What I’m Watching: Modern Family

Modern Family: Season 4, Episode 19 “The Future Dunphys” (B)

Sometimes this show is a bit more explicit than it needs to be in how it showcases its plotlines, but it’s hard to argue that the concept of this episode wasn’t extremely funny. Phil and Claire watching the Future Dunphys as they slowly revealed more and more about how their lives turned out was hilarious, and I love that the kids rushed to the hospital and then stormed out in anger after receiving decidedly mixed messages about how they should proceed with their lives from their parental units. It’s never a waste of time to watch Phil and Luke experiment together, and their popcorn pancake flipper was truly amazing and entertaining. Lily’s proclamation that she was gay was indeed a surprise, and I like that it took an admittedly staged visit to a Vietnamese restaurant to come around to the obvious truth that Lily just wanted to be like her daddies, who really have a knack for saying the wrong thing when in the middle of a crowd. Manny is a perfect candidate for a fancy private school, and it’s a shame that he choked up and did some truly regrettable things during his interview. Jay’s initial reaction to being handed a coat was extreme, but it soon became clear that this patriarch hasn’t always been on top, and it was nice to see him live vicariously for a few minutes through his stepson. Let’s hope Manny fares better during his next interview so that he won’t feel forever out of place in public school.