Hot in Cleveland: Not Good Enough

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

It's rough to not be "good enough" for something. Whether it's the first time you didn't make a sports team, or when your significant other calls it quits, or you don't get your dream job after doing two rounds of interviews, being "not good enough" is a fact of life. In this episode of Hot in Cleveland, we see a lot of this. Melanie doesn't think that Emmy is good enough for her son. Victoria doesn't think that Will is good enough for her daughter. Emmy realizes that Will isn't good enough for her. Joy doesn't think that she's good enough to date a young guy, so she spends a week lying to him, only to lose him in the end anyway. I think that Will was probably hurting more than was shown, since he seemed to be truly happy with Emmy as a wife... until they talked about how things would be beyond the next year. And, while Victoria's worries were selfish and elitist, Melanie was deeply concerned for her son's happiness. When it comes down to it, it's true - you may not be good enough for something, no matter what you do. But, you're good enough for something else... you just have to find it. (and, yeah, feel free to substitute "someone" for "something" should that be your mindset.)

Hot in Cleveland "Love is Blind" (S03E09): Victoria announces that her daughter is coming to Cleveland with her fiance, who she assumes is A-Rod, from the Yankees. Well, when Emmy arrives, her fiance is none other than Will, Melanie's son. Both moms are a bit thrown - Victoria upset that her daughter has fallen for a non-famous person, Melanie bothered by the fact that Emmy isn't too nice to Will.

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[oh my goodness! If it weren't for the promos, I would've been completely caught off-guard as well!] So, the ladies decide to meddle/mother the couple apart. When talking to their own children doesn't work, they switch. [sure. why not? I wouldn't think my soon-to-be mother-in-law hated me.... uh huh....] Melanie points out that Emmy has been engaged a bunch of times (likely 12, given the numbers that it's divisible by 2, 3, AND 4...), but she claims that it's different this time. Victoria lies to Will, telling him that Emmy will lose the brilliance of her breasts when she turns 30. [quick laugh at, "you know, Google doesn't know everything."] Emmy mentions that she can make Will visit Melanie more, and she likes the sound of that. Plus, Will compliments Victoria, which wins her over. So, the women decide to embrace the idea of becoming family... right up until it's time to talk about the wedding, grandchildren, and the future. Mere minutes later, Emmy calls it off. [meh. worth watching again, but not annually. also, the joke about having a "bald, crying, bundle of Joy" was weak.]

Oh. Joy. Yeah, so let's get some background on why she's bald and crying... Joy hits on a young guy (age 22), and when she learns that he's blind, pretends to be 26. They go out a few times, and she's enjoying not having to "do herself up" to date him, though she does try out some humorous Harry Potter references and some youthful slang. [I thought that this was going quite well. And rather akin to the old man she was dating a few episodes back.] Unfortunately, things change when he plans to take part in an experimental procedure to restore his sight... immediately! Joy panics, trying to figure out how to look like she's 26 years old. [I had to pause so I could stop laughing at the idea that "the government should be paying them not to work just so they can have sex with all of the women."] Victoria suggests a place that uses acid to re-do faces, and she goes. [girl is clearly crazy.] Well, her face remains unchanged, but her hair is falling out in clumps! Wait, wait, it gets worse... When the young guy (able to see) comes to the house, he mistakes Emmy for Joy, so she throws on the accent and goes for it. [!! shock!! but then again, not really.] Joy comes in, sees what's going on, and plays the role of "Joy's mother." [this I don't understand... isn't it a bit of a stretch for Joy's character to go along with this?]

Where was Elka all this time? Well, talking to A-Rod. She got from Emmy and begins messing with him, only to have her plan backfire when he starts bothering her and won't shut up. [haha] Late in the show, when A-Rod calls the house, Joy answers... saddened by how her "relationship" ended, she starts talking to him. [please hope this is not ongoing...]