BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
(FOUR) NO MOTORCYCLES
Hal makes the mistake of promising a young Francis that on his 21st birthday they’d go on a father/son motorcycle trip. It’s a fun little outrageous storyline. Meanwhile, Malcolm, Reece, and Dewey are afraid to go outside because of a bully that waits for them. It’s just a solid episode all around. It’s one of those middle episodes where everything was firing on full cylinders.
(THREE) DEWEY’S OPERA
This episode is just entertaining. Dewey writes an opera based on an on-going argument Hal and Lois are having about a new mattress. The results are funny and really sweet. The presentation of the story is great. Meanwhile, Malcolm and Reece get into a street luge war with the unlikely foe of Stevie.
(TWO) JESSICA STAYS OVER
Hayden Panttiere was on this episode! She was the annoying neighbor girl Jessica that moves into the house for awhile. She gets into Malcolm’s head about manipulating his mother’s emotions. There is a weird battle over real emotion vs. shenanigans. Hal has his own story at the time harvesting honey. It’s sorta strange. The best part of this episode is the Reese/Dewey storyline. Reese tries to mail himself to China in a crate and Dewey does his best to make Reese thing he’s really on the journey. It’s so stupid, but it’s hilarious. The back and forth is grand.
(ONE) LOIS STRIKES BACK
This is my favorite episode of the entire series. Some bitchy girls play an elaborate and very cruel prank on Reece. It leaves him shocked and depressed. He stays in bed and loses all his personality. Lois strikes back at these girls. It’s like a revenge plot movie. She gets back at them all in their own poetic way and it’s freakin’ brutal. Malcolm tries to be the voice of reason… it doesn’t work. The dark comedy twist on this one is perfect. This is the one episode I’ll stop whatever I’m doing to watch.
|
