Mel's friend declares she wants to have a baby, and thinks Joe should be the father.When her sister ends up in prison and her brother-in-law flees after a scandal hits, Mel must take responsibility for her teenaged niece, Lennox, and pre-adolescent nephew, Ryder. With Mel spread too thin to manage by herself, help comes in the unlikely form of Joe (Joey Lawrence) who, desperate for a job, moves in and becomes the family’s “manny”.he legal thriller with more twists than something incredibly twisty returns for its fifth and final season, and the stage is set for Patty Hewes (Glenn Close) to trade barbs — and possibly blows? — with her ex-protégée, Ellen (Rose Byrne). ''We finally have a face-off in the courtroom,'' savors Close. Is that because Ellen is itching to take the stand against her in the custody hearing for Patty's granddaughter? Or because the two will serve on opposite sides of a case concerning the mastermind of a WikiLeaks-ish website (Ryan Phillippe), a troubled single mother (Jenna Elfman), her dubious investment-bank employer, and much more? Whatever the case(s), know this: ''It's probably the most complex that we've seen Patty,'' says Close. ''You see more facets of Patty in this final season than you do in all four that came before.'
A local councilwoman, the eponymous Melissa has become the unlikely guardian to her rebellious teenage niece (Taylor Spreitler) and adolescent nephew (Nick Robinson), thanks to her sister being imprisoned and brother-in-law fleeing the country in the wake of an ill-defined scandal. Urged to hire a nanny by her officious aide (Elizabeth Ho), she has a meet-cute encounter with Joe (Lawrence), a "homeless commodities trader" impoverished by the family's misdeeds.
Naturally, Joe ends up applying for the nanny (or rather, "manny") job, and quickly proves his worth in dealing with the kids. At the same time, the two leads (who co-starred in last year's ABC Family movie "My Fake Fiance") must keep insisting how attracted they aren't to each other.
So far, so "Who's the Boss?" revisited. The surprise, such as it is, resides in producers Bob Young and David Kendall's pilot script, which has Joe refer to "Vagino-Americans," Melissa accuse him of pulling something "out of your ass" and makes reference to the niece hurling an epithet at her teacher rhyming with "Ms. Lunt." OK, so our little ABC Family is growing up; but barring desperation (or lack of imagination), do the gags have to be as blunt as all that?
ABC Family has been on something of a creative roll on the dramatic side, including "Huge," one of this summer's brightest lights -- in the process earning its former chief, Paul Lee, a promotion to ABC.
"Melissa & Joey," by contrast, represents a decided lurch back toward the bland old days, grasping at "TGIF's" ostensible niche while offering precious little for which to be thankful.
Camera, Jim Roberson; production designer, Scott Heineman; editor, Peter Beyt; music, Danny Lux, Michael Reola; casting, Greg Orson, Lesli Gelles. 30 MIN.
Quite watchable and more well written than many ABC Family sitcoms but I couldn't help staring at Melissa's makeup most of the second episode. I don't remember it being so very unflattering the first episode but the second captivated me. Instead of really paying attention to the show, I spent the whole time checking everyone's makeup.
I analyzed how Melissa's makeup was compared to her costars. By the way - it was only hers that was awful. Her lipstick was done the way some people have theirs who feel they have no lips (it goes far and away from the natural outline of the person's lips and is painted on their face).
The colors chosen reminded me of those used on more aging actors trying to make them appear younger. Here you have a beautiful, very young woman who the makeup artist made to look shockingly awful. Can't imagine how something like this could happen. Please fix it please. I have enjoyed everything she's ever been in and this has potential but not if you can't control how she's made to appear.
A local councilwoman, the eponymous Melissa has become the unlikely guardian to her rebellious teenage niece (Taylor Spreitler) and adolescent nephew (Nick Robinson), thanks to her sister being imprisoned and brother-in-law fleeing the country in the wake of an ill-defined scandal. Urged to hire a nanny by her officious aide (Elizabeth Ho), she has a meet-cute encounter with Joe (Lawrence), a "homeless commodities trader" impoverished by the family's misdeeds.
Naturally, Joe ends up applying for the nanny (or rather, "manny") job, and quickly proves his worth in dealing with the kids. At the same time, the two leads (who co-starred in last year's ABC Family movie "My Fake Fiance") must keep insisting how attracted they aren't to each other.
So far, so "Who's the Boss?" revisited. The surprise, such as it is, resides in producers Bob Young and David Kendall's pilot script, which has Joe refer to "Vagino-Americans," Melissa accuse him of pulling something "out of your ass" and makes reference to the niece hurling an epithet at her teacher rhyming with "Ms. Lunt." OK, so our little ABC Family is growing up; but barring desperation (or lack of imagination), do the gags have to be as blunt as all that?
ABC Family has been on something of a creative roll on the dramatic side, including "Huge," one of this summer's brightest lights -- in the process earning its former chief, Paul Lee, a promotion to ABC.
"Melissa & Joey," by contrast, represents a decided lurch back toward the bland old days, grasping at "TGIF's" ostensible niche while offering precious little for which to be thankful.
Camera, Jim Roberson; production designer, Scott Heineman; editor, Peter Beyt; music, Danny Lux, Michael Reola; casting, Greg Orson, Lesli Gelles. 30 MIN.
Quite watchable and more well written than many ABC Family sitcoms but I couldn't help staring at Melissa's makeup most of the second episode. I don't remember it being so very unflattering the first episode but the second captivated me. Instead of really paying attention to the show, I spent the whole time checking everyone's makeup.
I analyzed how Melissa's makeup was compared to her costars. By the way - it was only hers that was awful. Her lipstick was done the way some people have theirs who feel they have no lips (it goes far and away from the natural outline of the person's lips and is painted on their face).
The colors chosen reminded me of those used on more aging actors trying to make them appear younger. Here you have a beautiful, very young woman who the makeup artist made to look shockingly awful. Can't imagine how something like this could happen. Please fix it please. I have enjoyed everything she's ever been in and this has potential but not if you can't control how she's made to appear.