What I’m Watching: Modern Family

Modern Family: Season 2, Episode 11 “Slow Down Your Neighbors” (B+)

In this episode, we have two plotlines that are completely relatable and one more that’s completely wacky, but they all work well because of how the characters respond to everything. Claire’s efforts to prevent a speeder from terrorizing her neighborhood were quite hilarious, as evidenced by her scathing but easily misinterpretable sign. The fact that the speeder also happened to be Phil’s client, played by Jami Gertz of “Still Standing,” made things even funnier. Haley’s embarrassment and impressive dive into the bushes were also quite entertaining, making good use of an often underused character. Luke also had a great showcase in this episode, using a water gun to scare Gloria into riding her bike properly and Haley into studying. I did love seeing Gloria ride straight into those bushes and hearing Jay narrate his frustrations and prove less than kind in his efforts to instruct his wife and stepson on how to ride a bike. Cameron and Mitchell’s situation was considerably more outlandish, but then again, when it is not? James Marsden, who has been somewhat absent since his spectacular scene-stealing year in 2007 with “Hairspray” and “Enchanted,” was a fun choice to play the affable Barry, who Cameron of course loved at first and Mitchell eventually warmed to, only to discover that Barry was not actually living upstairs (he never said that!) but instead in Lily’s play house. That little window with faces in it is just as funny every time. This episode definitely boasted some of the best Cameron-Mitchell exchanges in terms of funny lines, making for some very amusing scenes.