What I’m Watching: Modern Family

Modern Family: Season 7, Episode 19 “Man Shouldn’t Lie” (B-)

Some parts of this episode weren’t all that bad, which is nice to see. What I saw as the main plotline, however, was relatively irritating, since Phil being on his own planet is something that happens often but isn’t quite as good as when he’s actually invested in something. Claire trying so hard to make sure that he didn’t find the dog that she had accidentally brought home so that he wouldn’t try to get a pet seemed unnecessary, especially since he nonchalantly identified the pug as soon as he noticed its existence, so long after the dog first entered the home. Jay trying to enjoy his life and embrace his unexpected new friendship with cool guy Reece, who embodies everything Jay admires and knows just about everyone, without giving Gloria the satisfaction of knowing she was right was pretty entertaining. I liked the casting of Adam Arkin, a great actor who has done both comedy and drama recently, as Reece. I wasn’t into Mitchell’s crusade to help his upstairs neighbors come out of the closet, but the twist of Cam ending up as the enthusiastic drummer while the band played the song “Man Shouldn’t Lie” was perfect since that took a truly unfortunate turn that resulted in a mangled attempt by Cam to salvage the situation and impart some tolerant knowledge on the audience. The kid stuff was fine in this episode, relegated to Alex being too scientific with her anniversary gifts and Manny annoying Joe with his questions during his show.