3 October 2021

Kominsky

Last night I finished watching "The Kominsky Method" courtesy of Netflix. It consists of twenty two half hour episodes. I  saw all of them in seven days. The series was recommended to me by my friend Mike.

It chiefly revolves around a Los Angeles stage school where has-been actor Sandy Kominsky puts his coaching "method" into practice. He is played by Michael Douglas who is not an actor I had previously registered much interest in. He kind of passed me by.

"The Kominsky Method" is very nicely produced and it is imbued with quirky often subtle humour. The writing is solid and intelligent and there is a  laid back quality to the entire tapestry. 

There's a refreshing and total  absence of guns, killings and screeching car chases. Instead the drama focuses upon relationships, ambitions, failures and the differences between people. Michael Douglas is a revelation - playing his part with dry self-deprecation and humanity.

The well-known film criticism website "Rotten Tomatoes" said this of the show: "Full of humor and heart, The Kominsky Method paints a surprisingly poignant  portrait of life and aging, elevated by two top-notch performances by acting legends Alan Arkin and Michael Douglas.."

Of course people's tastes differ  but I very much enjoyed "The Kominsky Method". It filled eleven hours of my life very happily. Perhaps you have already seen it but if you haven't and you have access to "Netflix", I suggest that you give it a try some time.

34 comments:

  1. I loved it; I adore Alan Arkin and his quirky sense of humor. Unfortunately, he isn't in the third season. :( I laugh even thinking about that funeral scene with "Barbra Streisand." What a hoot!

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    1. It was a surprise when Norman died wasn't it?

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    2. I knew he was semi-retiring from acting due to his age and that he wouldn't be in season 3, so I wasn't surprised that they killed him off. Kathleen Turner's character was a nice surprise. A lot of depth and humor to the interaction between Michael Douglas and her.

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    3. There were many gem-like moments such as the fake argument with Morgan Freeman.

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  2. My husband and I have enjoyed it very much. I agree with your assessment of it.

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    1. Surprised you haven't mentioned it in your illustrious blog Mary.

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  3. We watched about half of the episodes and then forgot to watch the rest I guess. I enjoyed it. I like Michael Douglas. There's more to him than meets the eye.

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    1. Go on! Finish it Nurse Lily! You'll soon pick up the pieces.

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  4. It sounds like something I would watch. Like you, I can't stand explosions, car chases, murders, gangsters, or violence of any sort.

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    1. Those things just don't seem to happen in real life do they?

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  5. Thank you for this review, the series sounds like something I could enjoy, too. Same as you, Michael Douglas was never very much present in my film and TV viewing, as most of what he has done was simply not interesting for me.

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    1. In this he was a pleasant surprise Meike.

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  6. Anonymous8:28 am

    Douglas was excellent in the films Wall Street, Fatal Attraction, The China Syndrome and especially the tv series The Streets of San Fran Cisco. I am surprised you didn't really know him. No Netflix here but that may soon change as partner has seen all he wants to on Britbox.

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    1. Nope - never saw any of the shows you mentioned Andrew... or may I call you Andy?

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    2. Anonymous11:27 pm

      Why? Andy isn't my name and no one ever calls me that.

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    3. Okay. Message received Andrew.

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    4. Anonymous8:32 am

      Kinda cute and friendly though. I don't mind.

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  7. When I saw the title of this post I thought you were referring to Nancy Kominsky. She introduced me to oil painting years ago when she did lessons on the tv.
    I couldn't get on with the Michael Douglas Kominsky.
    Briony
    x

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    1. As I say - tastes differ don't they?

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  8. Thanks for the tip. Never heard of it but may check it out.

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  9. Fatal Attraction was a good film of his and we use to watch The Streets of San Francisco and he made an excellent wife choice in Catherine Zeta Jones. The Darling buds of May was a classic TV series.

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    1. Was he in "The Darling Buds of May"? I thought that was David Jason.

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  10. Alan Arkin was in Catch 22: the film of Joe Heller's novel is very flawed yet Arkin was the perfect Captain Yossarian, a B-25 bombardier trying to outwit death.

    Arkin stood out again as a deaf man in another novel adaptation, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Carson McCuller's masterpiece.

    Michael Douglas gave a sentimental performance in Wonder Boys, adapted from a witty novel by Michael Chabon. He was a writing teacher in Detroit who smoked the weed.

    Douglas was the casebook psychopath in A Perfect Murder (1998) this time loosely adapted from Hitchcock's Dial M For Murder. The way Douglas dispatched Viggo Mortensen gave me the shudders. Gwyneth Paltrow was an heiress married to Douglas.

    Now I must get the DVD of The Kominsky Method.
    Is the Method like Lee Strasberg's Method, which Arthur Miller said was wrong for his wife Marilyn Monroe, and which David Mamet abominates? I am with Mamet.

    Strasberg was brilliant as Hyman Roth, the Jewish gangster, in Godfather 2.
    *I am an old man who wishes to spend the twilight of his life in Israel.*
    Haggerty

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    1. His "Method" is both his approach to acting - finding authenticity within and the very loose and random way in which he lives his own life. There's a lightness about it which I enjoyed but some of the stage school scenes are not to be laughed at.

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  11. You'll be pleased to know I was intrigued and I've just watched the first two episodes as I've always liked Michael Douglas as an actor

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    1. I hope you are also charmed by this show ADDY.

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  12. That is so weird, as I just watched the Kominsky Method and thought I'd rather watch paint dry. Indeed when I found myself fast-forwarding through the scenes in his acting studio I realized it wasn't for me. Oh Alan Arkin was great and the dialogue was clever but it somehow an aging lech like Michael Douglas just didn't do it for me. But one man's meat right?

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    1. That's right Treaders. You probably like StarWars.

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  13. It sounds good....

    now, i just have to win the fight for the tv

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    1. You gotta toughen up Kylie..."IT'S MY HOUSE AND I DECIDE WHAT'S ON THE BOX!" !

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  14. I've seen this pop up on Netflix a time or two but have never watched it. I think I should try an episode or two.

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  15. Thanks for the recommendation. This show has been on our radar for a while (in fact it's on my Netflix watchlist) but we've never started it. Maybe we will now!

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