(S01E01) It's so simple. All you need to make a great family comedy is have it be funny. I must have laughed out loud at Modern Family more than I have at any recent television show, including the much-hyped Community. Bar none, this had some of the sharpest one-liners and zings flying around, as well as sharp characterization and top-notch acting across the board.
I don't even care that ABC "spoiled" the first episode by revealing that these three very different families were all actually one big family. I think I would have figured it out by then anyway. What I did care about was that I found myself interested and enjoying all three families equally. Combined, they're going to be able to mine great comedy from this ensemble for years to come.
Ed O'Neill and Julie Bowen were the names that I knew the most. I've loved O'Neill since he gave us one of the greatest television fathers of all time in Al Bundy. It's been too long since we got a regular dose of his special kind of charm. Here, he's simply perfect as the eldest member of the Pritchett clan.
The Dunphy family is the one that's the most "normal," and yet there's Phil. We've all seen the tragically un-hip dad who thinks he's cool, but Ty Burrell still makes it funny. He's so tragically lame that he threw his back out trying to look cool in front of his daughter's older boyfriend. Said boy had to carry him to the couch.
I'm hopeful that America isn't still so prejudiced that they'd dismiss this show because of the presence of a gay couple -- and they adopted a child together! Cameron and Mitchell are a hilarious couple, and I love how they don't fit into the stereotypes of one being the "male" and one the "female." They've shown a strong and committed relationship, and I think it's great to see it on TV. And they're funny together.
Any one of these three families could easily carry a half-hour sitcom. Together, they've made a great pilot. I have no idea if they can keep up this level of quality, but if they do, then ABC may finally have a smash sitcom on their hands. I love the confessional element, the fast pace of it all as we shift from one family to the other, the characters, everything!
There were so many little bits throughout the show that made me laugh:
- Jay (O'Neill) getting chastised by the mall cop because the mall-walkers are supposed to stay to the right.
- The entire scene where the Dunphy family figures out when to pencil in Phil shooting his son.
- Phil accidentally shooting his son ... and then his daughter's boyfriend ... and himself.
- Cameron's grand Lion King entrance with Lily, followed by the subsequent question of whether or not she'd have a hard time saying her own name when she grows up (because she's Vietnamese).
- Manny writing a poem about what a poor father Jay is. "Of course you did."
- Hell, Manny in general. Picking flowers and wooing a 16-year old girl at eleven. That kid's cool!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-24-2009 @ 3:10AM
tingrin87 said...
overall, i liked it.
but i think it has much too large a cast for a 30-minute show.
Look at other family-centric sitcoms - War at Home, 8 simple rules, and Malcolm are the last 3 that i watched. All of them have the "family" - mom + dad, 2, 3, 4 kids (respectively) (although malcolm's script really treated francis as a guest star, not really part of the family), with a handful of friends - Modern Family starts out with a family of 5, father's family of 3, and brother's family (2 more characters). Even if you look at a large 1-hour drama like Grey's anatomy, they started out with a half dozen interns + a few doctors.
I think we'll either see the father and brother's families fall to the wayside, becoming less of a focus, or we'll see the show fail altogether, well before the writers have a chance to hone this show
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9-24-2009 @ 3:12AM
The1337 said...
I thought Modern Family had been more hyped than Community though I think both fell a little short of my expectations. Modern Family is arguably the best new comedy this season with a great cast and snappy writing. I'm usually not a fan of family comedies and found the premise of Community to be better, but Modern Family is a keeper. Full review of the episode.
http://th3tvobsessed.blogspot.com/2009/09/abcs-modern-family-overhyped-still.html
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9-24-2009 @ 10:36AM
Lorie said...
This is the best new comedy I've seen in ages! I laughed out loud so many times. I love it! Perfect cast & fabulous writing.
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9-25-2009 @ 6:45AM
Gypsy3x4 said...
this show is hysterical. I laughed so hard during the lion king bit and made a mental note that if I ever have children, this is how I will introduce them to the world.
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9-24-2009 @ 9:00AM
Drew said...
Jason - couldn't agree with you more... and somewhat surprised by the comments. This was hands down the funniest tv comedy in years. I hope they're able to keep it up.
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9-24-2009 @ 9:46AM
Tabitha said...
I very much enjoyed Modern Family and agree there were numerous "laugh out loud" moments. The scene where Mitchell defends Cameron as not being a drama queen and then he enters with Lilly to "The Circle of Life" still has me laughing. Not sure I am crazy about the shaky camera approach ala The Office and am I the only one who thinks Phil came off a little like Michael from The Office? But, can't wait for next week's episode.
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9-24-2009 @ 9:58AM
chris said...
I was underwhelmed by this show. I expected to like it a lot more than I did. I didn't care at all for the dad/husband moron. That shtick is going to get old quick.
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9-24-2009 @ 10:54AM
TR said...
I think the show has potential and it had a few laughable moments.
I agree with whoever said there are too many family members to keep up with and I think there will be some paring down as the show moves forward. But there were many things that worked in last nights episode.
The one thing that needs revamping is Phil's "cool dude" Dad persona. THAT is going to get old real fast !! Lame humor turns me off real fast and that aspect of his character was almost enough to make me channel surf.
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9-24-2009 @ 12:26PM
Ryan said...
"I don't even care that ABC "spoiled" the first episode by revealing that these three very different families were all actually one big family."
Or that tvsquad did.
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9-24-2009 @ 1:25PM
Jason Hughes said...
Okay, I guess I need to address this. The reason I put "spoiled" in quotes is because it wasn't really a spoil at all. Early in the summer the creator wanted ABC to promote without revealing that they were all part of a larger extended family.
ABC chose not to do this and has been very clearly promoting the series as representing one big happy modern family for weeks now. So there's nothing that was spoiled other than the creator's hope.
9-24-2009 @ 12:56PM
Freak Mojo said...
On top of the line about saying her own name. I absolutely lost it when Ed's character asked for the baby with "Come here you little potsticker."
So innocently slid in there, yet so fricking hilarious!
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9-24-2009 @ 1:18PM
cgar said...
loved it. best comedy since the office.
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9-24-2009 @ 1:23PM
Eludium-Q36 said...
Yeh, this show has good potential but I think it's too edgy (for advertisers) for network tv. It'd have done better coming out on Comedy Central. I forecast a short run on ABC then hopefully a completion pickup on cable (on ABC Family, how funny would THAT be ?!)
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9-24-2009 @ 1:58PM
Heather said...
I think by being able to pre-screen it I wasn't over-hyped for it. I just thought the dad doing HSM was pretty funny. So it worked and was pretty funny and touching. And I laughed really hard at the Lion King scene and had to watch it a couple more times to show it to everyone.
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9-24-2009 @ 8:36PM
La-Di-Dah said...
Me thinks one of the best moments (the moment I almost choked on the water I was about to drink and ended up spitting it all up on my dining table) is the airplane scene, when Mitch is revving to give his speech through when Cameron points out that Lily does have a cream puff and he's going to spring for everyone's earphones.
I am not a sitcom person, but I will keep an eye and ear for this one.
And I wouldn't have watched it if it were not the vote of confidence from TVsquad. Thanks.
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9-28-2009 @ 12:03PM
T.Marsh said...
I'm very surprised by the positive feedback. I was looking forward to this shows premiere and all I can say is WOW, its one of the WORST and most insulting shows I've ever seen. Talk about stereotyping gay people,latinos, etc.
I love sitcoms and even removing the minorities aspect, it was awful, the writing was dreadful. I know some shows get better with time, and if this stays on I may check back at some point in the future and see -but as of now, I sure wont be watching this.-just my opinion,YMMV
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9-30-2009 @ 4:58PM
plaxplax said...
Wow, dude, you completely got it wrong. This show has A LOT of potential, and the writing was excellent. This could end up being the new Arrested Development.