For the first time in a long while, the tables were turned on 'Modern Family'. The Dunphy family story was absolutely spot on, while Mitch and Cam's story with special guest star Nathan Lane never really quite hit for me.
By far, Phil is funniest when he's trying to correct one of his stupid mistakes, as opposed to when he's making them. Seeing Phil lock his wife and the plumber in the bathroom to buy him some time with the shelf was brilliant, and both the interaction between Haley and Claire and Luke's funny behaviour were great. I like that Claire admits that she wasn't perfect when she was a teenager. That's so much more fitting than shows where the mothers were well behaved as a teenager. It's more real. So having Claire finally concede to Haley that she is being a little unfair (even though we didn't hear it) was a nice moment, and a deserving payoff for all the fun Sarah Hyland and Julie Bowen have put into that ongoing struggle.
With regards to Luke, Nolan Gould is quickly shaping up to become my favourite kid on this show, especially as Manny hasn't been given much to do over the last couple of weeks. Luke not wanting to get hurt then walking straight into the door was so wonderfully played by Gould, as well as his delivery of the line "I got scared because the cabinet didn't fall down" was excellent.
Jay and Manny going off golfing was still plenty funny, with Jay slowly becoming more and more annoyed as things went wrong, and as Manny became more and more concerned about the concept of heaven and hell. There was also a nice payoff at the end with Gloria accidentally telling Manny there were butterflies in heaven.
But as I said, the Mitchell/Cameron plot didn't work for me. I'm not entirely sure what it is. I've never been a massive fan of Nathan Lane, and I knew exactly what I was going to get with his appearance on the show. Considering this show is often so good at defying people's expectations of sitcom clichés, it was just a bit disappointing that Pepper Saltzman (which, to be fair, was an excellent gag) turned out to be nothing more than a camp drama queen. But it was worth it, if only for Mitchell getting to smash the frog ornament he hates so much, and Cameron's horrified reaction but not being able to say anything.
So yeah, a great showcase for the Dunphy's, and a so-so effort from everyone else. But there was enough "Modern Family" heart and humour to make it an enjoyable enough episode overall.
While I'm praising Nolan Gould, I think you should all check out this video of Jimmy Kimmel taking Nolan back-to-school shopping. It's genius. GENIUS.
What did everybody else think?
