“Reese Cooks”
I'm mad at the producers of Malcolm in the Middle. Don't get me wrong, they're still putting out a terrific show. I'm mad because they have apparently been using their satellites to spy on me so they could use my life to write Francis's storyline for this week's episode. Allow me to explain.
This week finds Francis working on a school project with one of his friends. While the friend has been done for weeks, Francis isn't even close to starting yet. Furthermore, every time Francis finds himself alone with the opportunity to work, he finds the stupidest things to distract him. Hello! This is obviously modeled off of me.
Back at home, Hal and Lois are at their wit's end with Reese. No matter what punishment they throw at him, nothing seems to faze him. Hal gets the idea to try something new and enrolls with Reese in a cooking class. Reese is initially hesitant, but as soon as he sees the butcher knives he gets excited. As it turns out, Reese is a natural at cooking. Soon he's cooking dinners at home and even involving Dewey as his assistant. Trouble strikes when Reese's class organizes a cooking competition. Reese's quiche is excellent, but pandemonium soon breaks out in the class and several people are rushed to the hospital. Reese would have easily won anyway, but he sabotaged everyone else because... well, he's a bad kid. As punishment, Hal and Lois forbid him to cook at all for a month. Reese is genuinely upset, and Hal and Lois realize they finally have a weapon to use against him.
Meanwhile in Malcolm-land, Cynthia, the cute girl Malcolm had a crush on (and who was introduced in an excellent episode that I didn't review because I'm a huge procrastinator, as explained above), is throwing a party and inviting everyone. I mean EVERYONE. This strikes Malcolm as a little desperate, and it doesn't help that the invitations feature little pictures of Cynthia's head with "Be my friend" in huge letters at
the top. All the other Krelboynes are excited, however, and they're already picking out which matching turtle-necks to wear to the party. Cynthia leaves stacks of invitations in the arcade and the library, and goes around personally handing them out to everyone at recess.
Malcolm is convinced no one will come to the party, but Cynthia won't believe him. So, Malcolm is forced to drag Cynthia to the boy's room to show her the Krelboyne hall of fame, a graffitied wall of which not a few mean-spirited things are said about Cynthia. Cynthia leaves crying, and decides to cancel the party. Malcolm shows up at her house the next day to apologize, but as he does, a bunch of kids (who found the invitations in the library) show up for the party. Turns out Cynthia didn't hand out her
disinvitations because Malcolm convinced her no one was going to show up. The party ends up being a rollicking good time, with the Krelboynes surrounded by enrapt girls and Cynthia being a very popular host. Even Francis and his project-partner show up in the name of procrastinating and hitting on hot girls. In fact, everyone is having a good time except Malcolm, who ends up standing by himself in a corner complaining about the
music. Like I said, the producers have been spying on my life.
