What I’m Watching: Modern Family

Modern Family: Season 5, Episode 23 “The Wedding (Part 1)” (B-)

This wedding is something that’s been in the works for a long time now, yet there’s something about the way that it’s presented, namely the casual nature of all the preparations by the grooms-to-be in this episode, that makes it feel lackluster. Cam’s overreactions were sharply contrasted by Mitchell’s attitude that all will be fine, though of course that wasn’t quite true due to the dry cleaners being closed and then the episode-ending news about the fires that meant that the wedding venue had to be evacuated. I’m sure the season finale will end in some romantic, joyous fashion, and it will all work out. For now, however, at least it’s good to see that Jay is coming to the wedding, even if he and Cam’s father aren’t able to properly address their relationships to the newlyweds-to-be in question. That both Jay and Gloria managed to convince Cam’s parents to want to get a divorce is a big deal, and hopefully it’s not a more worrisome sign of trouble in their own marriage. Phil and Claire hanging out with the wrong children wasn’t all that enthralling, though Phil’s awkward stunt as a mistreated blind man was somewhat enjoyable. I like that Haley is trying to be nice to the impossibly genuine Andy, and wouldn’t mind seeing them get together since it would be the complete opposite of her and Dylan and might actually get her to accidentally become a better person. I wouldn’t count on that lasting, but it would be fun to see it play out for a while.