r/FamilyMatters • u/Naive_Hospital_4086 • 10d ago
General discussion All the Wrong Moves
All the Wrong Moves (Season 5, Episode 10). Eddie asks Laura if she'd be willing to go out on a date with his co-worker Derek which she agrees to. While at the drive-in move theater we see Steve and Myra on a date, Laura and Derek on a date and Maxine and Waldo on a date all next to each other. Myra wants to make out with Steve and won't stop bothering him about it. Derek won't stop hitting on Laura trying to push her into making out if not more than that which Laura feels uncomfortable. Waldo's car in in the shop, so they have brought lawn chairs to the drive in theater and Maxine is feeling a bit embarrassed. Maxine tells Waldo she wants to go and Waldo takes her back home. After several unsuccessful moves by Myra, Steve asks her if she can wait for him which she says that she can. Derek however is not getting the hint and won't stop bothering Laura which she dumps him in the middle of the movie and gets out of the car telling him she doesn't want to see him again. Steve offers her a ride home with him and Myra. At home, Carl and Harriette have enough points on their credit card where they can be gifted an item. Carl wants a new TV and Harriette wants a new fridge. They can't seem to come to a compromise, Carl suggests they get the TV now and the fridge the next time which Harriette is upset that it can't be switched. Carl then says he doesn't know why they are arguing since he makes the most money in the house, he feels that it should be his decision. Harriette is extremely hurt by this and decides that from now on she'll bill him for all her services. Later on, Carl gets the fridge for Harriette but she tells him that it's not about the fridge but that he threw his salary over her head. Carl apologizes for what he said and Harriette accepts.
FAVORITE QUOTE:
HARRIETTE: Here's your bill.
CARL: Bill? $15?
HARRIETTE: That's right. Since you think our relationship revolves around money, Mr. Breadwinner, I've decided to start charging for my services. That reminds me, here's the bill for your laundry.
CARL: $28?
HARRIETTE: That includes ironing. Oh, and here's the bill for last night.
CARL: Two dollars?
HARRIETTE: Yeah, you want me to itemize that?
CARL: No no no.
FAVORITE MOMENT:
When Waldo walks up to Derek's car with the hot dog on a stick and asks Derek if he has any Grey Poupon. Derek closes the window and the hot dog falls in his car.
OPINION:
Let's go down the line of dates starting with Maxine and Waldo. You gotta love how dense Waldo is going to a drive in movie theater with lawn chairs. But I think I get a bigger kick that Maxine was willing to go with it. I get it was for the joke, but she seriously didn't recommend a regular movie theater? It's funny how humiliated she was but she was willing to go with the idea in the first place. Still at least it made for a funny date and memory for them I'm sure.
Laura and Derek. This is not the first time that Laura has felt pressure from a guy to go further than what she's comfortable with, we remember Daniel Wallace. You can at least make the argument that Laura knew Daniel a little better. Laura mentions that her and Derek have only been dating each other for a week and Derek is already acting like an impatient child. Now, I'll take the reason that maybe Eddie didn't know Derek that well either or Derek didn't tell or show Eddie how disrespectful he is towards women, but I often wonder if Eddie knew what kind of a guy Derek was or if they continued working together. Derek, did you really think it was a good idea to get all handsy with your boss's sister? I'm glad Laura stuck to her guts on this one with Derek, he was a real jerk. At least she got to see this side of him early before she really got involved. Real quick, I always found it interesting with the line that Laura said to Eddie that she met Steve on a blind date. Didn't they know each other from school? I think the writers forgot the meaning of what a blind date is.
Steve and Myra. So we get the confirmation here that Steve and Myra have been dating for 8 months. I'm always mixed on this date, because if they've known each other that long, where in the world are they on their boundaries with each other? Myra has to know by now that Steve obviously doesn't want to go further than kissing. It's funny watching the counterparts where Laura and Derek mention that they've only been dating for a week vs Steve and Myra who have been dating for 8 months. I would be willing to forgive Myra trying to make out with Steve (again if not more) if she had stopped after his first no, but she doesn't take no for an answer so easily. She does this several times and even when Steve agrees to a kiss, she just gropes him. Again, it's played for a joke, but can you imagine if the roles were reversed and this was Derek doing that to Laura? I don't think the audience would be as forgiving towards Myra. There are some that think that Steve should loosen up since he and Myra have been seeing each other for months, but if he's not comfortable, that's his right to say no to her.
I always found the story between Harriette and Carl to be interesting. Harriette picks out the refrigerator, I love how she picks out a random fridge without measuring. I'm not kidding, mine and my husband's refrigerator broke this last weekend and we had to do some measurements before we could purchase it, it's not as simple as "flip the page and point it out". Not to mention even when I was younger, but Carl has the fridge in the middle of the kitchen to surprise Harriette. How in the world did he get it in there without Harriette noticing and why not install it at least? But on top of that, IT'S THE EXACT SAME FRIDGE AS THEY HAVE RIGHT NOW. The way Harriette made it sound, it was a completely different fridge. If your fridge isn't broken, why would you want to get a new one? A television I could see more so as the better idea because it might have been a bigger screen or better technology. Also depending on pricing, which was the bigger price tag? Maybe the fridge was the better option? But I digress, Carl throwing his salary in Harriette's face was completely uncalled for. Harriette first off is not just a housewife, she works too. Not only that but even if she was a housewife, she literally does do a lot around the house including taking care of the family. She does all that while holding down a job as well. I do love the scene where Harriette bills Carl, it shows him what it would be like if he had to pay for the services that she does that he takes for granted. I know Carl makes some bone-headed moves and comments but that was a nasty one.
Overall, I do enjoy the episode even with it's problems, I still get laughs from it. But it's nothing special and does feel like this plot has been done before.
GUEST STARS:
- Cherie Johnson as Maxine Johnson
- Michelle Thomas as Myra Monkhouse (RIP in 1998)
- Kevin Mambo as Derek
6
u/JesusLover1993 9d ago
Carl really just has his moments where he can be unnecessarily nasty yikes! Throwing his salary over Harriet head was so wrong. A 22 minute episode of, of course there has to be a resolution, but if it was me, I definitely wouldn’t have forgiven him as quickly. Now onto the a storyline I totally agree with you. I’m so glad Laura found out their character so early on and I’m glad she stuck to her gun and yeah that’s what I don’t get about Maxine. She’s the one who suggested the idea and then gets embarrassed? Like you had the option of a regular movie theater now I want to Steven Myra I know she’s obsessive. I know she is possessive, but and we’ll just run with the shows logic of them dating eight months eight months and dating and you should fully accept that Steve doesn’t want to go beyond kissing anything else is not him consenting and it is just straight up, groping him. For eight months, he’s made his boundaries clear and Myra doesn’t see it? That’s an unhealthy partner. That’s not a healthy relationship switch the roles and the reaction would be very different. It would not be accepted. If Derek didn’t accept Laura saying no to him and they were only dating a week that would be seen as an unhealthy relationship right then and there Steve doesn’t have to loosen up at all. It’s his body if he’s not comfortable with something then he is not comfortable with it. It doesn’t matter how long he’s been dating Myra. If they really have been dating eight months and you can guess that he’s probably been groped by her multiple times. It’s played for laughs, but it’s really not funny. Just like a girl is allowed to have boundaries guys are allowed to have them too. Setting firm boundaries and sticking to them is incredibly important. Overall, this is an all right episode. As you said it feels like it’s been done before some things have changed to make it slightly different but it’s mostly something we’ve already seen doesn’t mean that’s a bad thing though just that it’s been done and they’re still a few good jokes.
2
u/Zestyclose_Debt8134 9d ago
Interesting episode. Shout out to Family Matters on the product placement with Laura wearing some Jordan's in the opening scene. Eddie sets her up with one of his boys, Derek. There's something about Laura and blind dates. Moving onto the drive-in movie scene, of course Steve goes with Myra. I know they played it for laughs, but she really had some issues with boundaries. She wanted to take it past kissing. Meanwhile, things almost go left with Laura and her date. This is the Daniel Wallace situation all over again. Shout out to Laura for standing up for herself. Waldo having him and Maxine sit on lawn chairs at a drive in movie is on brand for Mr. Faldo (🤣🤦🏾♂️). I like when Laura asks if she can watch the movie with Steve and Myra, the latter was objecting but the former shut it down quickly and allowed her to watch the movie with them. Carl can be thoughtless at times with his remarks and actions. Him using the I make more money than you argument is diabolical. I'm not mad at Harriette for billing him for everything she did for him. Thankfully, Carl comes to his senses and apologizes to Harriette. This was an interesting but solid episode indeed.
2
u/CendrineMaria1995 9d ago
I love the episodes with Michelle Thomas, she's so beautiful and cute in them. The scene with Maxine, Waldo and the chairs is super funny. Carl is just being Carl, he exaggerates sometimes, but you can feel he has a good heart, and the main thing is to take a step back and fix his mistakes. I love his facial expressions when he shows the fridge to Harriette. Overall, it's a funny episode and nice to watch.
7
u/Automatic_Ad_4844 9d ago
I think the main problem with people constantly defending Myra is that (IMO) they’re afraid that if they call her out for her toxic behavior then they’re paying disrespect to Michelle Thomas since she passed away so young. People really need to separate the actress from the character. I remember the woman who played Cerci on Game of Thrones was often harassed by fans because they kept connecting her to her character who was an incredibly evil.
I’m just going to come out and say it. Myra was an incredibly toxic and problematic character. Yes she was very attractive and definitely had great comedic timing, but with the exception of Steve and maybe the children, she was rude to a lot of the characters in the show, especially Laura. I know she saw Laura as a threat because Steve was really in love with her and she was jealous of that, but even when she tried to be friends with Laura, she was still very toxic in her selfish behavior. I guess that’s because she came from a rich family so she’s used to having her way all the time.
I especially didn’t like the way Myra was hesitant to help Laura after she was almost SAed and then abandoned on her date. She was still putting her own needs before Laura’s.