What I’m Watching: Modern Family

Modern Family: Season 4, Episode 17 “Best Men” (B+)

It’s always a pleasure to see Elizabeth Banks and her nutty unhinged charisma. This is the second time that Sal has popped up, and the first since season one. It’s especially fun watching Banks play crazy after seeing her unusual but much more buttoned-up (and Emmy-nominated) Avery on “30 Rock.” Preparing for her spur-of-the-moment wedding gave Mitchell and Cam a wild opportunity to see what being in over your head feels like, and to examine their own relationship. Their reactions to Sal making out with a bartender, and their comments about it, were amusing, and I like that Tony admitted during the ceremony that he made out with a stripper the night before, to watch Sal bragged that she had kissed the bartender just one hour ago. The closing moment between Lily and Sal was somewhat over-the-top but admittedly quite hilarious. It’s rare to see Luke nervous, but his awkward attempt to get a date with Phil’s help led to the latest case of mistaken romantic identity, a temptation that Phil nobly resisted, only to have his effort to be honest taken hostilely. Claire and Hailey’s bonding time was expectedly cut short by Hailey’s obliviousness and desire to be a teenager, and it was great to see them both brushed aside by a surprisingly talented Alex, who was embarrassed to be seen with them in front of her bandmates. Manny acting on his crush on Dalia the nanny by drawing very inappropriate things was par for the course for the young romantic, if a bit more visually extreme than usual.