THE FOUR SEASONS

* * *

(Relationships Flick)

Tina Fay helped in the writing of this bittersweet relationships movie that stresses how much work is needed to create a successful marriage.

Fay stars as Kate, alongside Will Forte as Jack. On the surface they appear to have a happy marriage, but they are not always honest with each other. Steve Carell plays Nick and the delightful Kerri Kenney-Silver plays Anne, who is blown away when Nick has a midlife crisis and asks for a divorce.

Colman Domingo and Marco Calvani play a married gay couple.

The couples have been friends since their college days and take vacations together four times a year.

Things change in between their get-togethers, with the biggest bombshell being Nick and Anne’s divorce and Nick bringing his half-his-age girlfriend along for the next trip.

There are some funny moments, but also some very poignant ones, especially with Anne who has serious problems dealing with the situation.

Couples therapy, infidelity, resentments, effects on grown children and the very existence of lifelong love are explored in a series that occasionally misses the mark but has enough going for it to cuddle up and watch on a rainy eve.

CONAN O’BRIEN — MARK TWAIN AWARDS

* * *

(Comedy Honors)

The annual Mark Twain Award for comedy is awarded every year at Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center.

Fans of Conan O’Brien won’t want to miss this year’s event as the writer/performer is honored by his peers in a bitter-sweet evening of comedy and not-so-subtle pokes at the new administration and what one man has single-handedly done to tear the heart out of the revered center for the arts.

AVON

ON SWIFT HORSES

* * ½

Lee and Muriel leave their meager existence in Kansas to start a new life together in California.

Lee’s brother comes in and out of their lives as he also strives to start anew, working in a Vegas casino, striking up a relationship with a co-worker that turns deadly.

Meanwhile, Muriel decides that she wants more out of life than working as a waitress.

She becomes involved with another woman, starts drinking and betting on horse races, making enough money to support her new life.

The plot plays out like an old B movie with the addition of R-rated sex scenes and moves slowly toward an unrealistic ending.

You will not like these characters.