DEATH BECOMES HIM (THE KOMINSKY METHOD, SEASON THREE)

 

It's impossible to review the third and final season of 'The Kominsky Method' without giving away a huge plot development.

So, here we go. 

I am just going to sound the Spoiler Alert claxon.

(SPOLIER ALERT!!!)

Series three begins with the offscreen death of Alan Arkin's Norman Newlander.

At the end of the second series, Norman's best friend Sandy Kominsky had just come through treatment for prostate cancer.

Of the two, Sandy seemed the most frail.

Yet at the start of the third season, it is Sandy who is eulogising Norman at his funeral.

While Sandy struggles to overcome the loss of his buddy, he also has to wrestle with the fact that Norman has made him the executor of his vast fortune.

Norman has left Sandy and his daughter, Sarah Baker's Mindy $5 million each.

Sandy, however, decides to give Mindy his half on condition that she keeps it a secret from her older boyfriend, Paul Reiser's ponytailed Martin Schneider.

The pressure of withholding this secret makes Mindy rather grumpy and the extremely laid-back Martin rather puzzled as to why she is so grouchy.

Thankfully, her mom and Sandy's no nonsense ex-wife Kathleen Turner's Dr Roz Colander arrives in LA to spend time with her daughter and gets to the heart of the matter.

Roz, however, is harbouring a secret of her own.

Meanwhile a grieving Sandy helps a Russian neighbour, Natasha Hall's Yvette find her lost dog and ends up in bed with her and with a sore back, only to realise she is an escort.

When he discovers the dog has the same name as Norman's middle name, he thinks it may be some form of reincarnation.

And there is a definite sense throughout the series that Norman may be exerting his influence beyond the grave.

Sandy is regularly bothered in his role as executor of the will by Norman's recovering drug addict daughter, Lisa Edelstein's Phoebe and her creepy, Scientology believing son, Haley Joel Osment's Robby.

Norman has stipulated that they be given a regular income and have their tax and other outgoings catered for but if they try to negotiate a higher income, the rest of the estate will be given to charity.

Throughout the series, the greedy duo ineptly try to wangle more money from Sandy with charm offences, with a lawyer, with dodgy business ideas and eventually through deploying a hitman.

Norman has one more gift, however, to bestow beyond the grave.

The director of 'Rainman,' Barry Levinson is looking to cast an unknown acting veteran for a TV movie remake of John Steinbeck's 'The Old Man and The Sea'.

Prior to his death, Norman recommended Sandy, who has to come to terms with the fact that after years of settling for just being an acting coach, in the final stretch of his career he is getting a shot at the big time.

But will he be able to take it?

Arkin's decision not to return to 'The Kominsky Method' no doubt came as a shock not just to fans but to colleagues on the show.

The previous two seasons of 'The Kominsky Method' thrived on the banter between Sandy and Norman and there was no disputing Arkin's on-screen chemistry with Michael Douglas.

Creator Chuck Lorre's solution to fill that Norman Newlander shaped hole is to go back to an old partner in crime for Douglas.

His decision to elevate Kathleen Turner's role as Roz from a brief cameo in the second series to a major character in the third may be a gamble but it proves to be a very smart one.

The chemistry between Turner and Douglas that made 'Romancing the Stone' and particularly 'War of the Roses' such a success is still there in spades.

It is a delight to see Turner, in particular, who has been pretty much sidelined in Hollywood in recent years being given a substantial, sweary role which she grabs with real enthusiasm.

While Arkin's absence is felt in the first two episodes, Turner certainly helps to overcome the loss as she enters the fray and the series progresses.

Douglas clearly enjoys sparring with Turner and he brings even more vulnerability to the part of Sandy, as he comes to terms with the death of his friend, his advancing years and the chance to finally get to shine in his vocation.

Sarah Baker and Paul Reiser are good foils for Douglas too and there is a nice guest appearance by Morgan Freeman who ends up working with one of Sandy's students in a gender fluid reboot of 'Quincy MD'.

Lisa Edelstein and, particularly, Haley Joel Osment deliver a lot of laughs as Norman's inept daughter and conman grandson.

Christine Ebersole is a terrific addition to the cast as Martin's monstrous, domineering mum Estelle who causes him to twitch at the mere mention of her in conversation.

But after a rocky opening episode, it is heartening to see Lorre's writing retaining its spark.

With just six half-hour episodes in the run, Lorre and his fellow directors Andy Tennant and Beth McCarthy-Miller do an efficient job, keeping the action rolling along and the gags coming thick and fast.

After its understandably wobbly opening episode following Arkin's unexpected departure, they manage to get the show on track and tie up all the loose ends by the time it reaches its climax.

You can't help feeling though that Lorre has wisely called it a day.

Its shorter run also ensures that 'The Kominsky Method' doesn't overstay its welcome.

As a meditation on ageing, 'The Kominsky Method' did so with wit and real grace 

'Last of the Summer Wine,' it ain't and wasn't it all the better for it?

(Series three of 'The Kominsky Method' was made available for streaming on Netflix on May 28, 2021)

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