It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the fifth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.
Modern Family: Season 11, Episodes 17 and 18 “Finale, Parts 1 and 2” (B)
Technically, only the second half of this hourlong episode is nominated for its direction, but I wasn’t about to skip the first part of it, especially since I did used to watch this show regularly. Much of what happened in this episode was expected, but there’s still an element of nostalgia that works in its favor. The Dunphy house was impossibly crowded, and living in an RV in the driveway wasn’t going to be a permanent soluton for Claire and Phil. It also tracked that all three of them ended up deciding to move out at the same time, though it’s not entirely clear that Haley and Dylan will be able to subsist on their own if they miscalculated and thought that his human experiment participation had netted them a million dollars. I would have also recommended that someone else confirm that Luke did in fact get into college before just letting him fly off to a university that may or may not be in Oregon. Alex seems to be most well-prepared for independent life, even if that means embarking on a new relationship in Switzerland. The casting of Chris Geere from “You’re the Worst” as her coworker slash new boyfriend was humorous since he was never once appropriate in that role, the complete opposite of what he was playing here. Joe has become the precocious child that Lily and Manny before here were, obsessed with teaching his older brother a lesson about the dangers of the world. Cam and Mitch moving to Missouri will surely present challenges, but I’m hope that’s not the setting for a spin-off series since I think it might get old fast. The sweetest part of the episode was actually Jay secretly learning Spanish so that he could understand Gloria’s family members when he went to visit Colombia. Sampling this finale didn’t make me feel like I needed to have kept watching since I gave up back in the middle of season eight, but I didn’t mind revisiting it for this moderately emotional farewell.
Showing posts with label Modern Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Modern Family. Show all posts
Monday, August 31, 2020
Emmy Episodes: Modern Family
It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the fifth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.
Modern Family: Season 11, Episode 11 “Legacy” (C+)
It’s been three years since I last watched this show, when it was nominated for Best Comedy Series the same season that I finally decided not to watch it. That didn’t happen for its final season, but it did score two nominations. The first – for this episode – is for guest actor Fred Willard, who was last nominated for this role a decade ago. Willard died at the age of eighty-six back in May, and he also guest-starred in a few episodes of “Space Force.” He’s certainly endearing, and the fact that Frank was fully cognizant of what he was doing at the supermarket and proud of his son for taking up the family profession – keeping things light and fun – only helped with that. Their car ejector device was a bit much, as was the rest of this episode, which felt more clunky and much less original than I remember this show being in its initial years (which makes sense). Mitchell and Claire being desperate to prove their father wrong about his making them leave their family trip early was revealed to be the ultimate act of self-sacrifice, while his latest “successful project” turned out to be his son Joe. Cam and Gloria have fun together and enjoyed helping the other get rid of problematic competition by wearing them down, and Manny even managed to get a phone number from a girl we first saw in the pilot episode of this show back in 2009 (played by the same actress). I did enjoy recognizing the Westfield Century City food court in Los Angeles as the setting of most of their antics.
Modern Family: Season 11, Episode 11 “Legacy” (C+)
It’s been three years since I last watched this show, when it was nominated for Best Comedy Series the same season that I finally decided not to watch it. That didn’t happen for its final season, but it did score two nominations. The first – for this episode – is for guest actor Fred Willard, who was last nominated for this role a decade ago. Willard died at the age of eighty-six back in May, and he also guest-starred in a few episodes of “Space Force.” He’s certainly endearing, and the fact that Frank was fully cognizant of what he was doing at the supermarket and proud of his son for taking up the family profession – keeping things light and fun – only helped with that. Their car ejector device was a bit much, as was the rest of this episode, which felt more clunky and much less original than I remember this show being in its initial years (which makes sense). Mitchell and Claire being desperate to prove their father wrong about his making them leave their family trip early was revealed to be the ultimate act of self-sacrifice, while his latest “successful project” turned out to be his son Joe. Cam and Gloria have fun together and enjoyed helping the other get rid of problematic competition by wearing them down, and Manny even managed to get a phone number from a girl we first saw in the pilot episode of this show back in 2009 (played by the same actress). I did enjoy recognizing the Westfield Century City food court in Los Angeles as the setting of most of their antics.
Monday, September 4, 2017
Emmy Episodes: Modern Family
It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the second year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.
Modern Family: Season 8, Episode 10 “Ringmaster Keifth” (C+)
Modern Family: Season 8, Episode 17 “Pig Moon Rising” (B-)
Modern Family: Season 8, Episode 18 “Five Minutes” (B)
Modern Family: Season 8, Episode 22 “The Graduates” (B-)
I stopped watching this show after staying faithful for more than seven years before it returned from hiatus in January. My friend Andrew (a reader of this blog since its inception) pointed out to me that, if I wasn’t enjoying it anymore, it wasn’t worth sticking with even though it was only half an hour long since that was still thirty minutes out of my week. I thought that - finally - this show wouldn’t be nominated for Best Comedy Series, but alas, it was, and now I’m back to sampling a few episodes the same way I have other shows each year since my interest in the Emmys really began. These weren’t all that bad, but it still doesn’t make me want to watch the show again. I wasn’t overly fond of two of the six submitted episodes, “Weathering Heights” and “The Alliance,” that I reviewed back when I was still a regular viewer.
The first of the remaining four episodes was a Thanksgiving installment, one that didn’t have all that much to do with the holiday but did involve some cooking mishaps, resulting in the use of a fancy butler service given to Mitchell as a gift along with Cam’s custom apron with the bells on it, an example of this show’s excessive in-your-face style of comedy that sometimes dominates things. The casting of Kelsey Grammar as Ringmaster Keifth was spot-on, though I did think the whole plotline was a bit unnecessarily over-the-top. Fred Willard was nominated for an Emmy previously for playing Phil’s dad (as well as three for playing another TV dad on “Everybody Loves Raymond), and this was far from his most memorable appearance. Phil’s awkwardness was also less funny than usual, and Gloria freaking out about her missing “go bag” didn’t go all that far.
The second episode featured a structure that this show uses over and over again, but it was actually executed in a fairly clever way. Jay wouldn’t give Mitchell a picture until he helped him procure tickets for the concert Gloria wanted to go to, Mitchell had Haley ask Cam to call his ex for the tickets in exchange for helping her get the thing off her windshield, and Cam was already having Haley recreate the picture of Lily’s that he accidentally used as a tissue. Of course, Cam’s boyfriend was actually in Miami’s Hound Machine and therefore totally useless, and everyone spilled the beans anyway, as always tends to happen. Luke having all the solutions because of his street smarts proved to be a fun ending, and I certainly preferred that to the odd and uncomfortable nature of Phil having to do a blindfolded, straight-jacketed magic trick so that Luke could actually get accepted to college somewhere.
I have to admit - the opening of episode three was great. I don’t think I’ve found a plotline quite as funny as Mitchell and Cam taking sleep medication before their flight only to find that the flight wasn’t taking off and they had to scramble to get another option. Continually forgetting why things were written on their arms was great, and their return to the counter to complain about going to Dallas and their one-second cart ride to Gate 32 were the most hilarious moments. That was the strongest segment of the episode, which featured a much more formulaic saga involving Manny trying to park while Gloria chastised Jay for interrupting her stories and thinking that he could tell them better than her. Rainer proposing to Haley before they both realized that they were in such different places in the span of their lives was, I imagine, the end of that plotline, which started with the chronological first of this show’s submissions this year. I don’t know if Alex’s new boyfriend - and Claire’s employee - was prominently featured previously, but that plotline did not feel like it was knocked out of the park.
I probably could have realized that this was the season finale, but I’m not keeping track anymore of where these characters are in their academic lives. The news that Lily’s smart and might skip a grade shocked everyone, and I think that was played more for laughs than anything else since she felt the need to tell the person giving them a tour of the school that she was adopted and the closing scene featured her fathers making absurd discoveries about her secret life. Luke buying his parents an ugly car so that he could keep it for himself was actually genius, and kudos to him for some surprising creative thinking. Javier taking Manny to a strip club was a predictably poor idea, and it was only worth it for the tenderness of Manny telling Jay he considered them hanging out father-son time and Javier getting out of being yelled at by Gloria by heaping compliments on her. Haley and Alex getting Phil all credit out with a video montage left him dead inside, a typical physical comedy prompt for Emmy nominee Ty Burrell, and there wasn’t much that came out of that that didn’t feel forced. Joe trying to get attention by telling Gloria that he was about to talk to a stranger was the funniest of those attempts.
This show isn’t all that bad but it shouldn’t be a nominee in this category anymore. Looking back at my reviews, there was a time that I loved this show. I even gave the first two seasons an A! After the third, however, this show started going downhill, and I think it’s way past time that Emmy voters dismiss it the way that they have other shows that feel far fresher and funnier than this one does at this point.
Modern Family: Season 8, Episode 10 “Ringmaster Keifth” (C+)
Modern Family: Season 8, Episode 17 “Pig Moon Rising” (B-)
Modern Family: Season 8, Episode 18 “Five Minutes” (B)
Modern Family: Season 8, Episode 22 “The Graduates” (B-)
I stopped watching this show after staying faithful for more than seven years before it returned from hiatus in January. My friend Andrew (a reader of this blog since its inception) pointed out to me that, if I wasn’t enjoying it anymore, it wasn’t worth sticking with even though it was only half an hour long since that was still thirty minutes out of my week. I thought that - finally - this show wouldn’t be nominated for Best Comedy Series, but alas, it was, and now I’m back to sampling a few episodes the same way I have other shows each year since my interest in the Emmys really began. These weren’t all that bad, but it still doesn’t make me want to watch the show again. I wasn’t overly fond of two of the six submitted episodes, “Weathering Heights” and “The Alliance,” that I reviewed back when I was still a regular viewer.
The first of the remaining four episodes was a Thanksgiving installment, one that didn’t have all that much to do with the holiday but did involve some cooking mishaps, resulting in the use of a fancy butler service given to Mitchell as a gift along with Cam’s custom apron with the bells on it, an example of this show’s excessive in-your-face style of comedy that sometimes dominates things. The casting of Kelsey Grammar as Ringmaster Keifth was spot-on, though I did think the whole plotline was a bit unnecessarily over-the-top. Fred Willard was nominated for an Emmy previously for playing Phil’s dad (as well as three for playing another TV dad on “Everybody Loves Raymond), and this was far from his most memorable appearance. Phil’s awkwardness was also less funny than usual, and Gloria freaking out about her missing “go bag” didn’t go all that far.
The second episode featured a structure that this show uses over and over again, but it was actually executed in a fairly clever way. Jay wouldn’t give Mitchell a picture until he helped him procure tickets for the concert Gloria wanted to go to, Mitchell had Haley ask Cam to call his ex for the tickets in exchange for helping her get the thing off her windshield, and Cam was already having Haley recreate the picture of Lily’s that he accidentally used as a tissue. Of course, Cam’s boyfriend was actually in Miami’s Hound Machine and therefore totally useless, and everyone spilled the beans anyway, as always tends to happen. Luke having all the solutions because of his street smarts proved to be a fun ending, and I certainly preferred that to the odd and uncomfortable nature of Phil having to do a blindfolded, straight-jacketed magic trick so that Luke could actually get accepted to college somewhere.
I have to admit - the opening of episode three was great. I don’t think I’ve found a plotline quite as funny as Mitchell and Cam taking sleep medication before their flight only to find that the flight wasn’t taking off and they had to scramble to get another option. Continually forgetting why things were written on their arms was great, and their return to the counter to complain about going to Dallas and their one-second cart ride to Gate 32 were the most hilarious moments. That was the strongest segment of the episode, which featured a much more formulaic saga involving Manny trying to park while Gloria chastised Jay for interrupting her stories and thinking that he could tell them better than her. Rainer proposing to Haley before they both realized that they were in such different places in the span of their lives was, I imagine, the end of that plotline, which started with the chronological first of this show’s submissions this year. I don’t know if Alex’s new boyfriend - and Claire’s employee - was prominently featured previously, but that plotline did not feel like it was knocked out of the park.
I probably could have realized that this was the season finale, but I’m not keeping track anymore of where these characters are in their academic lives. The news that Lily’s smart and might skip a grade shocked everyone, and I think that was played more for laughs than anything else since she felt the need to tell the person giving them a tour of the school that she was adopted and the closing scene featured her fathers making absurd discoveries about her secret life. Luke buying his parents an ugly car so that he could keep it for himself was actually genius, and kudos to him for some surprising creative thinking. Javier taking Manny to a strip club was a predictably poor idea, and it was only worth it for the tenderness of Manny telling Jay he considered them hanging out father-son time and Javier getting out of being yelled at by Gloria by heaping compliments on her. Haley and Alex getting Phil all credit out with a video montage left him dead inside, a typical physical comedy prompt for Emmy nominee Ty Burrell, and there wasn’t much that came out of that that didn’t feel forced. Joe trying to get attention by telling Gloria that he was about to talk to a stranger was the funniest of those attempts.
This show isn’t all that bad but it shouldn’t be a nominee in this category anymore. Looking back at my reviews, there was a time that I loved this show. I even gave the first two seasons an A! After the third, however, this show started going downhill, and I think it’s way past time that Emmy voters dismiss it the way that they have other shows that feel far fresher and funnier than this one does at this point.
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
What I’m Watching: Modern Family
Modern Family: Season 8, Episode 9 “Snow Ball” (B-)
Much of what happened in this episode we’ve seen in some form or another on this show before, but I feel like I could say that about anything on this show these days. Phil wanting desperately to find ways to spend time with his stern father-in-law is a frequent topic, and his desire to make Jay hang out with him when all he wanted was to sit down and curl up with a good book was typical. What I liked was how he didn’t hold back and suggested something he knew that Jay would actually love only to follow it up with a harsh reminder that such a thing didn’t actually exist. Claire and Gloria tried hard to create an unlikely romantic union that would relieve some pressures on them, but all credit is really due to Vanessa Bayer’s uptight parent for working up the courage to plant a big kiss on the principal and show the workability of that romance. Cam freaking out about the team pulling a prank on him was excessive and overplayed as usual, and of course it was Jay that ultimately got slimed while Cam celebrated the fact that his team did love him after all. Mitchell being confounded by the existence of a gay bully was somewhat entertaining, and it was funny that he ended up locking the kid in a locker as the only real temporary solution to the problem. Manny spending $8,000 on the dance instead of $800 was probably the best plotline, and leave it to Luke to lie his way through the fundraiser effort to make it all back, consistently talking over his cousin’s far most honest words.
Much of what happened in this episode we’ve seen in some form or another on this show before, but I feel like I could say that about anything on this show these days. Phil wanting desperately to find ways to spend time with his stern father-in-law is a frequent topic, and his desire to make Jay hang out with him when all he wanted was to sit down and curl up with a good book was typical. What I liked was how he didn’t hold back and suggested something he knew that Jay would actually love only to follow it up with a harsh reminder that such a thing didn’t actually exist. Claire and Gloria tried hard to create an unlikely romantic union that would relieve some pressures on them, but all credit is really due to Vanessa Bayer’s uptight parent for working up the courage to plant a big kiss on the principal and show the workability of that romance. Cam freaking out about the team pulling a prank on him was excessive and overplayed as usual, and of course it was Jay that ultimately got slimed while Cam celebrated the fact that his team did love him after all. Mitchell being confounded by the existence of a gay bully was somewhat entertaining, and it was funny that he ended up locking the kid in a locker as the only real temporary solution to the problem. Manny spending $8,000 on the dance instead of $800 was probably the best plotline, and leave it to Luke to lie his way through the fundraiser effort to make it all back, consistently talking over his cousin’s far most honest words.
Thursday, December 15, 2016
What I’m Watching: Modern Family
Modern Family: Season 8, Episode 8 “The Alliance” (B-)
One thing that isn’t often covered on this show is the difference between the Pritchett family and the people who chose to marry into it. We know that Mitchell, Claire, and Jay are much more alike than they would prefer to admit, and to see their spouses united in occasional misery and intimidation is decently entertaining. Cam was never subtle, and the sight of Mitchell holding a pitcher of orange juice when he claimed to be running out to purchase the very same thing was entertaining. Gloria dealing with the Russian tenants upstairs by speaking just a few lines of broken Russian to intimidate them worked well, but the whole scheme was fated to fall apart once their spouses caught on to how strange they were acting. In this show’s typical style, getting the Pritchetts to vindictively decide on Italy as a vacation spot was all part of their plan and they were very pleased with themselves for planting the idea along the way. Phil being subject to the effects of the dog collar paled in comparison to that far more worthwhile card-crushing scene a few seasons back, but there’s no denying his skill with physical comedy. Haley having to babysit Rainer’s daughter was a fun subplot, giving her the opportunity to see how horrible teenage girls can be and then turning into her mother - speaking of Pritchetts - when she finally broke and yelled at her for being such an ungrateful, obnoxious brat. I don’t see her having a child anytime soon, so it’s good for her to skip straight to the teenage years.
One thing that isn’t often covered on this show is the difference between the Pritchett family and the people who chose to marry into it. We know that Mitchell, Claire, and Jay are much more alike than they would prefer to admit, and to see their spouses united in occasional misery and intimidation is decently entertaining. Cam was never subtle, and the sight of Mitchell holding a pitcher of orange juice when he claimed to be running out to purchase the very same thing was entertaining. Gloria dealing with the Russian tenants upstairs by speaking just a few lines of broken Russian to intimidate them worked well, but the whole scheme was fated to fall apart once their spouses caught on to how strange they were acting. In this show’s typical style, getting the Pritchetts to vindictively decide on Italy as a vacation spot was all part of their plan and they were very pleased with themselves for planting the idea along the way. Phil being subject to the effects of the dog collar paled in comparison to that far more worthwhile card-crushing scene a few seasons back, but there’s no denying his skill with physical comedy. Haley having to babysit Rainer’s daughter was a fun subplot, giving her the opportunity to see how horrible teenage girls can be and then turning into her mother - speaking of Pritchetts - when she finally broke and yelled at her for being such an ungrateful, obnoxious brat. I don’t see her having a child anytime soon, so it’s good for her to skip straight to the teenage years.
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
What I’m Watching: Modern Family
Modern Family: Season 8, Episode 7 “Thanksgiving Jamboree” (B-)
This episode wasn’t all that funny, but it was relatively entertaining, and I think that’s about the most that can be expected from this show at this point. It’s true that only Cam should have been excited about the Thanksgiving jamboree, and so Claire was right to suspect that Mitchell was trying to make up for something bad that he did when he was enthusiastic and in costume. Giving away the Fizbo costume definitely ranked as something that Cam would normally have found unforgivable, yet he breezed it off right away because, predictably, he blew their Hawaii vacation money on planning an extravagant and realistic jamboree. I’m glad that Nathan Fillion’s Rainer is back, though his inability to speak in anything other than weather metaphors is sure to become tiring quickly. Haley thinking that Phil was trying to guilt her into staying by telling her to have a good time was fun, and the best part of that scene was Phil recalling his frequent electrocutions, reminding me of when he crushed a valuable trading card from mint condition to completely worthless in mere moments many seasons ago. Running into the divorce lawyer who represented their ex-wives resulted in an amusing interaction with Jerry and Jay, and it’s a good thing that they didn’t let him die, though it appears to have just been gas anyway. Speaking of beating death, Joe’s lesson about the goat dying was an important one, and now he managed to convince Jay to stop smoking so that he wouldn’t die. I enjoyed the flirtation between Dwight and Alex, a couple I never would have predicted but wouldn’t mind seeing blossom for a little while.
This episode wasn’t all that funny, but it was relatively entertaining, and I think that’s about the most that can be expected from this show at this point. It’s true that only Cam should have been excited about the Thanksgiving jamboree, and so Claire was right to suspect that Mitchell was trying to make up for something bad that he did when he was enthusiastic and in costume. Giving away the Fizbo costume definitely ranked as something that Cam would normally have found unforgivable, yet he breezed it off right away because, predictably, he blew their Hawaii vacation money on planning an extravagant and realistic jamboree. I’m glad that Nathan Fillion’s Rainer is back, though his inability to speak in anything other than weather metaphors is sure to become tiring quickly. Haley thinking that Phil was trying to guilt her into staying by telling her to have a good time was fun, and the best part of that scene was Phil recalling his frequent electrocutions, reminding me of when he crushed a valuable trading card from mint condition to completely worthless in mere moments many seasons ago. Running into the divorce lawyer who represented their ex-wives resulted in an amusing interaction with Jerry and Jay, and it’s a good thing that they didn’t let him die, though it appears to have just been gas anyway. Speaking of beating death, Joe’s lesson about the goat dying was an important one, and now he managed to convince Jay to stop smoking so that he wouldn’t die. I enjoyed the flirtation between Dwight and Alex, a couple I never would have predicted but wouldn’t mind seeing blossom for a little while.
Thursday, November 17, 2016
What I’m Watching: Modern Family
Modern Family: Season 8, Episode 6 “Grab It” (B)
This was actually a pretty decent and funny episode, with most of its plotlines working better than usual. Luke’s new job at the country club was the catalyst for a handful of threads, starting with Haley paying with his tips and the whole family thinking that she’s a stripper. Phil stopping by to see his son naturally led to him being interested in joining the club, and Jay couldn’t power his golf cart away fast enough. Though Phil can be a buffoon, he is charismatic, and he did a great job winning over all of Jay’s buds. After his slapstick sauna incident, he gave up the opportunity to join the club in exchange for dragging Jay along to some things that he knew he would hate, like trampolining and interactive theater. Mitchell really did find the perfect way to get back at Cam for tricking him into going to the staged high school reunion, and when he got called up on stage, he delivered the performance of a lifetime, stealing Cam’s limelight. Claire was understandably frustrated that Alex was idolizing a SheEO not too different from her, but that all worked out nicely when the experience of speaking to someone so self-involved inspired her to get an honest job at a coffee shop. Everything involving Gloria was less enticing, with Manny getting embarrassed at a party and Joe ingesting a cup of coffee just to make sure that he was driving his mother as crazy as possible and preventing her from having a night to herself.
This was actually a pretty decent and funny episode, with most of its plotlines working better than usual. Luke’s new job at the country club was the catalyst for a handful of threads, starting with Haley paying with his tips and the whole family thinking that she’s a stripper. Phil stopping by to see his son naturally led to him being interested in joining the club, and Jay couldn’t power his golf cart away fast enough. Though Phil can be a buffoon, he is charismatic, and he did a great job winning over all of Jay’s buds. After his slapstick sauna incident, he gave up the opportunity to join the club in exchange for dragging Jay along to some things that he knew he would hate, like trampolining and interactive theater. Mitchell really did find the perfect way to get back at Cam for tricking him into going to the staged high school reunion, and when he got called up on stage, he delivered the performance of a lifetime, stealing Cam’s limelight. Claire was understandably frustrated that Alex was idolizing a SheEO not too different from her, but that all worked out nicely when the experience of speaking to someone so self-involved inspired her to get an honest job at a coffee shop. Everything involving Gloria was less enticing, with Manny getting embarrassed at a party and Joe ingesting a cup of coffee just to make sure that he was driving his mother as crazy as possible and preventing her from having a night to herself.
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
What I’m Watching: Modern Family
Modern Family: Season 8, Episode 5 “Halloween 4: The Revenge of Rod Skyhook” (B)
To think that this show has already had three separate episodes about Halloween is hard to believe, and it forever grounds this show as a traditional sitcom even though, when it started seven years ago, it was anything but. I do believe, however, that this installment was substantially better than a lot of recent episodes and far more reminiscent of the days of Clive Bixby than a lot of the fare that has served as the plot for much of the past few seasons. Manny dressing up as Dalton Trumbo in his tub was a particularly fantastic moment, something that of course went way over everyone’s hand and was only made worse by his stowing of fish in the tub – his declaration of “For no reason, I’m just carrying around this red herring” was clever – but at least he got to meet an equally dorky and misunderstood Dorothy Parker at the end of the episode. Haley’s offer to promote Luke’s party didn’t amount to much since she ran into her old weed dealer, and who would have guessed that a costumed Phil would rock the party in a way that actually got things started and made it a cool place to be. Claire ruining Sophie’s party by acting like a mom was fun too. Cam having a Halloween nemesis who took way too much candy provided some good fodder for humor, and it managed to tie in with the serious and relatable concept of defending and agreeing with a partner even if you know they’re not right. Jay dressed as Jesus deciding to forgive Earl just to mess with him was far from as noble as he meant it, but closing that particular plotline was made far more sentimental by the show’s tribute to actor Jon Polito, who passed away two months ago.
To think that this show has already had three separate episodes about Halloween is hard to believe, and it forever grounds this show as a traditional sitcom even though, when it started seven years ago, it was anything but. I do believe, however, that this installment was substantially better than a lot of recent episodes and far more reminiscent of the days of Clive Bixby than a lot of the fare that has served as the plot for much of the past few seasons. Manny dressing up as Dalton Trumbo in his tub was a particularly fantastic moment, something that of course went way over everyone’s hand and was only made worse by his stowing of fish in the tub – his declaration of “For no reason, I’m just carrying around this red herring” was clever – but at least he got to meet an equally dorky and misunderstood Dorothy Parker at the end of the episode. Haley’s offer to promote Luke’s party didn’t amount to much since she ran into her old weed dealer, and who would have guessed that a costumed Phil would rock the party in a way that actually got things started and made it a cool place to be. Claire ruining Sophie’s party by acting like a mom was fun too. Cam having a Halloween nemesis who took way too much candy provided some good fodder for humor, and it managed to tie in with the serious and relatable concept of defending and agreeing with a partner even if you know they’re not right. Jay dressed as Jesus deciding to forgive Earl just to mess with him was far from as noble as he meant it, but closing that particular plotline was made far more sentimental by the show’s tribute to actor Jon Polito, who passed away two months ago.
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
What I’m Watching: Modern Family
Modern Family: Season 8, Episode 4 “Weathering Heights” (C+)
Based on everything we know about Phil, it makes total sense that he would idolize a weatherman for providing a truly noble service to the community. Casting Nathan Fillion in the role of the fantastically-named Rainer Shine, a character who could only exist in this show, was brilliant, and naturally Phil would utter have a conversation in which he encouraged Rainer to date his daughter without having any concept that he was doing so. I don’t know if Fillion will be back again, but I think that keeping Rainer around for a bit could be fun. As she’s dealing with the tail end of her mono, Alex is becoming truly insufferable, and her victory celebrations are far worse than any unethical cheating that Luke and Claire might have attempted. Lily trying to frame her new housemate by putting alcohol bottles under his bed shouldn’t have come as too much of a surprise, and I think her fathers’ inability to feed her since they were allowing Dwight to eat and finish all the food was more than ample cause to do so. Jay shaping Manny’s video in a very artificial way was just the run-up to the more dramatic development of the hour, which was Manny realizing that both of his current parents have shaped the person that he is today. I was just thinking that it was a little last-minute for him to be waiting for the big idea to hit. Gloria trying to learn how to speak English better was both mildly entertaining and pretty horrifying.
Based on everything we know about Phil, it makes total sense that he would idolize a weatherman for providing a truly noble service to the community. Casting Nathan Fillion in the role of the fantastically-named Rainer Shine, a character who could only exist in this show, was brilliant, and naturally Phil would utter have a conversation in which he encouraged Rainer to date his daughter without having any concept that he was doing so. I don’t know if Fillion will be back again, but I think that keeping Rainer around for a bit could be fun. As she’s dealing with the tail end of her mono, Alex is becoming truly insufferable, and her victory celebrations are far worse than any unethical cheating that Luke and Claire might have attempted. Lily trying to frame her new housemate by putting alcohol bottles under his bed shouldn’t have come as too much of a surprise, and I think her fathers’ inability to feed her since they were allowing Dwight to eat and finish all the food was more than ample cause to do so. Jay shaping Manny’s video in a very artificial way was just the run-up to the more dramatic development of the hour, which was Manny realizing that both of his current parents have shaped the person that he is today. I was just thinking that it was a little last-minute for him to be waiting for the big idea to hit. Gloria trying to learn how to speak English better was both mildly entertaining and pretty horrifying.
Monday, October 10, 2016
What I’m Watching: Modern Family
Modern Family: Season 8, Episode 3 “Blindsided” (B-)
I don’t think I laughed during this episode, but somehow I did find it less irritating than some other recent installments. More than anything, this show is harping on the fact that Luke is about as stupid as you can get. His lack of intelligence dwarfs Haley’s, partially because he doesn’t have the same charm to be able to talk his way out of a situation in which he clearly has no grasp. Haplessly deciding to run for president just because it was suggested with no consideration of his step-uncle’s candidacy was a boneheaded choice made all the more absurd by his eventual victory despite a truly terrible united speech. Cam bringing a football player to the house to stay with them wasn’t a bad call, but his inability to see how he manipulates situations makes him the series’ most oblivious character, which is saying something given the other personalities on this show. Phil trying to introduce Haley to a more responsible lifestyle was admittedly unsuccessful, mainly because Martin Short’s old school mentor was definitely the wrong choice, and Haley scored a tremendous victory by making Phil’s unsellable murder house the ultimate destination with just a few texts. Alex’s inability to speak gave her a few punchlines at the start of the episode, but otherwise she was pretty absent from the episode. Jay and Gloria didn’t have much to do in this episode other than serve as reverse cheerleaders for Manny, warning him to be prepared for a devastating loss rather than amping up his confidence as they might usually do.
I don’t think I laughed during this episode, but somehow I did find it less irritating than some other recent installments. More than anything, this show is harping on the fact that Luke is about as stupid as you can get. His lack of intelligence dwarfs Haley’s, partially because he doesn’t have the same charm to be able to talk his way out of a situation in which he clearly has no grasp. Haplessly deciding to run for president just because it was suggested with no consideration of his step-uncle’s candidacy was a boneheaded choice made all the more absurd by his eventual victory despite a truly terrible united speech. Cam bringing a football player to the house to stay with them wasn’t a bad call, but his inability to see how he manipulates situations makes him the series’ most oblivious character, which is saying something given the other personalities on this show. Phil trying to introduce Haley to a more responsible lifestyle was admittedly unsuccessful, mainly because Martin Short’s old school mentor was definitely the wrong choice, and Haley scored a tremendous victory by making Phil’s unsellable murder house the ultimate destination with just a few texts. Alex’s inability to speak gave her a few punchlines at the start of the episode, but otherwise she was pretty absent from the episode. Jay and Gloria didn’t have much to do in this episode other than serve as reverse cheerleaders for Manny, warning him to be prepared for a devastating loss rather than amping up his confidence as they might usually do.
Monday, October 3, 2016
What I’m Watching: Modern Family
Modern Family: Season 8, Episode 2 “A Stereotypical Day” (C)
I’m debating whether I should continuing reviewing or even watching this show since I just don’t find it funny anymore, and it’s not that enjoyable to trash it every week. This episode skipped a few steps to show its characters where they were a long way into their current plotlines, and while I’m not sure that seeing how they got there would have been any better, it just added to this show’s constant problem of being so plotted out. Phil getting locked in a room and having the doorknob fall off was the biggest instance of that, since, as usual, Ty Burrell was off in his own universe acting out Phil’s plotlines. There’s a reason that Burrell is the only member of the cast still nominated for an Emmy each year, but unfortunately his material isn’t anywhere near as good as it used to be. I feel like we’ve already seen Claire as the killjoy at her office, though everyone immediately stopping having any fun the moment she walked into a room was excessive, and Alex has also been the at-home bummer before. That’s a recycled plotline we don’t need to go back to, and at least we had both Luke and Haley stealing Alex’s homework so that they wouldn’t have to learn anything in school. Manny being a communist now was about as random as Joe wanting to live outside, and Gloria being angry at the remote was hardly a sophisticated subplot. Mitchell and Cameron being excited that Lily is supporting a transgender child was at least somewhat creative, and Jay did make an interesting point about their tolerance as he fought unsuccessfully to not seem like a racist.
I’m debating whether I should continuing reviewing or even watching this show since I just don’t find it funny anymore, and it’s not that enjoyable to trash it every week. This episode skipped a few steps to show its characters where they were a long way into their current plotlines, and while I’m not sure that seeing how they got there would have been any better, it just added to this show’s constant problem of being so plotted out. Phil getting locked in a room and having the doorknob fall off was the biggest instance of that, since, as usual, Ty Burrell was off in his own universe acting out Phil’s plotlines. There’s a reason that Burrell is the only member of the cast still nominated for an Emmy each year, but unfortunately his material isn’t anywhere near as good as it used to be. I feel like we’ve already seen Claire as the killjoy at her office, though everyone immediately stopping having any fun the moment she walked into a room was excessive, and Alex has also been the at-home bummer before. That’s a recycled plotline we don’t need to go back to, and at least we had both Luke and Haley stealing Alex’s homework so that they wouldn’t have to learn anything in school. Manny being a communist now was about as random as Joe wanting to live outside, and Gloria being angry at the remote was hardly a sophisticated subplot. Mitchell and Cameron being excited that Lily is supporting a transgender child was at least somewhat creative, and Jay did make an interesting point about their tolerance as he fought unsuccessfully to not seem like a racist.
Sunday, September 25, 2016
What I’m Watching: Modern Family (Season Premiere)
Modern Family: Season 8, Episode 1 “A Tale of Three Cities” (C)
I had almost completely forgotten about this once-great show since it was barely a part of the Emmy Awards save for its presence in the opening segment and a few cast appearances. I’ve debated whether or not I was going to continue watching this show, but I always feel like I would regret giving up on it. This premiere was far from promising, emphasizing the formulaic above all. Why both the Dunphy children and the Dunphy parents would care so much about keeping their extra time in New York a secret from each other is beyond me, and I’m more perplexed by the flexibility of the flight tickets for the children and Claire’s ability to just decide not to go to her conference. They spent much more time trying to deceive each other and pretend they were somewhere else than actually enjoying their time in New York City, and far too much of each scene focused on Luke’s stupidity and referenced his carnival settlement. Mitchell walking into opportunities for Cam’s family to hate him and blame him for the death of his grandmother got old and annoying very fast, and her racism and homophobia was less funny than it was meant to be. Manny getting kidnapped was extremely over-the-top, and you’d think that Jay would have realized a long time ago that Gloria might have daddy issues that led to their age-gap marriage. This show needs to get back to its simple roots and stop being so staged and set up.
I had almost completely forgotten about this once-great show since it was barely a part of the Emmy Awards save for its presence in the opening segment and a few cast appearances. I’ve debated whether or not I was going to continue watching this show, but I always feel like I would regret giving up on it. This premiere was far from promising, emphasizing the formulaic above all. Why both the Dunphy children and the Dunphy parents would care so much about keeping their extra time in New York a secret from each other is beyond me, and I’m more perplexed by the flexibility of the flight tickets for the children and Claire’s ability to just decide not to go to her conference. They spent much more time trying to deceive each other and pretend they were somewhere else than actually enjoying their time in New York City, and far too much of each scene focused on Luke’s stupidity and referenced his carnival settlement. Mitchell walking into opportunities for Cam’s family to hate him and blame him for the death of his grandmother got old and annoying very fast, and her racism and homophobia was less funny than it was meant to be. Manny getting kidnapped was extremely over-the-top, and you’d think that Jay would have realized a long time ago that Gloria might have daddy issues that led to their age-gap marriage. This show needs to get back to its simple roots and stop being so staged and set up.
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
What I’m Watching: Modern Family (Season Finale)
Modern Family: Season 7, Episode 22 “Double Click” (B-)
So much for a less formulaic and choreographed hour, gone from the creative setting of a train and returned to a far more predictable place that feels so much like a typical sitcom season finale. Claire’s predicament at work was her own fault since she had a tough time balancing being the boss and being liked, so obsessed with having the high score on the game that it was more important to her to claim the title back than to deal with the issue of not being able to fire the man who beat her. Jay’s attempts to seem competent in his new undefined role were entertaining, particularly when it came to his total inability to process the concept of a double-click and his choice to do the wrong thing when it came to a paper jam since he didn’t know how to make copies. His stirring pep talk to Claire did work, proof that in some ways he’s still got it. Mitchell made quite the sacrifice to make Cam happy by bringing Lily along so that the two of them could spend the summer in Missouri with him, and I do hope that those misadventures don’t account for too much of season eight. Phil’s inability to deal with Luke growing up was awfully exaggerated, and the family’s support of his family camp excitement felt like it probably wasn’t all that genuine. What does Alex have to do to be noticed anyway? This season, like last season, was uneven at best and regularly disappointing, and I do hope this show can at some point return to its former level of quality.
Season grade: C+
Season MVP: Ty Burrell
So much for a less formulaic and choreographed hour, gone from the creative setting of a train and returned to a far more predictable place that feels so much like a typical sitcom season finale. Claire’s predicament at work was her own fault since she had a tough time balancing being the boss and being liked, so obsessed with having the high score on the game that it was more important to her to claim the title back than to deal with the issue of not being able to fire the man who beat her. Jay’s attempts to seem competent in his new undefined role were entertaining, particularly when it came to his total inability to process the concept of a double-click and his choice to do the wrong thing when it came to a paper jam since he didn’t know how to make copies. His stirring pep talk to Claire did work, proof that in some ways he’s still got it. Mitchell made quite the sacrifice to make Cam happy by bringing Lily along so that the two of them could spend the summer in Missouri with him, and I do hope that those misadventures don’t account for too much of season eight. Phil’s inability to deal with Luke growing up was awfully exaggerated, and the family’s support of his family camp excitement felt like it probably wasn’t all that genuine. What does Alex have to do to be noticed anyway? This season, like last season, was uneven at best and regularly disappointing, and I do hope this show can at some point return to its former level of quality.
Season grade: C+
Season MVP: Ty Burrell
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
What I’m Watching: Modern Family
Modern Family: Season 7, Episode 21 “Crazy Train” (B)
This episode gets points for creativity, if nothing else. Setting the episode on a train allowed it to be more inventive and turned out to be much more entertaining than a lot of the destinations this show has traveled to in search of comedy. As Mitchell pointed out, saying “hello!” at the end of every joke doesn’t necessarily make it funny. Fortunately, this episode did turn out to be mostly entertaining. Phil and Cameron running into their favorite author, played by Simon Templeman from “House of Lies,” and ruining his book after he tried to get rid of them by giving them a chapter was a fun use of their time, resulting in them acting the entire thing out to find a way it could work before Haley ruined it and then a newly intelligent Luke showed up to solve it again. Luke’s interest in an older woman led to an unexpected geography lesson, something that Luke accepted even though he really didn’t want to learn. Alex’s time spent in “steerage” was mildly amusing, and of course it all ended with a stolen wallet and a visit from a confused Manny. I’ve never seen a meaner train crew, and you’d think they’d at least give passengers the chance to show their tickets before shouting them down as trying to move up into a different class. Jay struggling to get Dede’s new stepson not to tell his father to call off the wedding was fun, and the fact that Dede is ultimately just as crazy as her new arsonist husband was great. Will the wedding be the main focus of the finale? We’ll see – it could be enjoyable.
This episode gets points for creativity, if nothing else. Setting the episode on a train allowed it to be more inventive and turned out to be much more entertaining than a lot of the destinations this show has traveled to in search of comedy. As Mitchell pointed out, saying “hello!” at the end of every joke doesn’t necessarily make it funny. Fortunately, this episode did turn out to be mostly entertaining. Phil and Cameron running into their favorite author, played by Simon Templeman from “House of Lies,” and ruining his book after he tried to get rid of them by giving them a chapter was a fun use of their time, resulting in them acting the entire thing out to find a way it could work before Haley ruined it and then a newly intelligent Luke showed up to solve it again. Luke’s interest in an older woman led to an unexpected geography lesson, something that Luke accepted even though he really didn’t want to learn. Alex’s time spent in “steerage” was mildly amusing, and of course it all ended with a stolen wallet and a visit from a confused Manny. I’ve never seen a meaner train crew, and you’d think they’d at least give passengers the chance to show their tickets before shouting them down as trying to move up into a different class. Jay struggling to get Dede’s new stepson not to tell his father to call off the wedding was fun, and the fact that Dede is ultimately just as crazy as her new arsonist husband was great. Will the wedding be the main focus of the finale? We’ll see – it could be enjoyable.
Monday, May 16, 2016
What I’m Watching: Modern Family
Modern Family: Season 7, Episode 20 “Promposal” (B)
I’ll admit that this episode actually ended up working in a lot of ways even though I didn’t expect it to when it first started. Cameron and Mitchell helping Manny and Luke to plan “promposals” seemed relatively silly, but it turned out to be the sweetest moment of the episode when it all ended with Mitchell having the kids lie on the floor to spell out the word “prom” with a question mark, asking his own husband to go to prom with him. Luke’s glow-in-the-dark shirt was a nice touch too. Alex, meanwhile, was fielding way too many promposals of her own, and it appears that she ultimately said yes with a no-talking clause. I was not a fan of the Overeaters Anonymous jokes that got made as part of Claire’s mole hunt, and the fact that her frantic search resulted in an honest dinner with Jay was nice. Jay training Joe to be a man at age three and fix a car was pretty funny, and Joe’s objections to the severe conditions of his boxing training were entertaining. I liked the casting of June Squibb from “Nebraska” as Auntie Alice, who purported to be a blameless part of a corporate machine only to be revealed as a conniving thief, and it was very gratifying to see Phil spring into action as a realtor and get her to back down right away with threats about the city coming in to bulldoze her illegal home. How did the man’s rendition of “Snappy” only get twenty-seven hits on YouTube?
I’ll admit that this episode actually ended up working in a lot of ways even though I didn’t expect it to when it first started. Cameron and Mitchell helping Manny and Luke to plan “promposals” seemed relatively silly, but it turned out to be the sweetest moment of the episode when it all ended with Mitchell having the kids lie on the floor to spell out the word “prom” with a question mark, asking his own husband to go to prom with him. Luke’s glow-in-the-dark shirt was a nice touch too. Alex, meanwhile, was fielding way too many promposals of her own, and it appears that she ultimately said yes with a no-talking clause. I was not a fan of the Overeaters Anonymous jokes that got made as part of Claire’s mole hunt, and the fact that her frantic search resulted in an honest dinner with Jay was nice. Jay training Joe to be a man at age three and fix a car was pretty funny, and Joe’s objections to the severe conditions of his boxing training were entertaining. I liked the casting of June Squibb from “Nebraska” as Auntie Alice, who purported to be a blameless part of a corporate machine only to be revealed as a conniving thief, and it was very gratifying to see Phil spring into action as a realtor and get her to back down right away with threats about the city coming in to bulldoze her illegal home. How did the man’s rendition of “Snappy” only get twenty-seven hits on YouTube?
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
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.
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.
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
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.
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.
Saturday, April 2, 2016
What I’m Watching: Modern Family
Modern Family: Season 7, Episode 17 “Express Yourself” (C+)
A lot of this show’s plotlines are based on the simple fact that people are rarely honest with each other, and the confusion that ensues from people trying to cover up unsanctioned or secret actions is the basis for all the comedy that follows. Take Haley and Andy, who are totally different personalities who define the “opposites attract” idiom, and I’m not sure why Haley would have thought that Andy liked her crazy persona when he had always indicated nervousness at the thought of her party lifestyle. Betting everything just to try to be a wild was not a smart move, and it’s just good luck that he managed to win and therefore got to wave around one hundred dollar bills when tipping at a dinner, hardly a smart move in itself. Jay attempting to remodel the bathroom on his own and Gloria destroying it before haplessly flailing to cover it up was yet another instance of the two of them always wanting to be right, and the only worthwhile part was that Gloria admitted that, prior to her unfortunate actions, she was one hundred percent right and he was one hundred percent wrong for the first time. Jay helping Mitchell to get back to a good place felt uncharacteristic since he’s not usually that sentimental, but at least it was an escape from the irritating Tucker family plotline. I don’t see the appeal of Phil and Claire’s last-minute quick getaway to Paris, but it was fun to see them try so hard to stay awake for as long as they could.
A lot of this show’s plotlines are based on the simple fact that people are rarely honest with each other, and the confusion that ensues from people trying to cover up unsanctioned or secret actions is the basis for all the comedy that follows. Take Haley and Andy, who are totally different personalities who define the “opposites attract” idiom, and I’m not sure why Haley would have thought that Andy liked her crazy persona when he had always indicated nervousness at the thought of her party lifestyle. Betting everything just to try to be a wild was not a smart move, and it’s just good luck that he managed to win and therefore got to wave around one hundred dollar bills when tipping at a dinner, hardly a smart move in itself. Jay attempting to remodel the bathroom on his own and Gloria destroying it before haplessly flailing to cover it up was yet another instance of the two of them always wanting to be right, and the only worthwhile part was that Gloria admitted that, prior to her unfortunate actions, she was one hundred percent right and he was one hundred percent wrong for the first time. Jay helping Mitchell to get back to a good place felt uncharacteristic since he’s not usually that sentimental, but at least it was an escape from the irritating Tucker family plotline. I don’t see the appeal of Phil and Claire’s last-minute quick getaway to Paris, but it was fun to see them try so hard to stay awake for as long as they could.
Sunday, March 27, 2016
What I’m Watching: Modern Family
Modern Family: Season 7, Episode 16 “The Cover-Up” (C+)
When characters sit down and freely admit that they decided to lie even though they knew it was a bad idea, it’s hard to imagine the plot will head in any positive direction from there. Fortunately, Phil’s situation being compared by an unknowing Luke to the Watergate scandal was only a brief distraction, and instead Phil got to use his typical physical comedy antics to do his very best to hide from his wife the fact that he was trying to sell a house to an attractive African-American woman who fit the bill of his type. Claire catching him first worked out well for him as she was hiding her own delight at Gloria’s yoga instructor spending a lot of time on her and then ultimately making a pass at her. What I enjoyed most about that entire plotline was that Angie’s husband expressed similar feelings for Claire that Phil had shown for Angie. Lily being scared about riding a bike was understandable, and of course Cameron tried to put on a show and then hurt himself while Mitchell was sympathizing with his daughter and being concerned for her well-being. The Jay Talking video show was rather entertaining, and I like that he got so upset about his troll and went looking for him, only to discover that it was his eternal nemesis Earl. The fact that Earl wanted to disagree with him on everything but couldn’t find an issue on which they felt differently was very funny, but not quite as much as Manny’s reaction to the enormously vicious review of his performance in “The Sound of Music” that somehow got printed in a school newspaper.
When characters sit down and freely admit that they decided to lie even though they knew it was a bad idea, it’s hard to imagine the plot will head in any positive direction from there. Fortunately, Phil’s situation being compared by an unknowing Luke to the Watergate scandal was only a brief distraction, and instead Phil got to use his typical physical comedy antics to do his very best to hide from his wife the fact that he was trying to sell a house to an attractive African-American woman who fit the bill of his type. Claire catching him first worked out well for him as she was hiding her own delight at Gloria’s yoga instructor spending a lot of time on her and then ultimately making a pass at her. What I enjoyed most about that entire plotline was that Angie’s husband expressed similar feelings for Claire that Phil had shown for Angie. Lily being scared about riding a bike was understandable, and of course Cameron tried to put on a show and then hurt himself while Mitchell was sympathizing with his daughter and being concerned for her well-being. The Jay Talking video show was rather entertaining, and I like that he got so upset about his troll and went looking for him, only to discover that it was his eternal nemesis Earl. The fact that Earl wanted to disagree with him on everything but couldn’t find an issue on which they felt differently was very funny, but not quite as much as Manny’s reaction to the enormously vicious review of his performance in “The Sound of Music” that somehow got printed in a school newspaper.
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
What I’m Watching: Modern Family
Modern Family: Season 7, Episode 15 “I Don’t Know How She Does It” (C+)
It seems that this plotline of Phil being a househusband isn’t going away anytime soon. This episode was all about obliviousness, with every single character managing not to notice a single thing that was going on around them. Phil expecting a surprise party when he found the house dark upon entering it didn’t fare too well for him, and trying to juggle all the errands in the middle of his open house was a poor plan. Claire using her eager assistant to do everything was never going to end well, and of course leave it to this show to lead up to a dramatic finish with Phil moving past it and helping Claire keep it together instead of giving her a hard time about living a lie. Speaking of lying, Jay and Gloria weren’t being too honest with each other, and they managed to fall asleep while the equally negligent duo of Manny and Luke took a sleeping Joe for a ride without noticing that he was in the backseat. Cameron and Mitchell ended up at quite the punishment table at the wedding, and it seems their dance moves were what got them into trouble with the daughter that they keep dragging to gay weddings. It might be helpful if people talked about things rather than always assuming the worst and ostracizing Cameron and Mitchell for presumed offenses they weren’t even aware of, but Pepper and Ronaldo were far too preoccupied with the devastating state of affairs that was the gay wedding industry.
It seems that this plotline of Phil being a househusband isn’t going away anytime soon. This episode was all about obliviousness, with every single character managing not to notice a single thing that was going on around them. Phil expecting a surprise party when he found the house dark upon entering it didn’t fare too well for him, and trying to juggle all the errands in the middle of his open house was a poor plan. Claire using her eager assistant to do everything was never going to end well, and of course leave it to this show to lead up to a dramatic finish with Phil moving past it and helping Claire keep it together instead of giving her a hard time about living a lie. Speaking of lying, Jay and Gloria weren’t being too honest with each other, and they managed to fall asleep while the equally negligent duo of Manny and Luke took a sleeping Joe for a ride without noticing that he was in the backseat. Cameron and Mitchell ended up at quite the punishment table at the wedding, and it seems their dance moves were what got them into trouble with the daughter that they keep dragging to gay weddings. It might be helpful if people talked about things rather than always assuming the worst and ostracizing Cameron and Mitchell for presumed offenses they weren’t even aware of, but Pepper and Ronaldo were far too preoccupied with the devastating state of affairs that was the gay wedding industry.
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