Tuesday's Streaming TV Show..."Melissa and Joey"

Melissa & Joey (2010)
TV-14

Starring: Melissa Joan Hart, Joseph Lawrence

Airs on ABC Family

The Story:

Melissa Burke (Hart) is a successful city council member who winds up as the legal guardian of her teenage niece and nephew when their parents wind up in jail and on the lam for embezzlement.  She's barely able to keep head above water with the two new kids in tow, and decides to hire a nanny.  Before she gets the chance, Joe (Lawrence) a disgruntled former co-worker of her brother in law comes looking for the money he is owed and offers to be the nanny as he is desperate for a job.  When he actually does a good job, Mel decides to keep him on for the time being.

Say, this sounds like Who's the Boss?

:)

That's okay, I liked that show back in the day.

So where was I?

Oh yes, so previously reviewed was My Fake Fiance ( My Fake Review! ), which starred both of our leads and aired on ABC Family.  As I commented, the two had a nice chemistry together.

Apparently I wasn't the only one that noticed, and shortly after that film aired, ta-da, a brand new sitcom starring them both is on the air, and beginning their 4th season.

Looking to watch something funny the other night, ran across this and figured, why not, 21 minutes never killed anyone.

21 minutes later, I let the next episode play.

Yep, it's a pretty cute show.  Melissa and Joe (am I referring to the character or the actor?!?) have the same chemistry and it makes for an enjoyable experience as they are clearly having fun with the show they are working on.

At Least One Chicken Was Harmed In the Making of This Episode

I am sure that someday the show will naturally force these 2 to become a couple, but for now, it will retain the chemistry and magic of the early Who's the Boss, Cheers, Moonlighting, Friends, etc. etc. of two lead characters who so belong together but instead create great sparks by getting on each other's nerves.

Therefore for now, I'm happy.

The writing is crisp and fast and works well for the duo to bounce off one another.

Not going to marathon this (30 episodes a season!), but whenever I have an hour or less to kill at night, an episode or 2 will do the trick nicely.

Available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor  So far, I see no reason not to watch it again.  I've enjoyed each of the episodes that I've viewed thus far.  I'm now up into the 20s on Season One.  As for a purchase?  Probably not, I've found that aside from Psych, I just don't buy a whole lot of television shows anymore. 

Black Friday Is The Perfect Day To Announce A "Holiday Engagement"

Haven't I seen this before?

The Story:

Hillary (Bonnie Somerville) longs for the approval of her parents (Shelly Long and Sam McMurray).  Now she is engaged to Jason (Chris McKenna), a successful lawyer and they are planning to head to her family for the long Thanksgiving weekend.  But when Jason gets a promotion that would require him to move, Hillary is less than thrilled, so Jason opts for career over love.  Now desperate, Hillary puts an ad on a dating site for  someone to pretend to be her boyfriend for the weekend.  Enter David (Jordan Bridges) a struggling actor who just might fit the bill.

My Fake Fiance.
Holiday in Handcuffs.
Holiday Engagement.

Welcome to the wonderful world of mistaken identity romantic comedies!  This one was offered up by the Hallmark Channel back in 2011.

To ring in the holiday season, let's start with Thanksgiving, which is different than Christmas, and provides a nice bookend to holiday viewing.

I'm always a fan of starting early, which is why you've seen reviews for holiday themed movies/specials appear sporadically throughout the year.   And I'm not done yet!

: )

It's nice to see that Shelley Long is still acting, I haven't seen her in ages.

The rest of the cast are mostly newcomers, at least for me, but everyone does a fine job playing their roles.

It's a very comfortable film, you feel like you've seen it before even on the first viewing, and it just becomes more ingrained on you with repeated viewings.

It's like enjoying a cup of cocoa on a chilly day. 

It never really gets old.

Available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing, whenever you are ready to kick off your holiday viewing celebration!

Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I won't be rushing out to buy it, but I could see giving it a whirl to kick off the holidays in future holiday seasons.

How To Get A New Toaster..."My Fake Fiance"

They're in it for the money!

The Story:

Jennifer (Melissa Joan Hart) meets Vince (Joey Lawrence) at a wedding.  The two loathe each other from the get-go.  However, fate conspires to draw them together when Jennifer loses all of her worldly possessions as she prepares to move into her new house, and Vince is up to his eyeballs in gambling debts.  The two strike a deal to pretend to get engaged.  She'll keep the gifts, he gets the cash.  It's a win-win for them both.

Ah, but a funny thing happens on the way to the fake altar...

Premiering in 2009 on ABC Family, this is your standard tv movie romantic comedy.

The good thing, it is romantic: the two leads share a wonderful chemistry with one another.  So much so, that ABC Family was wise enough to turn to the duo a year later and give them a sitcom together.  Plus, it is also a comedy.  While not a gut-buster, it is charming fun throughout that will keep you smiling and make an enjoyable date night with your significant other that you should both enjoy.

I am amused that ABC Family has almost pigeon-holed Hart into the "fake boyfriend" girl.  Her Christmas movie, Holiday in Handcuffs,  is now a holiday staple in our house, and guess what the plot is?  Girl is going to bring a boyfriend to meet the family, gets dumped, and kidnaps another guy (Mario Lopez) to be the beau.

And just like in that movie...

Vince is so awesome, naturally the in-laws love, love, love him to pieces!

Ah, but with this type of story, naturally, eventually, the two antagonists fall in love.

It's inevitable.

But that's why we watch.

And I have to admit, it's quite the touching ceremony at the end, both sweet yet funny.

Enjoyable movie, well worth your time.

Final Grade: B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I've watched it twice in the last year or two.  It's still streaming on Netflix so I don't need to purchase it... but would with little hesitation.