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Year of the Hecks is the twelfth episode of season three.

Summary[]

Frankie assigns each family member's New Year's resolutions anonymously while dangling a prize as motivation, but it only results in pandemonium.

Plot[]

Axl believes the New Year already sucks. This declaration comes on January 1st, just a few seconds after midnight Orson time. No one in Frankie's family ever sticks to their New Year's resolutions, so she wants all declarations for change to be assigned by others. If the kids comply for a week, they get a trip to King Henry's all-you-can-eat buffet at the mall.

The resolutions are challenging. Axl is to clean up his filthy room. Brick is to stop reading all the time. Sue must stop trying out for things. Mike has to smile more. As for Frankie, she needs to spend more time with Brick.

Sue's ex, Brad, has joined the wrestling team. This inspires her to form a cheerleading squad of Wrestlerettes. Four girls show up at tryouts for her squad. Two of the girls who show up to be on Sue's squad quit immediately once they realize that practices take place while Phineas and Ferb is on. Another young lady bails for religious reasons.

Sue convinces Weird Ashley to rejoin the squad by promising to have practices at her house while her brother is around. The other girls also reconsider. Just like that, Sue went from "anonymous nobody" to "anonymous head Wrestlerette." Too bad no one in the stands can see the wrestling match as her squad stands in front of the mat.

While cleaning his room, Axl comes across a fifth-grade English paper that he never turned in. If he had given it to the teacher, he would have received his very first A. He turns in his essay six years late to his former teacher, who grills him on the different spellings and usages of "there," "they're," and "their." She eventually gives him his "A."

Mike gives the whole smiling thing a try. It doesn't really suit him, but a grinning Sue convinces him to press on. Things continue to go south smiling-wise. The little grin he let out to the teller at the bank got him roped into a boring 20-minute conversation with the woman.

Frankie believes her resolution is a wake-up call to the fact that she's always ignored Brick. She doesn't even know what his favorite color is. Frankie's mother-son bonding activities include killing ants and doing laundry. This isn't anything that interests Brick, who is going through a severe bout of reading withdrawal.

Things take a turn for the better when Frankie brings Brick to work. He is fascinated by his mom's job. Frankie doesn't even have to raise her hand to go to the bathroom. Brick thoroughly enjoys hanging out in the showroom cars with his mom. He especially likes the yellow car since that's his favorite color. This info puts a big smile on Frankie's face. It disappears later once she realizes she accidentally left Brick at the office.

Frankie gets pulled over by the police while speeding back to the car dealership. Mike shoots a quick smile in the direction of the lady officer who stopped them to avoid any further delays. The family finds Brick waiting for his mom. At first, he thought she snuck out to get him a present. Then he realized she flaked and left him there by accident. He knows her so well.

The entire family heads over to King Henry's for a celebratory dinner. Frankie pushes her three bowls of clam chowder aside long enough to thank Brick for her best-ever New Year's resolution. She loves spending time with him even though things ultimately went horribly wrong.

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