What I’m Watching: Modern Family

Modern Family: Season 6, Episode 4 “Marco Polo” (C-)

What I wouldn’t give for a literal line on this show. Exactly one of this episode’s threads wasn’t executed fully in double-speak, and that was Manny’s surprising romance with a senior girl driving a fancy car, which predictably ended suddenly when she revealed that she was just using him to make her boyfriend jealous. The only positive was that it provided a bonding moment for Jay and Manny, a semi-rare opportunity since it’s usually Gloria doing the bulk of the parenting. There was nothing about the hotel plotline that struck me as funny, from the self-operating cologne dancing around the room to Phil talking to the divorced guys as if his wife and family had actually left him. There’s nothing new about Phil wanting to spend time with his family and the rest of them having trouble coexisting in a small space, and I wish that it would stop being a surprise to them each time. Cam has always been overexuberant about sports, though needing to satisfy his superstitions by walking into a table and tripping on the porch were new specific tics. That the team would immediately start losing when Mitchell appeared on the bleachers and then do well when he was on the fence was silly, and the only worthwhile moment was Mitchell’s furious reaction when he and Cam got soaked by the team. Though I wouldn’t stop watching it, I’m strongly considering no longer writing reviews for this show since I so rarely find myself with anything good to say anymore.