I did. Now I'm just a big of a fan of Michael Douglas. He carries this shows humor AND dramatic moments perfectly and makes it look so easy. He really inhabits the character of Sandy and brings him to life wonderfully. As for my boy Alan Arkin, the man can do no wrong, and here he proves again how hilarious and lovable the can be.
Apart from the tremendous talent on screen, the writing and even direction/editing also elevate this show above and beyond even some of the better comedies airing these days. The show has a great flow with its story, easily weaving longer, more drawn out plots with the smaller stories contained in each episode. It feels like we are a part of Sandys life, witnessing it all play out like we are one of his best friends, family or students. I can't remember a time when I felt so cozy and at ease watching a tv show. And I can't remember another show making me laugh out loud quite as much as this one.
It's a really feel good show, while still dealing with plenty of heavy subject matter that we all can relate to. The show often makes the wise choice to let a situation or conflict play out smoothly and have a happy ending after getting its point across, rather than juicing it for all its worth. The result is a feeling of "oh this looks like it could be really bad, but I'm sure it'll be okay." Which makes the viewing experience very digestible and binge worthy. I have only three issues with the show
1. Sandys daughter is an insufferable character in my opinion. She is constantly hypocritical and annoyingly rude and is always pushing herself into everyone's business just to talk down to them and "take the high road" or give off an "I'm always right and I always know what's right" vibe, all while wearing her little face of disgust at every little thing. Like she is dating a much older man and yet she incessantly tears him down for talking and acting like an old man. And what bothers me most is that she is clearly written to be the one with the moral compass and the only character that seemingly is truly good and innocent. But she drives me up the wall with nearly very line and that damn face she makes at everything.
2. The fact that Alan Arkin is nit in season 3 at all. The second the season started with Normans funeral, I panicked, assuming that Alan Arkin had passed away there for forcing them to write him out of the show. Now I know he is quite old and maybe the coronavirus got in the way or something or perhaps he is just winding down and hit and taking it easy after he suffered a minor stroke in 2016. I'm not sure why he's not in season 3, but I'm not too happy about it, despite the writers making his death very poignant in the story and keeping the show as quality as it ever was. Season 3 is so good that I admit I forgot that he was even gone at times. So I suppose in the end it turned out okay, but I can't help but imagine how much better it would be if we got one more season with him to explore and tie up and the loose threads set up by season two. The. He could die at the end of the season calling it off and making us sad but ready for a fourth and final season, which season 3 would serve as perfectly. And that leads me to my final issue with the show.
3. It's Over. I mean if it were up to me I would have this show go on forever. It's that good. But unfortunately, I guess 3 seasons is all we get. I'm usually all about a show telling it's story and ending when it's fitting. It's always better than going and going until the quality declines and it dies a slow death. Finish while you're on top is what I say. But in this case i really do feel like we could've used much more of this show. I just feel like there was so much more story to tell with these characters and I'm pretty sad that this is all we get.
In short, the Kominsky Method is a wonderful show with rich characters and laugh out loud comedy. On top of that, it hits the heart in way more ways than I ever thought it would by miles, and is not only a brilliant showcase of acting prowess, but at times, due especially to Sandys class, a great insight and class unto itself OF the art of acting. Never in my life ccc have I enjoyed a show that was able to make me laugh, cry, think and fill with joy all in one like this. And I suppose THAT.... is the Kominski Method.
Apart from the tremendous talent on screen, the writing and even direction/editing also elevate this show above and beyond even some of the better comedies airing these days. The show has a great flow with its story, easily weaving longer, more drawn out plots with the smaller stories contained in each episode. It feels like we are a part of Sandys life, witnessing it all play out like we are one of his best friends, family or students. I can't remember a time when I felt so cozy and at ease watching a tv show. And I can't remember another show making me laugh out loud quite as much as this one.
It's a really feel good show, while still dealing with plenty of heavy subject matter that we all can relate to. The show often makes the wise choice to let a situation or conflict play out smoothly and have a happy ending after getting its point across, rather than juicing it for all its worth. The result is a feeling of "oh this looks like it could be really bad, but I'm sure it'll be okay." Which makes the viewing experience very digestible and binge worthy. I have only three issues with the show
1. Sandys daughter is an insufferable character in my opinion. She is constantly hypocritical and annoyingly rude and is always pushing herself into everyone's business just to talk down to them and "take the high road" or give off an "I'm always right and I always know what's right" vibe, all while wearing her little face of disgust at every little thing. Like she is dating a much older man and yet she incessantly tears him down for talking and acting like an old man. And what bothers me most is that she is clearly written to be the one with the moral compass and the only character that seemingly is truly good and innocent. But she drives me up the wall with nearly very line and that damn face she makes at everything.
2. The fact that Alan Arkin is nit in season 3 at all. The second the season started with Normans funeral, I panicked, assuming that Alan Arkin had passed away there for forcing them to write him out of the show. Now I know he is quite old and maybe the coronavirus got in the way or something or perhaps he is just winding down and hit and taking it easy after he suffered a minor stroke in 2016. I'm not sure why he's not in season 3, but I'm not too happy about it, despite the writers making his death very poignant in the story and keeping the show as quality as it ever was. Season 3 is so good that I admit I forgot that he was even gone at times. So I suppose in the end it turned out okay, but I can't help but imagine how much better it would be if we got one more season with him to explore and tie up and the loose threads set up by season two. The. He could die at the end of the season calling it off and making us sad but ready for a fourth and final season, which season 3 would serve as perfectly. And that leads me to my final issue with the show.
3. It's Over. I mean if it were up to me I would have this show go on forever. It's that good. But unfortunately, I guess 3 seasons is all we get. I'm usually all about a show telling it's story and ending when it's fitting. It's always better than going and going until the quality declines and it dies a slow death. Finish while you're on top is what I say. But in this case i really do feel like we could've used much more of this show. I just feel like there was so much more story to tell with these characters and I'm pretty sad that this is all we get.
In short, the Kominsky Method is a wonderful show with rich characters and laugh out loud comedy. On top of that, it hits the heart in way more ways than I ever thought it would by miles, and is not only a brilliant showcase of acting prowess, but at times, due especially to Sandys class, a great insight and class unto itself OF the art of acting. Never in my life ccc have I enjoyed a show that was able to make me laugh, cry, think and fill with joy all in one like this. And I suppose THAT.... is the Kominski Method.