Lovers of American sitcoms like Modern Family are in for a treat with the newest family on the block.
Life in Pieces may suggest a show about the challenges we face in daily life – which it does – but more so, it examines the life of three generations of the Short family, told in four pieces.
Each 20 minutes episode of Life in Pieces comprises four unrelated short stories, other than they’re all about the same family. One short tale focusses on 70 year old patriarch John Short (James Brolin) and his wife, Joan (Dianne Wiest) while the others focus on the lives of each of their three adult children, Heather (Betsy Brandt), Matt (Thomas Sadoski) and wayward Greg (Colin Hanks).
The cast is stellar, including the secondary characters of the extended families and friends. Like many sitcoms however, as we become more familiar with the characters and their quirks, the comedy gets greater; and, like all short story collections, some are funnier than others. The great thing about Life in Pieces is that most stories leave you wanting more and the few that illicit nothing more than a smile are still a satisfiying watch. The show is also not afraid to touch on more serious moments occasionally. With most of the shorts running less than 10 minutes each, there’s never time to get bored.
The episodes are named for the focus of each of the four short stories – for example “Sexting Mall Lemondate Heartbreak”, one of the latter episodes in the 22-episode first season.
While the DVD release of season one does not have any extra features, the three-disc set is an enjoyable glimpse into the struggles of family life through the eyes of one family which isn’t always quite functional.
Reviewed by Rod Lewis
Twitter: @StrtegicRetweet
Rating out of 10: 8
Life in Pieces is available now on DVD.
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