As we draw nearer to Mike and Molly’s big day, an episode about Molly’s wedding gown was inevitable. "The Dress" had some good moments - like Melissa McCarthy’s physical comedy and the Flynns' old home movie - but it missed a lot of opportunities to expand and grow the characters, Molly in particular.

Upon reading the synopsis earlier in the week, I hoped the show wouldn’t go for the tired dress-is-too-tight angle. It’s predictable, especially for a show about a couple that met at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting.

In spite of this, it could have worked if the writers had used the cliché situation to say something new about Molly as a character or to comment on the larger issue of women embracing increasingly bizarre and potentially harmful procedures to lose weight for their wedding. Instead, Mike & Molly stuck to the status quo and "The Dress" didn’t deliver any new insight to the characters.

The best thing to come out of this week’s plot was McCarthy’s many opportunities to show off her physical comedy chops. She used her beautiful dress (which did look really nice on her, in my opinion) to its full potential and masterfully kicked the side-view mirror off that woman’s car. 

Mike & Molly has an odd tendency to be dismissive and thoughtful about topics in order to suit its humorous needs, often within the same episode. For example, Mike and Carl’s conversation about what a wedding means to a woman was stereotypical and a little sexist in order to get some laughs, but minutes later, Mike was acting completely different around Molly. 

For Mike and Carls's comments and other great lines from this week, check out the Mike & Molly quotes page.

I thought Joyce stood out. It’s clear she cares about her daughters, even if her parenting is a little odd at times, and this week it was nice to see her pass the torch to Mike. She was also great in the old home movie, as was Victoria who seems to have always been chipper and optimistic.

I hope Molly plays the accordion at her wedding!