The Middle: The Lanai

Well, just when spring and the nice weather finally arrives, there is a catch. In Frankie's (Patricia Heaton's) case, the new neighbors, the Petersons. They have three young, loud children and she's pregnant again. They ruin Frankie's good time. She tries, in vain, to get them to stay inside. She says that medical experts have changed their minds on TV, that it is actually a good thing and that ticks will be absolutely horrible this summer. Unfortunately, her next move isn't great. She gives them a flyer about a day camp and how they take the kids out into the county for some fresh air. Mrs. Peterson (Emily Rutherford) merely smiles and mentions the ticks. The look on Frankie's face is priceless. In end, Mrs. Peterson just says that the kids are just kids and are thrilled to have a backyard after moving from an apartment. Frankie decides to let the whole thing go. And now, when the kids fight over a cookie, she tosses some over the high hedge because she's not going to be the mean, old lady next door.
In the meantime, Brick (Atticus Shaffer) questions Mike (Neil Flynn) on why his co-workers helped him build the lanai, or patio, but Frankie just wants to sound fancier. Mike tries to convince Brick that it is because of their friendship though Brick firmly believes it is because Mike is the boss. The examples Brick gives support his cause much better than anything Mike could ever say. The last time the guys came over to hang out with Mike was to fix the hole in Sue's room and Mike did go to that basketball game with Jim (Troy Metcalf) but they were Jim's tickets. It ends sadly for Mike, at the end, he invites them over for a barbecue at some point in the future while the guys seem skeptical. He just wants the guys to hang out because he doesn't have many friends but the others, when they realize they aren't needed, opt to hang out at a bar instead, leaving Mike all alone, with the realization that his son is correct.
Though the show already has two big plot lines, Axl (Charlie McDermott) and Sue (Eden Sher) also have stuff to do, leaving the show feeling overstuffed, something that Modern Family does all the time, having too many plot lines and too many guest stars. Axl and Hutch (Alphonso McAuley) discover how wonderful Kenny's (Tommy Bechtold's) grilled cheese sandwiches are amazing and decide to form their own business out of their mobile home. This becomes an extremely popular business, and it makes Axl and Hutch a lot of money while it takes the passion out of the art of grilled cheese for Kenny and eventually he walks away, leaving Hutch and Axl floundering.
The business survives but greed gets the better of them. While they are busy counting their spoils, the camper's stove catches on fire, burning a rather large hole in the ceiling, though ever the optimist, they embrace it and it even gives them a new business idea: a convertible camper.
Sue, on the other hand, is mean for a change. She and Lexie (Daniela Bobadilla) pick a great number in the housing lottery. I remember those days. I got a horrible number my first year and had a room in the gross, older dorm for a whole year. But my roommate cancelled so I got a big room to myself.
Okay, back to Sue. She and Lexie decide that they want the flood room, which just got completely re-done as this one girl flooded the sink so everything had to be replaced. However, when they go there, the current residents don't want to leave as the one girl suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome. She plays the pity card well, and Sue and Lexie give in, saying that they will switch numbers. Then, they see the sick girl playing sports and completely call her out and make fun of her illness. Turns out, the girl had a twin, a healthy twin. Needless to say, the room they will be in next season is utterly horrible and wouldn't pass any sort of code. No student should be allowed to stay in it.
Okay, though each plot line was pretty good, they didn't connect well and each probably needed a little more time to be fleshed out more. Still, each actor was good and the guest stars were pretty good, which is always a relief. And it was funny, as these shows almost always are. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Mrs. Peterson tells Frankie that she is a twin and seeing as she's currently pregnant, her fingers are crossed. Frankie asks which way and Mrs. Peterson only responds with an odd look. I don't know which way Mrs. Peterson wanted it to go.
-Upon running out of grilled cheese, Axl makes a peanut butter and jelly sandwich out of mold covered marmalade and peanut dust. Still, people liked it.
-Sue doesn't know what a penthouse is. Yikes.
-Frankie tries to enjoy her lanai at five in the morning. That doesn't go well.
-Axl is skipping a class just to watch girls in their short shorts. Actually, he's skipping a test. That is certainly a horrible decision.
-I wonder what Sue's new boyfriend would say about the housing lottery.
-Sue and Lexie freak out over having six outlets in their potential new room for next year.

The Jungle Book (2016)

While this film was a visual masterpiece, I found it oddly uninteresting.
The plot is compelling enough, with young Mowgli (Neel Sethi) forced to leave his beloved wolf pack as his life is in serious danger. The tiger, Shere Khan (voiced by Idris Elba) wants him dead, not forgetting that he killed his father and nearly died himself at the hands of the red flower (aka fire). Mowgli does leave, led away by the panther, Bagheera (Ben Kingsley), who first brought him to the wolf pack in the first place. This nearly goes awry as Bagheera is injured by Shere Khan himself. Mowgli escapes, by riding on the back of some water buffalo and then nearly dies at the hands of a giant soothsaying cobra, Kaa (Scarlett Johannson). Fortunately, he is rescued at the last minute by a needy, out of shape bear, Baloo (Bill Murray) whose mission, at first, is to use little Mowgli for his skills with making tools to obtain some honeycomb, high above his head.
Despite the inauspicious beginning, the two eventually form a great friendship. Also fortunately, Bagheera recovers from his injuries and finds Mowgli and tries to urge him to go to the man village though Baloo feels that they will ruin him as Mowgli has a way with all the animals.
Though the two do not always get along, they do join forces to help Mowgli escape from the monkey palace, led by the cruel and cocky King Louie (Christopher Walken) who wants Mowgli to be one of his. King Louie will offer protection from Shere Khan as long as Mowgli can get him the red flower. Mowgli doesn't want this and does manage to escape as Baloo distracts the many monkeys from him.
However, Mowgli does nearly go to the man village even after rescuing a baby elephant, even the elephants, kings of the jungle respect him.
He does return to the wolves though Shere Khan wants him gone, but once again, Mowgli outsmarts him and the red flower he inadvertently started, though it is a close call. He survives and Shere Khan at the hands of the fire. Then, in a move which seems too ordained, the dam breaks, water flows everywhere, stopping the fire and saving the forest.
The film ends happily (which are my favorite kind), with Bagheera, Mowgli and even Baloo on a tree together, just enjoying life.
However, the film just didn't do much for me. Perhaps I enjoy greater character depth and real life situations, but the plot just fell flat. Nevertheless, the CGI is nothing short of spectacular as the animals are all realistic and the wolf cubs are especially adorable and the film looks like it truly takes place in the jungle while it is all filmed on a sound stage in Hollywood in front of green screens. The voice acting is also rather good. Grade: B+

The Middle: Survey Says...

Well, Sue (Eden Sher) has a boyfriend and I'm not too thrilled with her pick in men this time around. Of course, Sue is bound to have a ton of boyfriends as all sitcom children do, but this is not one of the ones I can root for. His name is Jeremy (Will Green). He saved a tree that he was chained to and only spent one night in prison because of his actions. Frankie (Patricia Heaton) also appears thrilled and ecstatic about the whole thing. She just wanted and longed for girl time. Instead, she gets Jeremy who doesn't tell her where he's from, refuses to eat any of the food because it isn't raw and says that his father is a corporate pig.
This leads us to a great scene between Frankie and Sue. Frankie says that she isn't happy with Sue's choice in men and how it is great to care about changing the world while she's young but eventually she won't care anymore and that she shouldn't latch on to the opinions of the men she's currently dating. Sue should have her own. And she should. Instead, she hates the world, doesn't want to see a movie because there are too many white people in it (ironically, just as this show) and believes that the arctic foxes need saving, which they do but that shouldn't be your top priority just because your list is alphabetical.
Mike (Neil Flynn) is having his own special breakdown, devastated that Axl (Charlie McDermott) doesn't want to play football his senior year. Now, though football is what is paying for his college, he barely gets any playing time and has finally accepted his fate of never going pro. And he's accepted that. He's also looking into other options as he does know that college isn't free. He wants to focus on his classes and maybe even get an internship. He has finally almost grown up, though not in the way Mike wanted him to.
Each parent is disappointed in their child, forgetting all about Brick (Atticus Shaffer). Brick, once again, has left his school project go until the last minute, which is nothing new. Frankie refuses to go out and buy him the necessary graph paper so she orders it online and Brick is asked to take a survey on how satisfied with the product and he over thinks the whole thing. And then, he goes to actually use the product and is upset over the poor quality and retakes the survey over and over again before finally calling to resign his position because he can't give an honest review. The thing is set to repeat because then he gets an email to rate his phone call experience with Carol. Yikes.
Fortunately, this was a good episode. Each parent longs for the days when their kids were younger but they know that that part of their life is almost over. (Don't forget about Brick, you guys.) Axl realizes that he still needs to play football just to afford college as he doesn't want to be in debt for the next ten or so years. Sue also ends up crying because she does care, but sometimes she gets confused over how she should care. Frankie urges her that she will always care the right amount and they hug. Fight over. The parents realize that their kids have grown up and they just have to accept it. They need to trust that they have done their job properly, but because they are the Hecks I can see why they worry. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Frankie and Mike drink too much as the beers are only a dime so they crash at Axl's place.
-Nancy Donohue (Jen Ray) tells Brick that he's spending the night at her place and that his parents' intoxication should be a cautionary tale for him.
-But they refuse the eggs and salami for breakfast but least wake up at there house. They are advantages to living in a car.
-There is an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean filled with plastic recycling. While Frankie thinks it would be cool as you wouldn't have to wash anything, Sue firmly points out that it is no laughing matter.
-Doris is still alive. She eats a piece of Brick's graph paper.
-There is no food in the Heck house. There is half an envelope of onion soup mix, bread knots and the half a candy bar stuffed in Frankie's church shoes.
-Jeremy believes that it is cruel to take milk from a cow while Frankie believes that it is crueler to leave the milk in cow and she knows what she is talking about. Apparently, she did breast feed her children. I guess it was cheaper for them. She is also still drunk so she laughs at the word breast.
-Sue wonders about sonar, which is bad for whales but good for borders, both are things that she likes.
-Brick asks Mike if he's extremely satisfied (about the paper) and Mike replies that he's asking the wrong person (in life).
-Axl knows that his life will soon be filled with nothing but disappointment and Mike knows that he has taught him well.
-Sue realizes that she will also end up just like her mother and she's okay with that.
-Sue is surprised that godmothers actually exist and take you to islands.
-Axl is out of underwear, even though he wore then each twice.
-Frankie urges Brick to marry Cindy, lock that down while he can.
-Oh, and Jeremy's actually from Iowa. In case anyone cares.

Hello, My Name is Doris

Poor Doris Miller (Sally Field). Her mother has just died and her brother, Todd (Steven Root) and his pushy, unsympathetic wife, Cindy (Wendi McClendon-Covey) want her to move out so they can get half the money from the sale.
Then, she gets a huge crush on the new guy at work, John Fremont (Max Greenfield). He is much younger than her and has completely different interests. With the help of her friend's granddaughter, Vivian (Isabella Acres), Doris creates a fake facebook so Doris can find out his interests and they form a mutual relationship over an electronic band. With her quirky looks, she even gets to model for the new album cover. She thinks that things are going well, though he doesn't want to spend much time with her. And then, she discovers that he has a girlfriend, Brooklyn (Beth Behrs) who also starts to like Doris, they both knit. Doris ruins that relationship, only to discover that John doesn't like her that way.
Though the film is mostly about her fantasy relationship with John, Doris is really a rather complex woman. She gave up so much so her brother could pursue his dreams. She stayed at home to take care of their mother, whose death starts the film. Doris is a hoarder and is far more attached to possessions than to any one person. But she does have friends, namely Roz (a great Tyne Daly), who hangs on to the memories of her long dead husband. Eventually, even her much younger co-workers start to like her, though they merely want her stuff when she leaves her job.
Doris does realize that her lifestyle is toxic to herself and it is. She cleans out her house and quits her job, something she's been hanging on to for far too long. She does apologize to John for ruining things and then leaves, though she has one more fantasy about John wanting her before leaving.
Sure, I would liked to have seen Doris apologize to Brooklyn and maybe that relationship could heal and I would have liked more scenes between Doris and Todd. At least she has her friends, that is more than some.
Thank goodness for Sally Field, her strong performance as a fully fleshed character carries the film. She is odd with her vintage clothes and too big fake hair piece with her headbands and two sets of glasses which she sometimes wears at the same time. Though everyone else is good, her facial expressions are almost worth watching alone as her face is like a book. If her performance had faltered ever, the film would have suffered, but it did not. Grade: B+

The Middle: Crushed

Well, it is always awkward when Sue (Eden Sher) has a crush on someone. I'll get to that later.
In the meantime, Frankie (Patricia Heaton) laments that she hasn't spent any time with any of the parents of Brick's classmates. She was friends with the people in Axl's grade (back when she cared) but that is not the case for Brick. Mike (Neil Flynn) could care less but Frankie makes a real effort only for her to be shut down. And then Brick (Atticus Shaffer) suggests that they get together with Cindy's (Casey Burke's) parents. Which they do, reluctantly. It is the most awkward dinner ever. First of all, her parents are the worst at conversations and then they have the nerve to ask the Hecks for seven hundred dollars to pay their rent. They clearly don't know the Hecks at all. The Hecks have no money for themselves. To be polite, they say they will think about it, which in this case means no, a big fat no. Poor Brick, he can be naive sometimes too. He believes that this means his parents will actually help her family. He, then, goes on a good rant on how Axl (Charlie McDermott) got to play all these sports and Sue had to have braces while Brick has never asked for anything but he's asking for this. The Hecks just can't do it. Though Cindy doesn't want to move in with Grandma, that's just what they have to do. Her family drives away, giving the Hecks the stink eye and move very far away, just two doors down. Brick doesn't have to lose his beloved, for now.
Sue's mild infatuation with her professor (Josh Cooke) has turned in to a full blow crush, but it helps her do really well with that class, some sort of European history, discussing Stalin and what a gem he was. She wears very nice clothes to class, smiles with her big teeth and asks tons of questions, at least they are good questions and bring up good discussions points. Despite the professor's fears, he still invites his classes over to his place for an informal discussion on Stalin. Of course, Sue is the last one to leave and doesn't even realize it. And then Professor Grant, or Nick as this is an informal setting, says that he feels that she does have a crush on him and Sue hightails it out of there. Of course, he's correct.
She wants to drop the class, though Lexie (Daniela Bobadilla) brings up a good point. There's only about a month left in the semester so it is far too late to drop the class. But she does skip it for a couple of days, that can't be good. And then she blows up at the guy shackled to the tree. He is doing that to make a point, what point exactly I don't know, because I don't feel the tree is in danger of being chopped down. Professor Grant is glad that he has made his point but feels that tree guy is falling behind in his classes but could catch up. He is trying to set Sue up with the tree guy, who does have a real name, Jeremy (Will Green). And by the end of the episode, Sue puts her lipstick back on, but for a freshly showered Jeremy's benefit, not Professor Grant's. She has moved on, thank goodness.
Now, I had issues with this episode, mainly because it is just plain awkward when Sue has a crush on someone. She is awkward around them and does stupid stuff, like sneaking into someone's closet and imagining what it would be like with her stuff in there. It was too painful to watch at times. And what professor has the time to set up two of his students? But whatever, I just want Sue to be happy.
As for the other main plot line, Brick does finally come to understand that seven hundred dollars is a big ask, but he also comes to understand, albeit reluctantly, that Axl does have a point. There are plenty of other girls out there and he will recover from Cindy's move. Their simple conversation is probably the best scene in the episode. All-in-all, this wasn't a great episode. Grade: B-
Side Notes:
-Axl has to nap in Sue's dorm room and she fears that Lexie will instantly develop a crush on him just by looking in his eyes and in order to avoid that, she urges Lexie to study in the library.
-Axl isn't interested in dating Lexie, though he wouldn't say no if she was interested in him.
-Sue confesses to Lexie that she does indeed have a crush on Professor Grant and it gets worse when Axl pops out from underneath her pillows, though he doesn't rub it in her face or hold it over her head in any way. A true rarity for him.
-But why was he under her pillows in the first place?
-Cindy's father finishes Mike's sentences while her mom doesn't get what Frankie means when Frankie mentions how horrible the road construction was.
-Cindy calls the Hecks cheap and clearly blames them for having to move in with Grandma, something she doesn't want to do.
-Sue also foolishly goes into Professor Grant's bathroom and pours his cologne on a cotton ball so she can smell him when he's not around.
-Professor Grant is also fancy. He just throws away plastic plates while the Hecks wash them off and use them again.
-Also, the Hecks risk their lives every time they decide they want toast.
-Axl does mention that he misses Cassidy but then he did move on. However, I still feel that he carries a torch for her.
-All Mike wants to do is watch TV on the big TV. That's not a big ask.