What I’m Watching: Modern Family

Modern Family: Season 1, Episode 15 “My Funky Valentine” (B+)

I love how this show succeeds marvelously in having special holiday-themed episodes and manages to avoid any clichés and instead be incredibly funny. Dylan’s arrival with the humongous photograph painting of something Haley’s parents really hoped didn’t happen in real life prompted them to spice up their ordinary Valentine’s Day plans, which proved unbelievably fantastic. The bar scene was hilarious, especially with Phil’s nametag and his accidental citing of how his wife makes lists of things for him to do. He recovered well, however, and the return of a not-so-clothed Claire was quite entertaining. The fact that they would run into literally everyone they knew when Claire’s coat got stuck in the escalator was brilliant, and it was great that Gloria was the one to come and save the day. Jay taking Gloria to see a stand-up comedian was never going to pan out well, but him taking infinite cracks at Jay’s age was something I didn’t see coming and something that produced a decent dramatic moment followed by a terribly funny scene where Jay wasn’t so cool with the idea of Gloria getting fat. Valentine’s Day for Cameron and Mitchell proved to have a nice surprise in store as well, which was giving the less showy member of the couple the chance to take the spotlight and do something ridiculous. Even though it was obviously coming, Mitchell repeating his speech from court was a terrific over-the-top performance. Manny really does have some great uncles watching his back, and Cameron sure knows how to waste time conducting over-the-phone surveys.