“I Heard a Rumor They Have Cake that Tastes Like Pie.”
I have no excuse.
I’ve had the DVD set for Fuller House season 5 since it was
released over four years ago. I guess I
was just trying to put off seeing the end.
But I finally watched the final season of the show, and I enjoyed it.
If you aren’t familiar with the show, Fuller House
was a continuation/reboot/sequel series to the classic 80’s/90’s sitcom Full
House. When the show started,
recently widowed D.J. Tanner Fuller (Candance Cameron Bure) had asked her
sister Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin) and her best friend Kimmy Gibbler (Andrea
Barber) to move into her house, aka the old Tanner house, to help raise her
three boys, Jackson, Max, and Tommy (Michael Campion, Elias Harger, and twins
Dashiell and Fox Messitt). While
Stephanie was single when the series started, Kimmy brought with her a teen
daughter, Ramona (Soni Bringas), and an ex-husband who didn’t want to stay an
ex, Fernando (Juan Pablo Di Pace).
Along the way, Stephanie found love in the most unlikely
place – Kimmy’s brother Jimmy (Adam Hagenbuch).
And D.J. rekindled her romance with her high school boyfriend, Steve
Hale (Scott Weinger).
Season 5 picks up where season 4 left off. Stephanie and Jimmy are coming back from the
hospital with their new daughter, which Kimmy was the surrogate for. While Stephanie and Jimmy try to adjust to
being parents, the guys go into partnership to buy a favorite sandwich
shop. Ramona gets a new boyfriend while
Jackson winds up with the lead in the school play. Stephanie decides to cook Thanksgiving
dinner, which turns into a disaster – but not in the way you are thinking. And Steve proposes to D.J., leading to
planning a triple wedding for three very different brides.
No, the Olsen twins don’t make an appearance here, which
means Michelle is the only character from the original we never see. Because this season filmed while Lori Loughlin’s
legal troubles were going on, we didn’t get to see Aunt Becky this season
(which seemed weird given the wedding that ended the series), but Bob Saget,
John Stamos, and Dave Coulier popped up several times as Danny Tanner, Uncle
Jessie, and Joey.
And yes, this show is built on nostalgia for the original
series. There are lots of nods to the
original either in moments, storylines, riffs, or outright copying. But you know what, I was here for it. Having rewatched the first half of Full
House since I watched season 4 of Fuller, I caught more of those
references this time.
Not to say that this is a carbon copy by any means. There are plenty of fresh storylines and
jokes to be had, and I couldn’t help but laugh as I was watching.
One thing I really appreciated was the way the show
portrayed the friendship between the three guys, Fernando, Jimmy, and
Steve. The show did a good job of giving
them chances to act together, and I loved watching their chemistry. It might not be as strong as the chemistry
between D.J., Steph, and Kimmy, but those actresses have been friends playing
these characters longer. Anyway, it was
nice to see a show that showed such great friendships. We can even include John Brotherton’s Matt,
D.J.’s ex-boyfriend but still current business partner, in the circle. Yep, he shows up a few times.
I’ve found that many modern sitcoms feel forced to me, with
the shows working too hard to bring the laughs.
I felt that here with the first few episodes of the season, but once the
show got rolling, the laughs came more naturally. Either it is because I was watching this show
over the course of a couple of weeks, so I could get more used to the rhythm, or
the writers and actors took a couple of episodes to find the rhythm again. Either way, I was laughing and enjoying the
show completely by the time I’d hit the first quarter of the season. And that continued until the end.
And I have to give the actors their due. We have quite a large cast, obviously, but
they all shine when they are on screen.
And no matter who the actors are playing off of, the chemistry is strong
and brings the laughs.
Season five consisted of 18 episodes, and they are all in
the DVD set on two discs. Each episode
is roughly 30 minutes. Since this was a
Netflix show, there aren’t commercial breaks, and the shows run the length of
time needed, sometimes a little longer, sometimes a little less.
Along with the laughs, we also get some serious storylines
and moments. Nothing remotely preachy,
but some good storylines that reflect who the characters are and what they’ve
been through. These storylines
ultimately turned into very heartwarming moments that I loved.
Which brings us to the series finale. I hit me harder than I was expecting, and I
mean that in the best way possible. Be
prepared for all the feels. It’s a
perfect ending.
If, like me, you’ve been putting off watching the final
season of Fuller House, it’s time to watch season 5. You’ll really enjoy seeing where the
characters end up. If we ever get more
with this very full family, I would be there in a heartbeat.