Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair Review

I’ve never actually seen an episode of Malcolm in the Middle. I think I was just right at the perfect age to not care about the series when it initially premiered in 2000. And while I was aware of it – the basic premise, the fact that Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek were unhinged comedic powerhouses in it – I just never gave it a look. Which, in turn, means that this review of the four-episode revival of the series is essentially me, watching these characters without having much clue about the Easter Eggs I’m missing, the relationships between characters other than those clearly outlined within the story being told, and any history that isn’t expressly laid out for the audience. The good news? The show does a good amount of expositional heavy lifting early on in the series to make the story easy to follow. The bad? Well, the show is a lot.

Our basic premise for this revival is that Malcolm (Frankie Muniz) realized in college that his family brings out the worst in him – from igniting his competitive nature, to pushing his buttons, to driving him nuts – so the only way for him to be a “normal” person is to carefully excise his family from his day-to-day life. So, while he sends cards and presents on holidays and birthdays, he always has a convenient excuse that absolves him from having to appear in person at family events. Plus, he made sure to relocate to a town that is far too frustrating to visit regularly, sealing off his current world from his past. That means that his parents haven’t met his long-term girlfriend, Tristan, and they don’t even know that he has a precocious tween daughter (the explanation for her existence isn’t as funny as the show thinks it is) – who also doesn’t know her grandparents are alive. Seems like the perfect set-up to be upended by a surprise appearance by Hal (Cranston) and Lois (Kaczmarek), no?

It turns out that it’s Hal and Lois’s 40^th anniversary and the pair are throwing a big party – and they want their middle son to be there. Of course, Malcolm wants nothing to do with it all, instead dragging his feet on an RSVP until his hand is forced, destroying his carefully constructed life. And that arc works reasonably well – Malcolm needs to learn that while his family certainly are a mess, he’s not exactly a picnic when he’s in his new zen state either. Muniz is still a capable actor, and he can be charming when called to. The chemistry between him and Kaczmarek – the central relationship for Malcolm is clearly the one with his mother rather than father (Hal has his own son issues to work out with Reese (Justin Berfield)) – is great and you can understand why this series was so popular for so long. And Cranston is, wisely, given plenty of room to cook with slapstick comedy bits galore. While Hal’s journey throughout the series is, well, weird, Cranston sells every moment, making it easy to see why so many people gravitate toward Hal despite all his clear flaws. And it’s easy to understand why Hal’s kids are fighting over his time and focus.

What doesn’t work as well is all of the stuff with those other kids. Reese’s schtick – which I suspect worked well when he was a teenager – feels really stale when he’s in his 30s. Two of the kids – Dewey (Caleb Ellsworth-Clark in the revival) and Jamie (Anthony Timpano) barely appear – and the youngest, Kelly (Vaughan Murrae), is given a lot to do but it takes a lot of runway to introduce us to a character that wasn’t even a part of the show the first time around but is now a teenager that is sucks up a lot of the oxygen of the series. As for Francis (Christopher Masterson), well, he’s apparently mellowed out a ton and is navigating life as a married man still living at home. It’s fine, but not all that compelling of a story – especially if you don’t have a lot of context for the series and are jumping in cold like me.

But if you are a fan of the original series, I suspect you’ll enjoy what’s on offer here. From my understanding of the original, this series hits a lot of the same beats and asks a lot of the same things from the cast. The characters are certainly older – I’m not sure I buy that this is only the 40^th anniversary for Hal and Lois – and marginally wiser, but there are still some ridiculous moments, some fun cameos from characters, and fun to be had overall. I will say, the show proves just how great both Cranston and Kaczmarek are – the pair have not lost an ounce of chemistry and are able to transition from high- to low-brow comedy at the drop of a hat. Just absolute pros. And, unlike other revivals we’ve seen recently, this seems to be a smartly self-contained quick hit miniseries. Get in and get out. It’s not a home run, but it’s a solid double.

Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair premieres on April 10 on Hulu/Disney+. All four episodes were provided for review.