“You’re quite the bullfight artist yourself.” – Jay to Manny’s dad
I love it when a show comes back from its mini-winter hiatus just as strong as when it left. Looking forward to tonight’s episode of Modern Family was the right thing to do, because everything about this episode was funny. I think what they’ve done so successfully with the three families is to give all of the viewers something to relate to.
As a mom of a kid who didn’t sleep through the night until he was four years old (and it’s still spotty), the Ferberizing story line really hit home. I was Cam, except that I’m in charge (ahem) so we didn’t even try it, but I still can’t leave my kid crying — in his room, at school, with a sitter … it’s not my motherly instinct, and I really identified with Cam. There was the sweetness of that plot, but the whole nanny cam thing was hilarious, especially when Mitchell was hiding in the room.
Sorry Keith, I would totally have dressed up for those firefighters. Like Claire, I’m a victim of “momdrobe,” and sometimes a gal just wants to feel pretty. And the drama of Phil being sick was pretty relatable to anyone who’s even known a man slightly under the weather … so funny. “Death is coming” has been known to escape the lips of fathers, brothers, coworkers, and even firemen when they so much as get the sniffles.
Now here’s my question: Although the story line with Benjamin Bratt as Manny’s dad delivered the goods, I’m wondering if showing Manny’s dad was a mistake on the part of the writers. They got one funny episode out of it, but had they kept him off-screen like Frasier‘s Maris or Cheers‘s Vera, would they have gotten more mileage? Would more stories from Manny about the super-human things his dad’s accomplished, well-placed throughout the series, have been a more successful choice overall?
Let’s hear what you think in the comments; just “don’t talk black to me.”
Clacked by Debbie McDuffee
on Jan 06, 2010 @ 22:11 EST5EDT
I was slightly apprehensive about what Bratt’s character would be like, but thought they hit it out of the park this time. I had thought that Jay’s impression of Javier would be close to dead-on, and Manny’s image delusionally idealized, but the flaky dad was charming and actually not as much of a loser as I suspected. Now that we actually have an image, we can judge future references to him fairly. Kept off-screen, Maris and Vera could be demonized so we would only sympathize with their husbands. The relationships here are more complicated.
My favorite scene was seeing an entire story—realization, struggle, and decision—play out wordlessly on Claire’s beautifully expressive face after Phil laid the guilt trip on her of not wanting her last words to him to have been a lie. Or Cameron and Mitchell tying off the Claire and Phil hot firemen thread.
Between Mitchell to Cameron and Veronica to Linda on Better Off Ted, we had two “Sweep the Leg” references this week. Of course, then Veronica actually went ahead and did it, and it was hilarious.
*POST AUTHOR*
I know, they really did hit it right with the casting and the was the character was portrayed. I loved it when Manny consoled Jay when Jay got stood up by Javier … so sweet!
That scene really struck me at the time, especially when Manny, Jay, and Gloria turned away from the camera to stride back to their house, arms wrapped around each other. A beautiful family moment.
I am very glad this show has returned and continues to deliver.
I defense of Phil’s “Death is Coming” – don’t underestimate the excruciating pain of a kidney stone.
It was no Fizbo, but it was still a good ep.