The Middle: Rusty Gets Married

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Well, the 2011-2012 television season is pretty much over. While we still have FOX's The Simpsons airing a finale this Sunday, but Wednesday night pretty much finished off things until September. No worries, we cover plenty of "off-season" shows here at TheTalkingBox, but we're bidding farewell to the big-name shows for a few months. Stay tuned, though, as we're going to start unveiling the Fall lineups and our picks!

Now, about "The Wedding" ....I'm going to start off by saying that, even though it was a family occasion, I would have let Brick go to that party. Brick isn't a social kid, never wants to leave the house, and truly wanted to be at that end-of-the-year soiree. His uncle is a random guy and wouldn't miss Brick being there anyway, plus Brick had already RSVP'd. Axl and his friends starting their own company was fun (especially the name!), though I did want to see them succeed in the end. I thought that Frankie's snippy attitude with Sue (and Brad) was a bit much, but I can leave that alone - I'm just happy that Sue managed to stand up for herself and make sure they had a better cake to bring to the actual wedding!

The Middle "The Wedding" (S03E24): Frankie wants Axl to get a summer job, so he and his friends decide to start their own business. [not a bad idea but probably won't get them as far.] They go door-to-door to offer whatever services are needed - an elderly guy offers them $100 to remove a stump, but they quickly break a few shovels, a few axes, and spend quite a bit of time and effort trying to burn it out or pull it out with chains and a car. [wonder how out-of-commission Axl's car will be after that!]  

Brick actually wants to go to a party (where there will be a bookmobile, among other things), but it's the same day as Rusty's wedding, so Mike won't let him go. Brick decides to stop speaking to his parents, but stumbles over what his "final word" should be." [pusillanimous was a funny choice.]

Now, about that wedding... when Frankie and Mike read the invitation, they learn that it's a week away and set to be held at their house! [unbelievable!] Frankie freaks out and wants Mike to talk to Rusty about it. [Rusty's real name, by the way, is apparently Orville.] Mike tries, but he's made the Best Man and caves. Frankie begins cleaning the house and preparing to cook, delegating whatever she can to Brick, Sue, and Brad. [but, ironically, not Axl and his friends, who are currently in business to do random jobs...] Frankie meets the bride-to-be, who has been married three times before and has two teenagers. Rusty seems to think that being a father is easy, which bothers Mike. [well, yeah.] They don't have time to re-wallpaper the living room, but Frankie had the kids start peeling off the current paper so it looks disastrous. Then, when Sue and Brad go to pick up the cake, they've given the wrong one! Luckily, they figure something out, but Sue still gets in trouble for forgetting to pick up a light bulb. [that sucks. I hope that Sue was able to later explain it all and get credit.] In the end, Mike gives a nice speech about your family making your life.

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