What I’m Watching: Modern Family

Modern Family: Season 7, Episode 18 “The Party” (C+)

Here we have another episode that isn’t particularly good or bad, defining this show’s nature as a situation-based comedy. The episode’s title only described one aspect of the plot, but that’s because it was the central event that caused everything else to grow from it. With their parents out of the house and Lily bribed with endless soda, Luke and Manny were able to throw a party under cover of baking cookies and painting portraits. That the only real concern was that people’s phones would start dying and therefore conversation could feasibly begin was amusing, but of course someone fell outside before that and gave the whole thing away. Not much happened as a result with Claire and Gloria’s spa trip, and instead the focus was on the other two male duos and their misadventures. Mitchell and Phil are more alike than it might seem at first glance, and their shared inability to comprehend that they were being offered drugs was pretty funny. Everything that happened after that was relatively absurd, but it was hardly the worst portrayal of doing drugs on TV. Jay and Cam bonding over their competitive spirit was fun, and it was reassuring to see them align in some way since the two of them watching a match together seemed like a poor idea. They even managed to miss the entirety of the fight but still got carried away with trying to take others down together instead of Cam being mocked by Jay. At least that helped to avoid more attempts at conversation like Cam asking Jay about the business he retired from months earlier.