Phil and Mitchell finally arrive at Mitchell's house. One problem: Mitchell doesn't have his keys. Cameron, in another attempt to keep Lily awake, jingles keys in front of her. It is then
that he realizes that they are Mitchell's keys. Phil tells Mitchell that being a real estate agent has taught him a certain set of skills. Sizing up the window, he determines it can be opened simply with a credit card. Confiding to the camera, Phil explains that real estate agents are really ninjas in blazers. Burglars leave clues everywhere, but not Phil, "I'm completely clueless." Phil puts Mitchell on his shoulders, Mitchell uses the credit card, and they gain access to the house. When Phil enters, he slips on a toy truck. Mitchell comments that it is Jasper's truck. Jasper? Phil sold his parents their home; how did they get a play-date with Jasper? He's so popular. Mitchell, finding his wallet, just ushers them out the door.
The cute guy is now sketching in his notebook, like Leonard DiCaprio in Titanic according to Haley. The guy smiles at her and Alex, so Haley thinks it's time to make her move. Right then, Dylan texts her. She quickly reads the message and dismisses it, "'I'm trapped.' Ugh. Such a drama queen." Meanwhile, Manny is getting his shoes shined when a public address announcement calls him to Gate 22A. Luke starts spinning around in the gate area, impressed that he's not getting dizzy thanks to the Dramamine. Jay asks him to stop when Luke almost spills his coffee, so Luke plops down on a seat, right on top of Jay's eReader. "My Ludlums!" he yells. Luke apologizes, but Jay thinks the device might be alright. When he opens it, pieces of glass fall out. "Not fair. Just not fair," he mutters.
Gloria and Manny are met by a TSAagent. Gloria tries to explain that he is not the Manny Delgado that is on the no-fly list, as she explained earlier at the ticket counter. "I'm just a boy trying to bring style back to travel," Manny explains. The agent wants to ask them a few questions, so he leads them toward the TSA office, as Gloria yells out for her husband, "Jay! Jay!!" Jay can't hear her as he is in the bar. The bartender pours him some whiskey. "Make it a double. I'm traveling with my family." Phil and Mitchell are driving back to the airport. Phil comments that it's probably easier being gay, because you get to live with another man. "Do you think you could get in the fast lane?" Mitchell asks. "I can totally get in the 'fast lane,'" Phil replies, expressing his belief that he'd be a great gay guy. "No, I mean the road," a frustrated Mitchell replies. Phil gets a text, which Mitchell reads. The alarm company says someone broke into Phil's house. Cut to Dylan running away from the Dunphy home. Phil, obviously, is concerned, but Mitchell yells at him to ignore it and keep driving.
At the airport, Cameron tries to calm Claire by playing a game (in front of a Disney-produced The Karate Kid poster no less): they pick travelers and make up stories about where they are going. When Cameron gets stuck on the name of a gentleman's wife, it's Claire's turn. "I see a woman wracked with fear and abandoned by her husband," she says, describing herself. Cameron feels a bit abandoned, too, because Mitchell is blaming him for forgetting Mitchell's wallet. Back in the car, Mitchell apologizes for being snippy with Phil. Mitchell needed Cameron's help, but he was let down. "That doesn't sounds like Cam," Phil notes. Cameron tells Claire that Mitchell never asked for his wallet, only to get Lily's toys and cancel the newspaper. Claire says that it sounds like Mitchell was asking for help. Phil says to Mitchell that, "it sounds like you wanted him to read your mind." Cameron responds to Claire, "What am I, psychic?" "It's nto about being psychic. It's about knowing what your partner needs," Claire replies. Phil tells Mitchell that all he needs to do is ask for help. That way, Cameron will know what he wants. Mitchell isn't so sure, "You want to believe you're on the same wavelength as someone. It's a little disheartening when you find out you're not." This comment causes Phil to reevaluate what's been happening with Claire and him. Cameron continues, saying he'd do anything for Mitchell, and that it's hurtful Mitchell doesn't know that, which gives Claire pause.
Haley has made her way next to the cute guy. She asks him what he's drawing. He tells her it's a robot. And what's behind the robot? A dinosaur. That's funny, she remembers doing similar drawings in the eighth gra.... "He was fourteen years old!" Alex laughingly tells the camera. "He's my soul mate!" she mocks her Haley before falling off the couch in a heap of laughter. Jay is finishing his drink when the customer next to him rises, revealing Claire a couple drinks in herself. She explains to her father that she never used to worry about flying until a few years ago when she realized she had so much to lose. She asks why Jay is drinking. He tells her that he's taking a break from his vacation as he doesn't expect much alone time in Hawaii. Claire asks if he's upset the rest of the family is going with him. It's not that, he loves the family. He just feels like Gloria is going out of her way to not spend time with him. Claire insists that Gloria loves him -- not every wife would spend money so the entire family could go to Hawaii. "Where does everybody think Gloria's money comes from?!" Jay exasperatingly asks. Claire is left speechless.
In the TSA office, the agent continues to question Manny and Gloria. He asks Manny if he was in Japan for a tech conference in 2004. "I was four years old!" Manny responds. Gloria starts to lose it, wondering why they aren't checking the old lady with a cane for a hidden ceramic knife that wouldn't be picked up by metal detectors, instead of a child. The agent turns to her, saying she knows an awful lot about sneaking contraband on a plane. "Yeah, I'm Colombian," she replies. "Have you ever been to Japan?" the agent asks Gloria. Back at the gate, Luke spins around in a wheelchair. Claire, clearly intoxicated, asks him to stop spinning. When he does, she asks Cameron to now make the airport stop spinning. Phil and Mitchell finally arrive. Mitchell apologizes to Cameron for his behavior. Claire apologizes to Phil, but all he can ask is if his wife is drunk. "Maybe a little bit," Claire slurs back. Jay enters the TSA office, wondering what is going on. The agent asks why Manny is returning on a different date than Gloria. Surprise! The whole family is only staying for six days, but Gloria and Jay are staying longer so they can have some alone time. "I couldn't love you any more right now," Jay tells his wife. "I also found a topless beach," Gloria whispers to Jay. "I was wrong," Jay smiles and replies, kissing her on the head.
In the episode tag, the family boards the plane. The cute sketching guy, Mr. Jackson, is welcomed to the plane first. When Cameron, Mitchell and Lily approach, the ticket agent says, "Gorgeous!" "Thanks, it's vintage," Cameron replies, referring to his shirt. "I think he was talking about Lily," Mitchell retorts. "You don't know that," Cameron responds. Alex tells Haley, "There's a hottie for you at five o'clock." Haley looks, sees a five year old, and embarrassed, enters the jetway. "It's whale watching," Jay tells Gloria, emphasizing the "t." "Whale washing," Gloria repeats back. "Close enough," Jay replies. Phil drags a floppy Claire up to the counter, saying aloud, "Do your zombie impression!" The ticket agent asks if she has been drinking. "No, she's hilarious. Do your Bride of Frankenstein!" Phil says as he picks up Claire's limp body and loads her into the plane.
Commentary
With the end of the season coming, and May sweeps here, it's not surprising that Modern Family would be firing on all cylinders; and it certainly was this week. I loved this episode. Not only the Billy Elliot reference I mentioned above, but everything about it. The comedy was pretty off the charts, with all of the mini-plots delivering big laughs. There was witty dialogue (Gloria knowing about contraband because she's Colombian; Phil mentioning some people are just tightly wound, and then Mitchell blowing up; Dylan's professions of loneliness), great physical comedy (Phil tripping on the toy truck, Cameron spraying water in Lily's face to keep her awake), and even a knowing, inside reference to Julie Bowen previously being on Lost. Further, even though the show bounced around incessantly between these different storylines, the episode never felt, at least to me, rushed or unfocused.
Rather, I felt like I was on a rushing train of comedy I didn't want to get off (OK, that was a super-cheesy metaphor. Sorry.) I honestly can't remember another show or movie that exacted so much comedy from an airport since Robert Stack punched out a Hare Krishna in Airplane. Of course, there were some nice sentimental moments as well, namely Jay's realization that Gloria does love him. All in all, it made me very excited to see the final two episodes of the season set, and shot!, in Hawaii. I expect luau humor!
Alright, that's what I ahve for this week. What did you think of the episode? What were your favorite moments? Do you rank this as a Top 5 Modern Family episode? Anything that didn't work for you? Please leave your comments below. Be sure to check out TVOVermindfor sneak peeks and photos from next week's Hawaii episode (Part 1) when they are available. I'll be beack next Thursday with another recap. Until then, I'm off to Cancun to see if it lives up to the hype.
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Are you really going to Cancun? Let us know if it actually does live up to the hype. The wife and I are considering heading that way this summer…I would have liked to have seen a bit more of the Manny/No-Fly-List plot as well. So they'll actually spend two episodes in Hawaii? I didn't know that.
I am not actually going to Cancun — those "until then" things are just a signature of sorts on all my recaps. Oddly enough, I AM going to Maui next month for a wedding!The reports I read said that Modern Family was going to Hawaii for two episodes. As they haven't actually reached Hawaii yet, I assume the next two episodes (and last two for the season) will be in Hawaii. This week's airport episode could have been the first of those two episodes, so the season finale could just be aregular episode at home. We'll see!