Best of the Fall 2: Modern Family

January 4, 2010 • Jose de Leon III, Staff Writer, Staff Writer  
Filed under Arts and Entertainment, Television

Imagine every tired cliché that exists in the average sitcom family: the grumpy grandpa, the bimbo of a wife, the gay son, and the list goes on. Enter Modern Family, the new sitcom from ABC that blows away everything conventional straight out of the water and changes the TV sitcom as we know it. Plus it’s also a riot.

Modern Family is shot in the same mockumentary style as The Office, it follows three families who are related but couldn’t be more different from each other. There’s patriarchal Jay, now married to his muy caliente wife, Gloria, who has a son, Manny. Family number two is Jay’s daughter Claire, who has a family of her own and a husband who thinks he “gets” his kids. And family number three is Claire’s brother Mitchell, who is starting a family with his uber flamboyant partner Cameron, and their adopted Vietnamese baby, Lily.

The beauty of this show lies in the deadpan performances of the entire cast, Ed O’ Neill in particular as the show’s father figure Jay. His character could’ve easily been a rip-off of his infamous character Al Bundy in the classic sitcom Married…With Children (another great example of an against type sitcom).  Instead, Jay’s character comes off as fresh; this isn’t your average grumpy grandpa. Grandpa here knows what he’s talking about. Here, O’ Neill’s sarcasm with a side of heart is enough to make him likeable. Good thing too, his role is tough in this show.

 Jay certainly raises the most eyebrows on the show, he’s a recently married divorcee who wants to enjoy the bliss of having a smoking hot wife half his age (Sofia Vergara), but has to spend time with Gloria’s son Manny, a spunky Columbian kid who’s proud of his heritage and shows it to annoy Jay.

Filling in for the role of the “average” suburban family is Jay’s daughter Claire and her husband Phil. Claire is obviously the most normal one in the family, which makes her easy to identify with. She, like us, watches all the families with  amused skepticism, in particular the antics of her goofball husband Phil, a man who believes that he’s ‘down” with the kids. “The secret to parenting”, he says, “Is to act like a parent, but talk like a peer. I call it peerenting.”

Also in the family tree are Mitchell and his partner Cameron. Both of them struggle ever so hilariously to fit in the mostly straight society of parenting. Cam’s reaction as he struggles to not get into an argument with a woman who claims that Meryl Streep was “not the perfect choice for Mamma Mia!” is one of the series’ funniest moments. Instead of playing the characters as a stereotypical homosexual couple, both actors make them believable, even if the characters are a bit absurd.

Modern Family is nothing less than a TV miracle. It raises the standards of family sitcoms as we know it and could give Emmy hog 30 Rock a run for their money come Emmy season 2010.

Grade: A

 Modern Family airs Wednesdays at 8 on ABC

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