Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair

“Malcolm in the Middle: Life is Still Unfair” is loud, uncouth, heartfelt, uneven, and hilarious. It carries on the tradition of the original that way. And like the original, it’s worth a watch.

Life’s Still Unfair doesn’t put too much effort into establishing this show for new audiences; it plays much more as a love letter to the fans who can actually remember things like the existence of Hal and Lois’s fifth son Jamie (Anthony Timpano). However, it does showcase the reasons why this particular family has stayed alive in our imaginations all these years.

Malcolm's creator Linwood Boomer and his collaborators put the passage of time front and center. Life's Still Unfair doesn't try to act like it's normal that all these people are acting the same way after decades have passed. It's entirely about how unhealthy so much of this is. It only occasionally resembles the highs of the show's younger incarnation, but it's acknowledging that challenge the entire time.

Once you get past the idea of everyone all grown up or growing older, “Malcolm” is good, a worthwhile exercise.

The old cast remember who they were and throw themselves headlong into their parts; the newcomers, who are given a lot to do, keep up, and it’s a shame we won’t see more of them. If the show is not as physical as it once was, everyone being older, it’s still pretty intense.

The four-episode project, which was originally pitched as a movie, firmly replants viewers into the world of Malcolm (Frankie Muniz) and his wild family without missing a beat, and leaves you wanting so much more.

Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair is a raucous hoot of a four-episode reunion that, unlike so many shows on streaming or just about anywhere, leaves us wanting much more. Yet we’re also happily satisfied with the reboot’s breezy, boisterous brevity.

All four episodes of Life's Still Unfair are rock solid from start to finish, but the fourth and final installment really makes this return to the beloved sitcom worth it.

It’s just funny. And sweet. And honest. And it works really hard to be funny and sweet and honest, which makes it all the more endearing when it succeeds at all three.

I can't speak for every fan, but "Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair" is almost every bit as delightful, bonkers, and mad fun as the original was.

Ultimately, this new “Malcolm” isn’t trying to prove its relevance. It simply settles back into what it always did best, trusting that the blend still resonates. On that front, you may well find yourself getting a little misty-eyed right when it’s time to say goodbye again.

“Malcolm in the Middle” makes the most of a little.

Malcolm In The Middle: Life’s Still Unfair brings the original series’ chaotic energy to the 2020s, taking into account that the chaos just needs to be a little bit different nowadays.

Half the trouble with these types of reboots lies in how they integrate new characters into a dynamic that had been molded over the original show’s run. .... As a brief but spirited revival, though, Life’s Still Unfair is a worthwhile reunion with one of TV’s most perfectly imperfect families.

So is this latest reboot any good? It's good enough for now.

Strictly fan service, but fans will love it.

With too many new characters and not enough family togetherness, Hulu's "Malcolm in the Middle" revival can't recreate the anarchic thrill of the original.

Few “Malcolm” memories go un-referenced, but the revival never has a chance to develop into its own thing.

After waiting 20 years for a proper revival, Life’s Still Unfair as a whole underwhelms by wasting too much time to fully bring the family back together; those constant and chaotic full family interactions were always the best aspect of the original show.

By episode four, the jokes start to feel tired. The writers dip into the “Hal and Lois are comically horny for each other” well one too many times; Stevie’s one and only bit, in which he gasps for air while speaking, grows tedious. One hundred and fifty-one episodes of Malcolm in the Middle, it turns out, didn’t leave that much comedic meat on the bone.

It is, sadly, a disappointing reunion.

Life’s Still Unfair is far from comfort food. It’s bizarrely discomfiting. It’s almost audaciously unpleasant. .... I’m not sure if I was supposed to find Life’s Still Unfair as depressing as I did but can’t rule it out, I’m not sure if other viewers will be able to ignore the depressing aspects and find the joy that I was missing in this cast reunion.