This week’s episode of “Modern Family,” titled “A Stereotypical Day” was kind of a first for the show. While not humorous per se, the episode managed to dig a little deeper into our characters.
For a comedy show in its eighth season, one of the biggest challenges it faces is to surprise us or create some development for their characters — at least for the ones that need it. In this episode, we actually see some of that happening to one side of the family.
Let’s review!
Excuse Us, We are Progressive!
Mitch and Cam are elated when they learn that Lily’s friend Tom (Jackson Millarker) was born “Tina,” a fact Mitch keeps repeating with his hand formed as if it’s a big secret. Much like Cam, I don’t understand why he’s doing it. Unlike Cam, I don’t like it. They are proud of themselves for raising their kid right — they even want the “Kudos Awards” for being good parents. Just then, they hear Lily yell “weirdo” to Tom. She pushes them away when they try and talk with her. When they discuss this with Jay, Gloria, and family, the duo realized they may not be as forward-thinking as they assumed they were. Obviously, this also gives Jay the chance to point out how mad they were at him when it took him time to accept his son’s sexuality. Finally, we learn the only reason Lily called Tom a weirdo was not because he was transgender but because he made fun of Mitch and Cam’s almost nude painting on her wall. She didn’t tell them to spare their feelings, even though she hates the painting too. They did raise her right, after all.
I loved their plot this episode because it gave our couple a chance to grow some more.
The Big Dunphy Bummer:
After Phil experiences his personal “127 Hours” scenario when he locks himself in a closet for 18 hours after showing a house, he suffers from PTSD. Haley has been fired from her job. Luke does anything necessary to steal Alex’s laptop and copy her paper. Claire, tired of being the boss at work, doesn’t want to do the yelling at home. Luckily for her, Alex is home and is suffering from mono, and is, therefore, irritable and doing the yelling on her behalf. Phil treats her like a therapy dog. When she insists on going back to campus, Haley is the only one who wants her to leave so her smart sister doesn’t figure out she lost her job.
This storyline was kind of meh. Okay, Phil sorting out his tic tac’s for meals when he was locked in might have been funny, but nothing about this story surprised me at all. Luke is still lazy, Claire is still a little selfish, Haley is still not honest with her family, and Alex is still…Alex.
Communist. Mowgli. Screamer. Racist.
As for the patriarch of this clan, Jay has called people to install security cameras on the same day a black family moves in next door. He fears they will assume he is racist so calls his black friend over and does other things to ensure they know he isn’t racist. Joe, meanwhile, is obsessed with Mowgli and wants to live outside. Gloria, in this episode, mainly just yells at him and the remote (“I know you’re listening to me, the green light is on” — Vergara is hilarious!). Manny takes up communism briefly in order to impress a woman. It doesn’t last too long. Finally, when Jay does talk to his new neighbor Shawn, he almost makes a good impression. Almost.
What I did enjoy about this plot, besides Joe being adorable, is Jay and Cam having a teaching moment about tolerance.
However, “Modern Family” often relies on stereotypes for its humor — Mexican stereotypes, LGBT stereotypes, nerd stereotypes. In this episode, Jay ironically tells Gloria about the stereotypes faced by “an old, white man.” I love that this show introduced us to the first transgender child actor but besides that, this episode didn’t have too much to laugh about or too much to love. I do appreciate them digging deeper with Cam and Mitch, though. I just wish they would scratch beyond the surface.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments. Did you enjoy watching Phil's shenanigans in the closet? Do you think Andy will come back, even though Haley announced she spent the summer getting over him? What was funnier -- watching Manny eat the cupcakes out of the bin or watching Joe peeing on the wall?
The next episode of “Modern Family” is titled "Blindsided" and will air on Oct 5.
