Phil comes home and as he steps through the front door, steps on the remnants of the remote control. Since she couldn't make it work, Claire determined the remote was stupid and unnecessary. So, she destroyed it. Phil tells her she's just not that smart when it comes to technology. Oh yeah? Well Claire got a 4.0 in college. What about Phil? He explains he would have done better if he hadn't committed so much time to cheerleading (is it just me, or is that Edie Falco on Phil's shoulders in the cheerleading photo?). Anyway, the experts at CNET gave the remote three-and-a-half mice, so he's going to get the same one and, to prove that Claire is simply bad at tech, teach their dumbest kid how to use it in twenty minutes. Claire asks who their dumbest child is. Phil offers Luke, but Claire insists Luke knows too much about computers. Phil needs to teach Haley how to use it. This is totally unfair, but Phil accepts the challenge.
Cameron's flowers have now miraculously recovered. Seeing Cameron freak out about this, Mitchell wonders what the problem is. Cameron explains that he "went medieval" on the florist. He even used his "cowboy voice." (How did we not get to hear Cam's cowboy voice?!? I feel cheated.) Cameron decides to microwave the flowers to make them wilt. When the florist arrives with the new flowers, the old one burst into flames in Cameron's hands. He begins screaming in a very high-pitched voice. Mitchell, acknowledging the scene, tells the florist, "Look! Two things flaming at once!"
At the golf course, Jay shanks his drive way right. Shorty points out that Jay needs better hip movement, and grabs his hips to show him. If Jay doesn't twist his hips and spread his legs correctly, he's "never gonna get his shaft where it belongs." Jay has enough of his lesson, so the two move to a bench to talk. Jay senses Shorty has a secret (especially after Shorty wonders if he could pull off creaseless pants); a secret Jay didn't handle so well when Mitchell admitted it (personal growth for Jay!). Shorty doesn't know if he can say it; he's never told anyone this before. Jay insists he will help Shorty in any way he can. Shorty is relieved when he admits he is in big-time debt to a bookie, and so thankful that Jay will give him the $20,000 he needs to pay the guy off. "What?" Jay incredulously asks. He thought Shorty was gay. Why would Jay think Shorty was gay? Jay answers that Shorty is always talking about clothes and hair. "My father was a tailor!" Shorty roars. Jay apologizes...by asking if Shorty would like his $20,000 in cash or a check.
Phil is having his own problems. His greatest fears are being realized as Haley is having major difficulty learning the remote. "Pretend the mall is closing!" Phil urges his daughter. When she protests that the remote is too difficult to learn (and stupid too!), Phil gives her a pep talk sure to work on a teenager, "This is for all the times your mom told you she was right, and you knew she was wrong." The pep talk works as Haley is able to best the remote during her mother's test. After successfully moving from TV to DVD, muting and unmuting the sound, and recovering from a device input debacle, Haley and Phil celebrate their triumph (great direction here having father and daughter mimic the celebration from Breaking Away playing on the TV simultaneously).
Jay goes over to Mitchell's house to inform his son that his gaydar is broken: Shorty is not gay. Mitchell explains that he was playing a trick on his father because of the way he treated his and Cameron's relationship. He was proud of Jay, though, for reaching out to Shorty; it was proof of Jay's growth. Mitchell's better half arrives at Gloria's house to bring her the flowers. He compliments the newly made-over Whitney on her dress, hair (just like Barbara Streisand in The Way We Were!), and their mutual interest in the vampire craze. Obviously without gaydar, Whitney confides that Cameron might be "the one." Under Mitchell's explanation that people can change, about fifteen percent, if they really want to, Claire wakes up Haley in the middle of the night for help with the remote ("Why can't you ask dad?" "Because we're married."), and Jay and Mitchell awkwardly share a hug. Whether someone changes for themselves or for someone they love, it doesn't matter. Fifteen percent is enough.
Commentary
I didn't think this was one of the best episodes of Modern Family, although it was still better than most of the "comedy" on television. There wasn't a lot of out loud laughing or guffawing coming from my couch, nor were all of the kids in the episode (which I highlighted last week as a strong suit of the show). I did notice something that actually excited me for the future of the series, though: Mitchell's talking head about coming out to his father and not speaking to him much afterwords. This was the most dramatic/emotional moment of the season so far...and I loved it. Now, I know this is a comedy, and I want it to remain so, but I think there is a gold mine of great television that can be mined in this emotional realm. Yes, each episode ends with some (sappy?) music and a voiceover that brings a heaping helping of sentimentality, and I don't want to go too far down that road. However, Mitchell's admission (and kudos to Jesse Tyler Ferguson who is dong some great work on the show) was, dare I say, poignant. Comic relief is used by playwrights to provide the audience with a break in dramatic tension, a chance to catch their breath. It also offers the audience a chance to compare the dramatic and comic moments, heightening both. The Mitchell scene provided, for lack of a better term, "Dramatic relief." If the show is constantly driving at a 70 mile per hour comedic clip, bringing some real poignancy into the proceedings allows the audience to slow down for a bit, think about the relationships of these people, and then be hit with another burst of funny. Others may disagree and want "Fizbo" all the time, but for me, I think they can do some great things with more scenes like this.
So, overall for me, a funny episode (as this show always delivers, and was helped by mixing two of the families), but not one of the greatest. However, we got a peek into what could be some transcendent television. Check out a preview of next week's episode, "Moon Landing," here. Please leave any comments, questions or thoughts below. Thanks so much for reading, and see you next week!
Loved the "cowboy voice" line – what I wouldn't give to hear Cam's cowboy voice!!Also really liked the mixing up of the familial plots this week – it really gave us the chance to dig a little deeper into some of the parent/child relationships, and not just the spousal ones…which is great!I'm with you on the need for 'dramatic relief' – that's what makes this show so great! And what a wonderful new term – thank you for it!I blog about Modern Family at http://themothchase.wordpress.com – check us out!
Another good episode, but I was mildly annoyed at the florist sub-plot. It just seemed out of place, and it got ridiculous when the flowers burst into flames after being removed from a microwave, it got way too silly. That's not even possible. It would never happen. Mitchell's admission was a great moment, and Ed O'Neal's acting is superb. He never comes out and says it, but you can tell he feels guilt over the way he treated his son. His subtlety is wonderful. I love this show.