When you think of Brooke Shields, you think glamor and fashion and high style... Well, I do anyway. She's Suddenly Susan and one of the hot ladies on Lipstick Jungle. I do not think of her as a suburban mother of four in Orson, Indiana. However, that's exactly what she's going to be on an upcoming episode of ABC's sitcom The Middle.

As oxymoronic as it seems, I love the idea of Brooke on The Middle. She'll be going deep into the heart of the heartland to play a character who's supposed to be like Fran Heck, Patricia Heaton's character on The Middle. There's nothing as liberating for an actor as the chance to let loose and break the mold.

That's what this opportunity should be for Brooke. Not only is she an unmarried mother of four, but those four kids are unruly, rowdy boys. And Brooke's character is some kind of nemesis for Fran, someone she's crossed paths -- and swords -- with in the past.

I can't wait to see them in the same scene together. Brooke probably will tower over Patty, so let's hope Neil Flynn's in the scene, too, because I think he might have an inch or two on Brooke. He could look Brooke right in the eyes. The episode is slated for early 2010.