Starring: Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Sarah Baker, Paul Reiser, Lisa Edelstein, Haley Joel Osment, Morgan Freeman, Barry Levinson
Alan Arkin did not return for the final season of Chuck Lorre's brilliant series. His rapport with Michael Douglas was so effortless and his chemistry so palpable that their friendship was believable and touching. In season three, Arkin's character, Sandy Kominsky's best friend Norman Newlander, is laid to rest in a funeral where each eulogy is more outrageous and inappropriate than the one preceding it. So, how would The Kominsky Method, which depended so much on the Arkin/Douglas relationship for its success, fare in Arkin's absence? The answer is: Very well.
Sandy (Douglas) still runs his acting school. His daughter Mindy (Baker) is now engaged to the older Martin (Reiser), who is far closer to Sandy's age bracket than Mindy's and caused Sandy great consternation last season. The upcoming wedding has brought Sandy's ex-wife Roz (Turner) back into the fold. Sandy has an unflattering name for Roz listed in his contacts, but that doesn't stop Roz from moving to L.A. and reentering both Sandy's and Mindy's lives.
Between Sandy and Roz, smoldering hostility gives way to a guarded truce and than a warm friendship. They may be exes, but that doesn't mean they have to hate each other. They thankfully don't fall back in love either. They instead become two people who find they can stand each other after all these years and maybe even, gasp, like each other.
Douglas and Turner teamed together memorably in Romancing The Stone and The War of the Roses and rely on that experience to create instant familiarity with each other and the audience. This season of The Kominsky Method isn't just the Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner show. Morgan Freeman and Barry Levinson make funny guest appearances as themselves and these lead to the biggest break of Sandy Kaminsky's long dormant acting career. Before this season, Sandy was the epitome of "Those who do, do. Those who can't, teach." Not anymore.
Another hilarious subplot is Norman's ever-scheming daughter (Edelstein) and grandson's (Osment) attempts to coerce Sandy (Norman's executor) to release to them their share of his fortune. The payoff is a scream. The strength of The Kominsky Method continues to be the performances and the sublime comic timing. It's a pity it is leaving us only after three seasons. Intelligent comedies like this don't come along that often.
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