Modern Family (TV Series) The One That Got Away (2011) User Reviews

Season Two

[zkonedog · 9/10 · 4 July 2019]

Writing a review for a sitcom can be a bit difficult, as comedy is a concept that almost defies explanation. Either something is funny or it isn't, and analyzing it usually only makes it less funny. What I can say about this second season of "Modern Family", though, is that it remains funny for nearly ever single episode and my interest hasn't waned a bit.

What's really impressive about a show like this is that it can be hilarious by using the same formula over and over. I mean, through two seasons, the basic premise of the show remains exactly the same. There are really no character arcs or drama plotlines in the show at all...just comedy each and every episode. Though kind of reminiscent of "The Office" with its interview-style premise, there is very little "emotional stuff" (i.e. drama) in this show at all. The comedy is enough.

I think this is because the characters are so incredibly strong. Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell) is my favorite character, and (truth be told) I think he is kind of the glue that holds this show together sometimes, as well as his interactions with wife Claire (Julie Bowen) and family. Other characters are great too, but I don't know if the should would work without Phil & Co.

One other character-centric thing I noticed about this second season: an increased focus on gay partners Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) & Cameron (Eric Stonestreet). Whereas in the first season I found them to be the "weakest" of the show's diverse cast, I really gained an appreciation for the type of humor trying to be conveyed this time around.

Overall, the second season of "Modern Family" passes my own personal sitcom litmus test: the next season is already on its way!

Jay's birthday

[jotix100 · 8/10 · 15 March 2012]

Birthday celebrations for grown ups are sometimes a pain in the neck. We are not sure what to get the person, what to do in order to show our love and appreciation for what they mean to us. Jay Pritchett is fully aware of what he is in for when his family decide to honor him.

At the Dunphys, the kids are putting together a video in which all the members of the family contribute with favorite moments to be shown at Jay's celebration. Claire goes one step further. She likes to recreate a point in her life based on an old photograph in which she and Mitchell are shown some years back. For that matter, Mitchell and Claire want to take a new picture at the house where they lived back in those days, something that backfires when they meet a formidable foe, a mean dog.

Claire has plans for going to the mall. Cameron is too stressed out with the caring of Lily. He decides to dump her on Gloria, with the excuse the girl was asking for her. Cam meets Manny, who is facing a dilemma with a girl he likes. Cam is not exactly the one to offer much advice to the boy, but delving into his younger days, he offers his views on baseball.

At the mall, Gloria, pushing Lily's stroller, runs into Phil. Everyone they meet compliments them as making a good couple and about their cute daughter. Phil meets an older friend he has not seen in years. The man takes it for granted Phil is married to Gloria. The man has a confession, he had a crush on Claire Pritchett!

James Bagdonas, new to the sitcom, directed this chapter. The screenplay was written by Brad Walsh, Elaine Ko, Paul Corrigan and Dan O'Shannon. Writing is one of the best elements going for this funny sitcom that examines with humor the situation of three different families that are interconnected to one another.

S2: Consistently funny although I do wish it had a bit more edge and less polish

[bob the moo · 1 November 2014]

I am not a fan of people who come to something knowing what they are getting into and then complaining about it for being what it was always going to be; I don't mean the relative quality of those things – but just the base things that they should have known about the event, genre or whatever. For example people who watch a musical and complain about the singing – not the quality of the singing, but just the fact that songs are there at all. I dislike such stupid criticisms and I dislike it even more when I am guilty of it – as I am with Modern Family.

The first thing to make clear is that I find the show so far to be really funny and easy to enjoy. Each 20 minute episode has generally several threads utilizing the whole family and it works well to mean we don't put a lot of pressure on any one aspect of character of the construct. It is also very well written, with funny lines and a range of styles of laugh, with some awkward, some excessive, some physical, some silly and so on. I'm not entirely sure that the fly-on-the-wall camera actually works (it seems to be switched on and off to suit – but it is a device that so many shows seem to use as a norm now, so it actually doesn't feel odd because of this familiarity). As a mainstream sitcom it is just what you could hope for and there is a reason it continues to do well, because it manages to feel subversive, but yet still totally accessible to all viewers, and it manages to feel dangerous with some of the material, while never going far from the safe sitcom base of family, lessons and life.

And it is the more genre flipsides there that stick with me – even though I absolutely know it is unfair to come to a network sitcom and expect it not to be a sitcom. I do just wish that it didn't so frequently come back to a point of sentiment, and that it didn't always feel so incredibly polished and produced – again, I get that this is precisely what it is, but I still hope for just a little grit in this perfectly refined ointment. As with the first season, the guest stars work against my enjoyment; mainly because the show doesn't need them, but also that it reminds me that right from the start this show had a huge amount of resources available for it. The main cast though are very good and generally make the most of their material; again I wish the characters were not quite so polished and sitcom but I know it comes with the turf.

It is a good sign when your only complaints are pretty much invalid, and so it is with me and Modern Family. I have too many reservations to really love it, but I do enjoy it for what it is as it is very polished and professional in its production. Accept it for its genre flaws and you'll find a very good example of what the network sitcom does well.