Living with Fran

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Mediocre sitcom has trite stories and adult humor.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

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Kids say

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that the lead character is a middle-aged divorcee who's living with a much younger man and enjoying an active sex life. Most episodes contain jokes that adults might find funny, but which might confuse younger viewers or go over their heads entirely. For example, in one episode, Fran tells her son that she's skipping her bikini wax because her hysterectomy scar hasn't yet healed and comments favorably when her pregnant cousin says that she's already had her doctor-OK'd daily glass of wine with breakfast.

  • The living-together premise isn't for everyone.
  • Not applicable.
  • Fran's boyfriend lives with her and is a de facto member of her family, but they're not married. Includes fairly frequent sexual innuendo and discussions of sex life.

What's the story?

In LIVING WITH FRAN, nasal-voiced actress Fran Drescher stars as a middle-aged divorcee juggling her relationship with a much younger man with the demands of raising her two almost-grown-up kids. Drescher plays Fran Reeves, who -- after splitting up with husband Ted (Charles Shaughnessy, her co-star on The Nanny) -- finds love with the much-younger Riley (Ryan McPartlin). Riley shacks up with Fran and her two kids, 21-year-old Josh (Ben Feldman), who moved home after dropping out of medical school, and 16-year-old Allison (Misti Traya), who tests Fran's patience with her entrée into the dating world. Debi Mazar rounds out the cast as Merrill, Fran's cousin who always drops by unexpectedly -- and who ends up dating Riley's best friend.


Is it any good?

 

Living with Fran relies on typical "wacky" sitcom storylines to garner laughs, but overall the show is neither particularly great nor particularly terrible. Some episodes deal with adult subject matter -- including premarital sex and searching for love while raising kids -- which leads to some bawdy dialogue. But if viewers can handle that, they'll find Living with Fran a mindless half-hour of entertainment.


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What families can talk about

Families can talk about divorce. Why do some marriages end in divorce? How are kids affected by their parents' breakup? Why is it important for kids to understand that they aren't the reason for the end of their parents' marriage? How does it affect kids when their parents enter new relationships, particularly serious ones? How are the effects different for younger and older kids?


This review was written by Lucy Maher
Adult
July 2, 2011
 
pg13-pg
Fran has always did movies that were either pg13 or pg. I personnelly like her as an actor but would not recommend this for children under 17.

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This review was written by Lucy Maher
TV rating:NR
Network:Syndicated
Cast:Ben Feldman, Fran Drescher, Ryan McPartlin
Genre:Comedy

This review was written by Lucy Maher
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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