(S01E02) Let all the doubters stand and face the wall in shame. This cast is not too big and this is absolutely the funniest new show of the season. Tonight, rather than have the characters interact directly (except for one small scene), the connection between them was thematic. And tonight it was all about fatherhood.
When they opened the show with the fathers talking about what they thought fatherhood meant, I knew this show was going to become a huge hit. They absolutely get it. They've got something really special with the three family dynamics they've set up. Something that represents almost every facet of modern America all in one show. And one by one they can talk about anything through these families.
It's brilliance in its simplicity, brilliantly executed. Not only did we get so many funny moments throughout, but if we paid close attention, we learned several lessons about life and parenthood between the laughs.
Cameron & Mitchell
I am falling in love with Cameron. I love how he is so completely comfortable in his skin that he's authentic and true to himself all the time. Mitchell is so worried about pleasing everyone all the time that he forced Cameron to act "straight" at some bizarre baby dance/activity/learn class. Mitchell could learn a lot about acceptance and the power of being yourself from Cameron.
Cam did pretty well acting straight, though. Holding a football makes you look straight. Dancing stiffly like you don't want to be there makes you look straight. And khaki and polo shirts scream straight. And yet everyone there knows they're gay, so what is Mitchell's deal?
Phil
This was the most "sitcom" of the storylines. I saw almost every step of it coming a mile away, but it was still funny. When the new neighbor came trotting down the driveway with the third identical bike I just started laughing, thinking about the absurdity of the whole thing.
Even worse, I don't think Phil necessarily had a bad idea as far as teaching his son a lesson goes. It was just bad luck after bad luck that lead to him buying two bikes and stealing one.
Jay
Jay's story is the most intriguing to me. Here's a guy whose kids are grown and out of the house. He gets the opportunity to marry a hot Colombian woman, and of course he takes it. But he's a man enjoying not having kids, and suddenly he's saddled with Manny. Worse yet, Manny isn't the kind of son he wants any more than Mitchell was.
I'm glad to see Ed O'Neill playing Jay with a heart, though. It would have been easy to make him the standard stepfather who could give a rat's ass, but instead you can already tell that he's going to develop a bond with Manny. Good thing, too, because it looks like Manny is in for a world of disappointment with his real father.
That scene of him sitting out there waiting for a father who was never going to show up, and for no good reason, resonated with me because that's what we used to do waiting for my sister's father. Eventually, it was just her sitting out there and it looked equally sad.
It was sweet of Jay to maintain the kid's delusion that his dad isn't a piece of crap, at the expense of Manny even liking him. Jay's got a good heart. That's the thing that makes this show work underneath it all. These people all care and they're all coming from a place of love. I think ABC struck gold with Modern Family.
[You can find clips and full episodes of Modern Family over on SlashControl.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
10-01-2009 @ 3:26AM
Robert said...
Yeah, I totally agree. I think this might be my favorite new show of the season so far. (I haven't gotten around to watching FlashForward yet) I loved that ending with Jay.
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10-01-2009 @ 3:36AM
Parl said...
I haven't watched this episode yet because my DVR is already recording 3 things at the same time slot but I had question. I watched the pilot on Hulu last week then I read the discussion here and noticed that you guys talked about two scenes that weren't in the Hulu pilot at all...any clue what that's about?
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10-01-2009 @ 12:34PM
lauren said...
When they replayed the episode friday on abc and online, they cut out two parts and I'm not sure why. Maybe something with time restraints as the premiere had less commercials. Not sure, but they were funny parts too!
10-01-2009 @ 3:55AM
HD said...
Very well written show - great cast. The quality stands out even more after watching "Hank" which is written and shot in late 1970's early 1980's sitcom style (not a good thing here) and the cast is...well, the cast is there. The bedroom scene with the kids laughing was enough to convince me that "hank" will be cancelled before years end.
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10-01-2009 @ 12:30PM
scott said...
laugh tracks suck.
so did hank (the 10 minutes i watched of it, anyway)
10-01-2009 @ 7:59AM
Lorie said...
I absolutely LOVE this show! 30 Rock should get ready for some competition in next year's Emmys.
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10-01-2009 @ 9:27AM
Craig said...
The show reminds me of the dearly departed Arrested Development in its humor and tone. It thankfully isn't your typical ABC sitcom fare. It will be canceled in eight weeks. People don't get funny.
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10-01-2009 @ 10:25AM
Ryan said...
Okay I have to admit, I wanted to LOVE this show right away so I was a bit shocked that the first episode didn't REALLY do it for me. I mean it had its moments, but I just wasn't in love with it as I thought I would be.
But then the second episode happened... and NOW I'm in love. I must've been laughing every five seconds or so. The three scenes that absolutely killed me though is Cam dancing like a straight guy, Cam going on a Meryl Streep love rant, and Phil seeing that third bike and trying to avoid his wife from seeing it. Genius!
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10-01-2009 @ 11:29AM
communitynbc.com said...
It was a great 2nd episode and we have the best clips at:
http://modern-family-tv.com/modern-family-episode-2/
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10-01-2009 @ 12:18PM
lorenzo said...
why is everyone supplying links to clips of the show when you can just watch the whole thing in hulu....?
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10-01-2009 @ 12:33PM
scott said...
are you guys gonna review the middle? it was pretty funny, although it's interesting that it's kind of malcolm in the middle without malcolm, and it's just called 'the middle'.
still, janitor is a funny bastard.
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10-01-2009 @ 1:11PM
elorack said...
I LOVE Modern Family! This show is so fun to watch, and it does remind me a little of A.D. (Which is getting a feature film made of it). I think ABC has two shows to keep and two shows to dump... The Middle and Modern Family would the keepers. I tried to watch Hank but sadly just couldn't. I like the actors but just not really a good show. Cougar town... Again like all of the actors, but there is just something missing...
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10-01-2009 @ 1:19PM
kurt said...
absolutely the best sitcom abc has put out in...ever? I cannot think of any comedy on abc that I have watched in the last 5 years - at least. I am total blank. ABC was so bad for so long I have flushed even good things, I think, out of my head.
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10-01-2009 @ 1:19PM
elementus said...
Before everyone says that this show is going to get canceled... take a look at the ratings. It's doing pretty well.
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10-01-2009 @ 2:44PM
Joe D said...
I am already hooked on this show after two episodes. Definitely best new sitcom of the year. As for Hank, I lasted 4 minutes before changing the channel.
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10-01-2009 @ 2:58PM
Garrett said...
You know why Phil's story line was the most "sitcom". Because I saw Uncle Jessie do the same thing with the stealing of another kid's bike on Full House 15 years ago.
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10-01-2009 @ 4:29PM
BDUB said...
I found myself thinking about and looking forward to Modern Family ever since last Wed. I waited for it to record on my DVR and then sat down to watch it and guess what... In Seattle on Comcast the entire first six mins were sans dialog and only had the noise from the street and birds chirping and whatnot. Did anyone else have that happen? I called my in-laws in Seattle and they said the same thing happened to them. When will they be replaying this episode, anyone know?
Thanks
Reply
10-01-2009 @ 4:37PM
Andrew said...
I'm in Seattle on DirecTV and that happened for me as well. I just stopped the recording and downloaded it off of the internet.
10-01-2009 @ 4:39PM
Andrew said...
That happened for me as well. I'm in Seattle on DirecTV. You'll probably be able to catch the episode on Hulu at some point. I just downloaded it off the Internet once the dialogue stopped.
10-01-2009 @ 4:39PM
Andrew said...
I fail at life.