DVD Reviews

The Middle: The Complete First Season – DVD Review

By Dana Rae Sep 1, 2010, 15:20 GMT

Patricia Heaton stars as Frankie Heck in this warm and witty single-camera comedy about raising a family and lowering your expectations. Frankie Heck is a superhero. Well, no, not an actual superhero - but sometimes it seems to Frankie as though getting her kids out the door for school every morning is a superheroic act. Middle aged, middle class and living in the middle of the country, this harried wife ...more

From ABC comes a wonderfully refreshing comedy about family life, and now you can catch season one on DVD. The name says it all: The Middle. Basically, stuck. Stuck in mid-America (Orson, Indiana), middle-classed (not much money), middle-aged. 

Frankie Heck (Patricia Heaton) has the American dream, or maybe not. Three kids, a house. A supportive husband, Mike (played by Neil Flynn). She works as a car salesperson for an out-of-touch chauvinist boss, Mr. Elhert (played by Brian Doyle-Murray).

Her three kids are very unique and bring a lot of characterization to the show. Brick (Atticus Shaffer) is the youngest and probably the smartest in a weird sort of way. He is very eccentric but still very cute. The library episode where Frankie manages to check Brick out the book he wants (their library fine was too high) so that he can go swimming (Brick only gets into the pool to read his book on a floatie) gave new meaning to the idea of booksmart and the things parents will do for their kids. The book ends up at the bottom of the pool, and that is mostly Sue’s fault. 

Sue (Eden Sher) is the middle child, and her claim to fame is that no one remembers her. Not one of her teachers can recall who she is, and anything that she tries out for she fails at miserably. But she has an unflagging optimism that propels her forward. Through out the season, she tries to make the swim team, Glee club, track … poor Sue. Sher’s portrayal of such an awkward age, enhanced by Heaton’s narration and those braces, is genius. When Sue gets a boyfriend and she doesn’t realize he is gay…pure comedic genius.  I don’t think I have ever laughed so hard.

The oldest child is Axel (Charlie McDermott) and he is in high school. Most of his scenes are in his underwear (for some reason the character is opposed to a shirt and pants, much to his parents’ dismay). He tries hard to be cool, is not too smart (as we find out in the episode where his test scores gets switched with a smarter student), but he does have a sensitive side that shows up from time to time. 

Each of the family members adds something unique to the show and they work well as an ensemble cast. But the use of a single camera to film and Heaton’s narration give it that extra stylized feel.  The set of the house is another great bonus.

You actually feel you are watching a middle-class home. I love how it is messy and lived-in. That is how a real family lives. 

Perhaps the genius of the show lies in its ability to connect to middle-class Americans. The family comedy is dead-on. How many of us parents out there have gleefully got that credit card that said ‘No interest until ______’? Or told other family members don’t put anything wet into the dryer? Or sat huddled together while the tornado/storm passed overhead? Or bought out-of-date chicken because it was on sale?

Ok, maybe I wouldn’t go that far and risk salmonella, but you get my point. It’s survival of the fittest but its best when we can all survive together, and that is what family is all about. 

Things might get crazy but at the end of the day (and the episode), you know things will work out, because that’s how families are. Even Frankie’s friend-at-work, her co-worker Bob (played by Chris Kattan), joins the melee for a hilarious Thanksgiving episode that will almost make you appreciate your own family time-honored traditions. Or cringe at them.

I watched most of the episodes on TV, and I was more than happy to review them on DVD. I truly love this show. Its sitcom comedy at its best, not trite, but arrestingly funny and the format shines. Everything from the acting to the directing to the set work well to make this show highly recommended.

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