Mel asks Joe to be her translator for a business deal in “Lost in Translation,” and Lennox is paired with a girl she hates for a class project. While there are a few laughs throughout the episode, neither storylines are particularly interesting.
When Mel tries to make a business deal in order to bring more jobs to Toledo, she first asks Joe to teach her a few Japanese phrases in order to impress the elderly CEO. But when the CEO sends his son, Toshi (Yuki Matsuzaki), who speaks about
three words of English, Mel needs Joe to translate conversation during their dinner. But the son sees Mel as a potential lover more than a coworker, and hits on her. Upset Joe tries to protect Mel’s feelings by taking some “creative license” when translating, assuring Mel that everything’s fine, and telling the insistent businessman that Mel has diarrhea. Mel realizes what a scumbag Toshi is, and that Joe wasn’t jealous, he was just looking out for her.
Meanwhile, Lennox has to do a history project with her former best friend, Kelsey Moncreif (Elizabeth McLaughlin), who she now hates because Kelsey made out with a boy Lennox was crushing on. But when the boy breaks up with Kelsey via
text message while the two are working on their project, Lennox feels awful for her friend, so the two make up.
It’s a cute episode, but I do get bored since the plot drags after initial set up. There aren’t too many laugh-out-loud moments, and I never actually care too much whether Mel seals the deal or not. Mel’s “I can drink you under the table” line, shown in the commercials, is one of the funniest. Another good one is when she’s waiting for the CEO at the restaurant: “If he’s not here in five minutes, I’m Googling him to see if he died.” My favorite part of the Lennox and Kelsey storyline is actually when
poor, hilarious Ryder gets caught in the middle. They’re really underusing his character again, so I hope like in the first half of the season, he eventually gets some storylines of his own. Right now he’s like the cliché sitcom kid who’s only there for laughs.
Another criticism I have is that in all three episode since the show’s return, the main storylines have important guest characters. The show is called Melissa & Joey, not Melissa, Joey, and Whatever Character We Introduce This Episode. While I don’t expect the characters to live in a bubble, I’d like to see more interaction/conflict among the family. Joe is supposed to be the “manny,” but since the show’s return he hasn’t done much “manny-ing” at all.
Though “Lost in Translation” isn’t bad, it shows that Melissa & Joey still has tons of room for improvement. “Joe Versus the Reunion” airs next week.
