AllMovie

The family has tickets to a water park, and everyone is thrilled except Dewey (Erik Per Sullivan), who has to stay home because of an ear infection. They manage to find a babysitter, Mrs. White (Bea Arthur, who received an Emmy nomination for this role), and head for the park. Reese (Justin Berfield) cruelly reminds Lois (Jane Kaczmarek) that Malcolm (Frankie Muniz) has to wear his nose plugs, setting off a daylong feud between the brothers. Hal (Bryan Cranston) manages to sneak rum into the water park by hiding it in a bottle of suntan lotion. His plans to have a pleasant day with Lois are thwarted by the boys' escalating battle. Dewey isn't having much fun with Mrs. White, until they bond over the stern old woman's button collection. Eventually, she lightens up enough to perform a modern dance with Dewey to the strains of ABBA's "Fernando." Meanwhile, Commandant Spangler (Daniel Von Bargen) finds out that Francis (Christopher Kennedy Masterson) has been letting him win at pool and threatens the boy with harsh punishment if he doesn't beat him the next time they play.