A TV series that at the time of its first release was light years ahead, with a comedy that is as incorrect as it is irresistible. Far from each cliché of the kind of reference, Malcolm in The Middle she made herself loved for her peculiar originality and for the madness of the situations in which equally mad protagonists, laden with any flaw, found themselves floundering, far from any patination. Between the grotesque and a lot of genius, over the course of its nine seasons (which are living a second life on Disney Plus), Malcolm in fact, he has been able to give us moments of the highest entertainment by bringing to the stage totally new situations in the world of comedy. Warning, spoilers for the entire series follow!
How can we forget, for example, the hilarious dynamic whereby, at a certain point, Hal suddenly becomes the leader of a group of body builder who decides to rely completely on him? Who could ever forget the kidnapping of teachers and school staff by the classmates of the special class of Dewey? How can we forget the fight to the last blow between Hal and the monkey who was trying to kill Craig? Or again, Dewey’s speeches on religion, the “Blallo” by Reese, Stevie’s personal vendettas and the wonderful series finale?
Without further ado, here are Malcolm’s 5 most grotesque and ingenious moments in The Middle, available only on Disney Plus.
5) Lois and the car
With her punishments and blackmails always ready to snap, maybe when we were kids we didn’t want to have her as a mother, but we have to admit that, growing up, we couldn’t help but understand and pity this poor woman constantly on the verge of a nervous breakdown, but always capable of demonstrating great character. And in the scene in question, the mother of Malcolm it really shows a lot: after, outside a supermarket and behind the wheel, he sees that another woman has hit her car with the door without caring and apologizing, Lois completely loses her mind and angrily replies his gesture, damaging the car. What follows is a crescendo of impropriety and revenge by the two women who engage in a real fight to the death with their cars, between clashes and rear-end collisions, up to an amusing head-on. The result is really hilarious!
4) Hal likes Lois’ curves a little too much
Probably nowadays making such a scene would cause quite a few scandals. Lois is pregnant once again and in a fairly advanced stage of pregnancy the belly begins to show itself, however Lois, very worried about the considerable weight gain, excessive even compared to that assumed during a normal pregnancy, she decides to keep fit and on a dietin order to stay healthy and fit. Hal decides to support the woman, while continuing to reiterate that for him, she is always the most beautiful woman in the world, even with a few extra pounds. What the woman doesn’t know is that Hal, having discovered a lover of “fullness“of the wife, he does everything (obviously in secret) to make her gain weightfor example by including butter and sugar in all products dietby replacing the products light and adding extra calories to each of his meals. The stealth with which Hal schemes against his wife, before inevitably being discovered, and his constant mandrill expression made us laugh like never before!
Quite simply one of Malcolm’s most grotesque and absurd scenes in The Middle.
3) The Dewey Opera
Long forgotten and underrated, this scene represents one of the craziest and most original moments ever given birth in a comedy series. At the center of everything we find Dewey, a true musical genius who has never ceased to amaze us over the course of the series: who forgets the piano that he assembles with household items in his garage? In the throes of a creative block, the boy doesn’t know how to carry on his own project when, hearing an argument from his parentsis struck by a flash of inspiration and begins to compose a complex opera which sees Lois and Hal’s bickering at the center, who have to choose whether or not to buy a bigger mattress. The husband doesn’t agree, because he always wants to be very close to his wife, while Lois would like more space. So here, in a hilarious and wonderful musical number, we see Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek be dressed up like opera singers and beautifully sing the melody born from Dewey’s mind. The contrast between the high tone of the opera, with its costumes and scenery, and the themes touched by the song creates something unique and unrepeatable.
The final song foresees the reconciliation of the two, after the discovery that Lois wanted to leave only for reasons of meteorism of which, however, Hal was already fully aware, demonstrating that miserable farts could never scratch the idealized image he has of her: seeing the two decked out in robes while Hal softly sings about his wife’s not-so-classy habits is just perfect
2) Lois convinces Abe and his friends to let Ida escape
If one thing is certain in Malcolm in The Middle is that Ida, the evil and racist grandmother of the boys and mother of Lois, is truly one of the most unpleasant, but also funny in his own way, characters in the series. When the family gets so hot after she moves into their home, Lois hatches a plan to send her away. So we see that Abe (Stevie’s father) and his friends, some African Americans who Ida, an unrepentant and obnoxious racist sees them as threats. Abe and the others to take revenge on such a woman therefore agree to impersonate any kind of stereotype and unfounded prejudice a racist old woman may have towards them. The result is really funny: seeing Ida leave the tents like this has always made us laugh so much!
1) The dance between Dewey and the elderly babysitter
But let’s talk now about one of the most iconic moments of Malcolm in The Middle. We are in the first season: Dewey, the smallest and cutest of the family is left at home while the remaining Wilkersons go to have fun at the water park. To supervise him, a babysitter mind him, Mrs. White. After an initial phase of mutual distrust and boredom, Dewey and the old woman begin to get along very well and bond. It all culminates in one fantastic and very funny dance in which two dance at first very theatrically, until they go wild with a smile on their eyes to the notes of Fernando of ABBA regardless of the mess caused. The strange alchemy between the boy and the old woman and the great talent of Erik Per Sullivan make everything magical! However, what makes the scene so amusing is the montage which, after a sharp cut, shows us an ambulance moving away from the Wilkerson house, which has come to rescue the woman after a sudden heart attack, while Dewey very tenderly waves his hand.
