Reviewed by Allie Schembra
That’s right, Honey! A decade after their unforgettable eight-season run, comedy’s most fabulous foursome is back. Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Sean Hayes, and Megan Mullally reprise their infamous roles as Will, Grace, Jack, and Karen. The legendary James Burrows, director of every original Will and Grace episode, returns along with a slew of razor-sharp jabs and dirty martinis. Behold once again, from the minds of Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, TV’s wittiest ensemble ever.
Show (5 out of 5 stars)
Will and Grace are back and better than ever! I was a fan of Will and Grace during its first run on NBC. With its return, the quippy comments, the sarcastic remarks, the hilarity continues with the revival of the series. Debra Messing, Eric McCormarck, Megan Mullally, and Sean Hayes do not miss a beat and fall right back into their amazing chemistry and comedic timing. The 10 episode season kept me laughing out loud and it was great to see former guest stars reprise their roles, as well. Will and Grace was one of my favorite shows and I was sad to see it end a decade ago. Now that it is back, it has jumped to the top of my DVR list so I never miss an episode.
Disc One
- Eleven Years Later – Will and Grace are still living together, Trump has won the Presidency, and Karen has gotten Grace a job designing the interior of the Oval Office. Will writes to a Congressman who he disagrees with and ends up going to his Washington, D.C. event in the Rose Garden. Will and Grace see each other and start a fight in the Oval Office. Jack hooks up with a Secret Service Agent.
- Who’s Your Daddy – After a night out, Will and Jack are disturbed that they are no longer the young, handsome gays, but considered “Daddies.” Both end up on a date with a much younger man. Will and Jack both realize that they want someone their own age, who understands that they went through to get to where they are. Meanwhile, Grace and Karen get locked in Karen’s shower with the water on, and the drain closed.
- Emergency Contact – Jack starts teaching an after school drama class where Karen befriends a little girl who needs her help. Grace has a procedure and her emergency contact is still her ex-husband, Leo (Harry Connick, Jr.), who thinks that Will and Grace have a co-dependent relationship.
- Grandpa Jack – Jack discovers that his son, Elliott, has a son, and when Elliott sends his son to a special “camp,” only Will and Jack can rescue him and make his parents see and accept the boy’s true nature. Back in New York, Karen and Grace both flirt with the hot intern.
- How to Succeed in Business without Really Crying – Grace has a big pitch to a new client, but the client wants Grace to get him a date with Will in order to receive his business. Jack battles a co-worker over a winning Lottery ticket, and Karen is double booked in her suite at the Country Club. Will receives a big promotion at work.
- Rosario’s Quinceanera – Karen suffers a great loss and Jack, Will, and Grace try to be her support and comfort in her time of sadness. At work, Will signs a lease without talking to Grace, which causes some tension between the two partners.
- A Gay Olde Christmas – It’s Christmas in New York and Will, Grace, Karen, and Jack can’t get a table at their usual Christmas Eve restaurant. They leave and end up at the Immigrant’s Museum, where they take a tour and imagine what Christmas was like in the 1800s, with Karen and Jack poor and Will and Grace as their married landlords.
- Friends & Lover – Will and Grace take a bread making class and both start dating the celebrity chef instructor. Karen and Jack get a commercial jingle stuck in their heads and need help forgetting it.
Disc Two
- There’s Something about Larry – Jack becomes a Lyft driver and accidentally runs over his neighbor, Val, who milks the injury and tricks Karen into her apartment and won’t let her leave. Will and Grace disagree over a vendor who made a mistake on an order. Grace hires old friend and empty nester, Larry, who sides with Will on all his disagreements with Grace.
- The Wedding – Will has breakfast with his ex, Vince, who tells him that he’s getting married. Vince invites Will, who is convinced by Grace not to attend, but Will shows up anyway. Jack meets a cop at the wedding, who after being with him tells him that Jack is his first. Will is obsessed at the wedding with finding out why Vince dumped him.
- Staten Island Fairy – Jack is celebrating is one month anniversary with the cop, who still hasn’t come out to his wife…until Karen does it for him. Grace lands a gig on QVC selling her bed linens and says all the wrong things, so Will joins her on camera and the two of them begin an on camera passive-aggressive argument, which turns into ratings gold.
- Three Wise Men – Will and Karen are getting on each others’ nerves at the office, but bond over watching Karen’s staff on her nanny cams, turning it into a telenovela. Grace realizes she’s dated three men from the same family – Grandfather, Father and Son.
- Sweatshop Annie & the Annoying Baby Shower – Jack tricks Karen into watching the kids from his acting class, and Karen puts them to work in the office. Will and Grace attend a baby shower where Grace feels very out of place and writes down her feelings on slips of paper. Will bonds with some teenage girls over his ex boyfriend. Jack lands a part on the Jennifer Lopez television “Shades of Blue” and can’t get through the scene.
- The Beefcake and the Cake Beef – Karen is denied a cake by a baker who refuses to make it based on who the cake is for, so Grace, in an effort to make a point, supports Karen and gets the bakery to make the cake. Will starts seeing his ex, Michael, again and Jack has some big opinions about it.
- One Job – Grace tricks Will into going to her father’s house with her so he can back her up with her family. As her sisters torment her, Grace finds out that her sisters want to convince their father to sell the house. Jack asks Drew to move in with him, and Drew breaks up with him. Karen has a romantic getaway with her paramour… who is not her husband.
- It’s a Family Affair – After Will inadvertently invites Grace’s father to live with them, Grace gets back at him by inviting his mother to visit. After taking all the “parenting” they can, and after their parents leave the room, Will and Grace prepare the couches for bed, but are traumatized when they walk in Will’s room to get the pillows and blankets. Jack goes to Ibiza to get over Drew and comes home with a flight attendant. Karen has a tough decision to make – Malcolm or Stan.
Video (4 out of 5 stars)
The widescreen presentation of Will and Grace is excellent. Having watched it on television, the transfer to DVD was done really well. The picture was crisp and clear, with no visible issues. Colors were bright and accurate and the scenes transitions perfectly.
Audio (4 out of 5 stars)
The audio for Will and Grace: The Revival was excellent. The dialogue was clear and easily heard, the background blended in well, and the live audience laughter was not too much. Volume levels were even, in fact, I listened at a higher volume just so I could make sure I didn’t miss anything. Audio is available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese with subtitles in English SDH, French, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Extras (4 out of 5 stars)
I was so excited to see these features on the disc. All of them were good and kept me laughing and engaged the whole time.
- Gag Reel (7:43) – Always my favorite feature, this almost eight minute blooper reel kept me giggling the whole time.
- Reuniting the Team (5:25) – Great feature that shows the election feature the cast did, and how that resulted in the revival series.
- Back to the Beginning (8:43) – Talking with the creators and cast about the series and how it started, what the original concept was, and how it all came to be.
- Classic Comedy (5:04) – Chatting with the creators and cast about the type of comedy Will and Grace is – the physicality, the satire. All of the slapstick comedy is discussed in this feature.
Summary (4 1/2 out of 5 stars)
"Will and Grace" has always been a favorite show of mine. Now that it’s back, I am excited to see where future episodes will take us. I will be the first to admit, I was skeptical when I heard it was coming back. I didn’t want it to be bad, or for the writers to fall back on what they knew was funny in the 1990s and early 2000s. I was happy to be proven wrong when the episodes were timely, fresh, hilarious, and amazing. If you were a fan during its original run, you will be a fan of this revival.
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