What I’m Watching: Modern Family

Modern Family: Season 1, Episode 7 “En Garde” (A-)

Bringing the whole gang together is a wonderful way to produce a terrific episode where all elements are in fine form. Seeing the extended family all in attendance at Manny’s fencing match is fun, and it’s a great way to get them all together that’s not uncommon in families that live close together and try to support each other. Jay’s affinity for making T-shirts is the first kindly characteristic he’s exhibited yet, and this is a fantastically fun one. If you were paying close attention, you may have caught a shot of Claire wearing a “Claire and Present Danger” shirt clearly designed by the family patriarch. Gloria’s speech to Manny and Jay in which she completely rips him apart for not wanting to fight a girl was entirely hilarious, as was their horrified reaction to the revelation that Manny’s sparring partner could really have used a win. Usually those kinds of scenes are far too awkward and uncomfortable, but in this case it’s played out perfectly. Claire and Mitchell revisiting their figure-skating past was great, specifically in the way that it allowed those two characters to interact. The most amazing part of the episode was incredibly subtle and I’m very happy I caught it. Phil’s rendition of the ABCs of closing wasn’t merely a restatement of the classic Alec Baldwin scene (“Always Be Closing”) from “Glengarry Glen Ross,” but a crucial misunderstanding of the adage and foolhardy attempt to utilize the full alphabet to shed light on some methodology about effective sales. The funniest thing about it was that it actually made a bit of sense.