The Middle – So was anybody actually in the coffin?

For some reason, I had the most bizarre sense of deja vu during the majority of last night’s episode of The Middle. Having thought about it afterward, I do see a lot of “Malcolm in the Middle goes to a funeral” here too, but that’s not the vibe I was getting as I watched.

Instead, it was a different Patricia Heaton show that reverberated for me. While I can’t think of the direct correlation, I definitely felt Everybody Loves Raymond coursing through the veins of the entire funeral story. Maybe it was a little Barone family funeral and a little Ray doesn’t go to church all mixed into one, but I definitely felt like Heaton had been there before. And only something unique could have saved it from feeling truly stale.

Aunt Edie thinking it was her birthday (or did she lie about the funeral to get everyone there for her birthday? It wasn’t totally clear) didn’t do it.

Brick getting invited to a birthday party now, in the midst of everything else that was happening in this episode, was a wasted opportunity. I think it could have been a lot of fun to see him interacting with other kids — remember when he had that sleepover? Plus, while I was at first interested in the potential when he was sitting on Sue’s bed talking to her about the party, their partnership this episode went downhill fast for me. I’m just not a Sue fan, and I end up feeling like Brick gets the raw end of the deal on these pairings. Axl’s great with Mike, Mike and Frankie are great together, and Brick is great with Frankie … and Axl. Sue can just run around in the background being strange, but don’t drag anyone else down with her.

I thought it was funny, but far from surprising, that Mr. Ehlert took to Mike so easily. It makes total sense that he and Mike would have never met before, but I guess I have a hard time imagining that their little town is any bigger than the sphere of people we meet in their lives. In that case, you’d expect Mike and Mr. Ehlert to be old buddies by now. I did think, however, that Ehlert would start being extra-nice to Frankie in deference to his new friendship with Mike. Way to keep the man true to his character!

I really like how Mike and Frankie work together, and how well Neil Flynn plays this role. His coming to realize why the funeral meant so much to Frankie, why family means so much to her, was a really great portrayal of an old-fashioned guy who’s evolved appropriately with respect to the way he views his own wife and kids, and his role in his family. There’s a lot of authenticity there, and I think Flynn plays it great. If I saw him as great comic relief on Scrubs, now I can see how good of an actor he can be.

“I already do just as much as you do around here; I just don’t complain about it.” – Axl to Frankie, when she asks him to help out with her aunts

“Sue, I can’t go to this birthday party. It’ll be horrible. Tons of kids chasing each other … running. They eat sugar, and then they run more. For no reason!” – Brick to Sue, on birthday parties

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Apr 01, 2010 @ 13:30 EST5EDT