After a mainly successful start, Melissa & Joey trips up due to sloppy writing in the latest episode, “Boy Toys ‘R Us,” though maintains its comedy.
While playing hooky from a council meeting, Mel falls for Dylan, the bartender of a hot new club. When Dylan drives her home on his motorcycle, Joe is quick to disapprove, insisting that Mel deserves better. Mel tells him to mind his own business, but the two must work out their issues when Lennox starts dating a bad boy of her own. Meanwhile, Joe reorganizes Mel’s huge but messy closet.
Though the episode has promise, the execution isn’t as tightly written as it could have been. For instance, why does Mel not automatically accuse Joe of being jealous when he starts judging her date? True, his jealousy would be totally cliché, and the writers might not have wanted to broach the idea of Mel and Joe’s inevitable relationship just yet. But it would have been more realistic for Mel to go on the offensive and accuse him of being jealous just to get him off her back, instead of insisting that he was invading her personal space. It seems strange that the thought never entered her mind.
Joe’s judgment of Mel also bugged me throughout the episode. Who was he to criticize her choice in a date? She’s a grown woman who can go out with whoever she wants. True, Dylan really wasn’t up to her usual standards. But she didn’t want to marry the guy – she was just enjoying a meaningless fling.
And maybe this shouldn’t bother me either, but I can’t help but notice how little purpose Rhonda has in the show. Yes, I understand that there has only been four episodes. But it seems like she’s a useless character that could be easily written around. For instance, after she serves the purpose of getting Mel to the club, she disappears for the rest of the episode. She does have some very funny lines, so I hope the writers give her character more importance.
On the topic of characters, Ryder is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Though he hasn’t taken the spotlight yet, he has some great lines and jokes. An added bonus is Nick Robinson’s impressive comedic delivery – the way he says “zapatos” is hilarious. He really should get his own story line as soon as possible, though it seems the show is focusing on Lennox, the troublemaker.
However, since the past two episode were so good, I’m still looking forward to more Melissa & Joey. “The Perfect Storm,” guest starring Reba‘s Christopher Rich should be airing September 7th.
