Thursday, November 27, 2014

Modern Family S6 E8 "Three Turkeys"

Synopsis: Jay and Gloria attempt to escape contact with the family on Thanksgiving by pretending to be in Mexico, but when the rest of the family barges into their house to eat their Thanksgiving dinner, they must figure out a way to "surprise them by coming home early." Meanwhile, Phil has an up and down romantic relationship with his smartphone, Manny has some awkward sexual interactions with Haley, Claire prepares a backup turkey "in case" Phil's fails, and Mitch scolds Cam for being too soft on Lily.

Review: This episode captured some of the mass convolution magic that was in Modern Family's legendary "Las Vegas" episode last season. It was particularly fun to watch Jay and Gloria try to get away with their ploy to escape the family, same with Claire trying to hide her back up turkey from Phil. I've noticed that some of the best jokes on the show arise when these individual stories brush up against each other. For example: Jay turning a blind eye to Mitch and Cam wearing dresses as he tries to get to his bedroom to rescue Jo. This is why there is such a correlation between the best episodes and the episodes where the whole family is together. I wonder if the family unity is something that could play out more often.
Cam and Mitch remained the lame duck of the bunch, but there was one sign of improvement. Mitch and Cam function best when they are working towards a common goal, rather than bickering and arguing with the other and this episode was helped by the former dynamic. This episode had them trying to collaborate on a way to make Lily less spoiled. They had disagreements within how to do that, but they were acting as one parental and it was all the funnier to laugh at their unified parental ridiculousness (putting dresses on over their suits to show Lily how stupid she looked through example).
Another quick bicker I have is that the kids in this episode seemed to be guilty of some especially bad acting. It was passable when they were younger, but hearing Luke, Manny, and especially Lily talk just gets worse and worse.
"Three Turkeys" is an impressive showing, and I commend airing it prior to a re-run week. I think it will keep us satisfied for a week off.

My Grade: A-

Nielsen Rating: 3.2 (9.83 Million Viewers)

Reviewer's Quote: "This kind of clockwork created a frantic farcical energy reminiscent of “Las Vegas,” but “Turkeys” wasn’t nearly as successful as that episode, in part because “Las Vegas” benched the kids and employed a host of guests to build its elegant structure. “Turkeys” aims for the same vibe, and nearly achieves it, but is done in by the familiarity of the characters, which allows for far less options by which to assemble the comedy of errors effect." -Joshua Alston (avclub.com)

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Modern Family S6 E7 "Queer Eyes, Full Hearts"

Synopsis: Cam's success as a football coach lands him as the subject of a TV news story that makes Mitch feel under appreciated. Gloria pushes Manny to learn to speak Spanish from a sexy male language instructor that makes Jay jealous. Alex struggles with sleep derivation from a 24/7 study schedule and what appears to be a romantic relationship between Andy and Haley turns out to be practice sessions for job interviews.

Review: The re-integration of Andy and a new emotional dimension for Gloria made for a stand out episode in a Modern Family season that started off very slowly. As if out of no where, Andy started showing up at the Dunphy's house to mysteriously disappear into the basement with Haley. Contrary to Claire's wild imagination, they are actually practicing together for job interviews. They were both able to nail their respective interviews as Andy was hired into realty as Phil's assistant and Haley was hired by a big shot fashion designer thanks to her impeccable fashion sense. I'm happy to see that Haley can finally be something other than the lazy loser child and her new job has great potential for future content. Similarly, I think that Andy as Phil's assistant good potential for upcoming episodes as they share a similar happy-go-lucky goofiness.
This episode revisited Gloria's consciousness of her difficulty articulating her thoughts in English. It makes for an emotional situation because Gloria thinks little of herself when she stumbles over words in her second language. She says, "I'm smart when I speak in Spanish." Her outburst cues Jay to sweetly surprise her by taking Spanish lessons with the tutor, making for a very sweet moment when he stumbles through telling her that he "loves her in every language there is" in Spanish.
Mitch and Cam's world is still being milked by the fact that they are both employed this season. This different way of life may have been interesting at the beginning of the season, but it has not really gone anywhere. It has basically gone on for seven straight episodes so I do not know what to say about it anymore except that something has to change.
Also, it should be said that this episode had some of the wittiest and fastest firing jokes I've ever seen on Modern Family, so that boosted it a letter grade.

My Grade: A-

Nielsen Rating: 3.2 (9.83 Million Viewers)

Reviewer's Quotes: "What a smart choice to keep the audience in the dark about what was going on between Haley and Andy, given when we last saw them, Andy was rocking Haley’s world with his surprisingly skilled make-out technique. It’s a well-earned, winning twist, and proof the show still has potential if it dares to push its characters out of their respective comfort zones." -Joshua Alston (avclub.com)

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Modern Family S6 E6 Commercials

I didn't review the commercials last week and, because there was no new episode on November 5, I figured I could review the commercials for "AwesomeLand."

"Okay, Google"- Google puts forth an ad that is familiar with Apple's ad campaign for the iPhone. The idea is to juxtapose visuals of intimate couple and family moments and incredible adventures with using the talking feature of a smartphone. It certainly seems that people are able to live more exciting and thoughtful lives when they can gain any information they need from their smartphone. It is a smart tactic to get away from the idea that smart phones remove us from the world around us. This commercial says it enhances our experience in the world around us.

"Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice"- They've been running this ad with people standing in a river of cranberries as long as I can remember. This particular ad borders on being an anti-advertisement as they start off by saying something like, "We are here to tell you why Ocean Spray makes for such a great drink." By acknowledging the fact that its an advertisement, the ad seems to be leveling with the viewer.

"Geico Pinocchio" - Most insurance company's smartly show an ad that has little or nothing to do with insurance (since the concept of insurance is quite boring to watch). The ad can be effective with a joke and showing the brand name at the end. The advertising game is all about making consumers see the brand name several times to get it in their heads. Geico consistently uses jokes like Pinocchio's nose growing while telling a class that they all have great potential to hold the viewers attention, and, then, they associate the joke with Geico.

"Swanson Chicken Noodle"- No tricks here. If it weren't for the resolution and house decor featured in this ad, I could believe that it was plucked right out of the '50s or '60s. It is just a series of intimate testimonials from families who claim that "they make the best chicken noodle soup," all of them holding up Swanson's product.

This collection of ads shows that the demographic attracted to Modern Family is, appropriately enough, modern families. Parents are typically concerned about the quality of food that they feed their children and Ocean Spray and Swanson aim to make their food products popular among American families. Google, meanwhile, appeals to the desire of parents to educate their children by showing children asking Google questions. Now set with feeding and educating their children, Geico the insurance company comes in to have peace of mind if anything were to happen with a family's possessions. Because families are the interested demographic, Modern Family ads are everything relevant to the parents of children.

Monday, November 10, 2014

Modern Family S6 E6 "Halloween 3: AwesomeLand"

Synopsis: Phil tries to thwart Claire's horrifying Halloween plans by setting up "AwesomeLand," a less scary and perhaps more lame Halloween alternative. However, Claire's competitive drive causes her to take Halloween back to scary when their new next door neighbors put a wager on who can have the scariest house. Cam struggles to come through for Lily's school Halloween parade because of his coaching job keeping him busy and Mitch encounters difficulty working his court case when a stenographer dressed as a spider distracts the jury. Jay dawns a prince charming outfit with a full head of hair and he feels nostalgia for the old days when his glorious mane made him feel invincible.

Review: Sure enough, the Dunphy's new weed dealing neighbors, the Lafontaines, made for some fresh fun. This time, conflict arose with the families' mutual passion for Halloween decorating. Claire tore down Phil's playful AwesomeLand theme to make an insane asylum that would beat their neighbors in the competition for the scariest house. However, the Lafontaines are not above playing dirty, as Amber tells the lie that she was formerly a patient at a psychiatric ward to make the Dunphy's disassemble the scary. Many of the Dunphy's story arcs involve taking them somewhere and I think that the Lafontaines can provide for several episodes of content. We still haven't even begun to explore the relationships between the children of the families and I think that will add dimensions to this neighbor relationship. And, if nothing else, the Lafontaines provide laughs with marijuana puns such as "the best house wins the pot."
In Jay and Gloria's world, we learn the seemingly out of character trait that Jay used to be a man who depended on a fashionable hairstyle for his looks. Opting out of Gloria's suggestion to be Shrek, he sticks a wig on to make himself feel young again and then Gloria tells him that she likes him just the way he-...wait a minute, this seems oddly familiar. I challenge the writers to induce a Jay and Gloria conflict that does not have something to do with their ages.
In this episode we learn that Cam has a hilariously hard time finding Waldo in the books, and, when Lily dresses as Waldo for Halloween, Cam loses track of her at her schools Halloween party. Combine that with his football schedule, and Cam ultimately doesn't come through for accompanying Lily on her Halloween party. Mitch has a courtroom story squeezed in, but it really was not given the necessary time for it to be interesting. This stems from my continuing complaint that Modern Family episodes often have too much story squeezed into a 22 minute space. Mitch's attorney stories get this treatment a lot because it would seem unfair to give one character a third of the episode. I think the writers should try possibly integrating Cam and Lily in Mitch's work life somehow. That could be fun.

My Grade: B

Nielsen Rating: 3.5 (9.92 Million Viewers)

Reviewer's Quotes: "There is a sense of momentum in this episode, a product of an appearance from Ronnie and Amber, who pop back up so quickly it’s as if they never left...I’m hoping there’s a plan to add some depth to the Lafontaines though, seeing as I’ve already had my fill of trailer-trash humor." -Joshua Alston (avclub.com)

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Modern Family S6 E5 "Won't You Be Our Neighbor"

Synopsis: Phil is tasked with the unusual assignment of selling his former neighbor's house right next door. Unfortunately, a scrappy family of drug dealers falls in love with the house and overpays to secure it despite the best efforts by the Dunphys to drive them away. Meanwhile, Manny ends up bringing home a girl who is the granddaughter of the owner of "Closets Closets Closets," Jay's sworn business rival and the two enemies have a cow over the whole situation. In Mitch and Cam's world, Lily's nervous concern over the quality of her school work convinces Mitch and Cam that they should switch her to an easier teacher.

Review: Thanks to the introduction of some interesting new characters and witty writing, this episode is the best of Season 6 thus far. The hick, druggy family featured in this episode introduced some dirty, inappropriate story elements like the eldest son of the new family calling Alex "hot" and the parents of the new family suggesting an orgy situation with Claire and Phil. These are the first kind of characters I can think of being introduced to Modern Family's otherwise clean cut, wholly suburban theme, but I think it may be just what the show needs to cure the stale quality it has had lately. I just pray that this new family is featured more frequently than the old neighbors because I see the potential for many future shenanigans with this totally contrasting set of characters.
This episode allowed us to finally meet Jay's business rival of "Closets Closets Closets." It's always amusing to see Jay all fired up at somebody and his idea for a sock chute made for a humorous topic of discussion between he and his old enemy.
Even Mitch and Cam, who's story-lines have really been tanking this season, had an amusing scenario where their child was totally motivated to study hard in school while they were trying to make life easier for her (probably wrongfully, but with good intentions). This desire to work hard and learn provides some overdue character traits for Lily. She's starting to get old enough that the writers of Modern Family could actually utilize her personality and, up until this point, she really hasn't had one. Hopefully future episodes will delve more into this scholarly work ethic Lily has. I think she and Alex could really get along.

My Grade: A-

Nielsen Rating: 3.4 (10.16 million viewers)

Reviewers Quotes: "The biggest slumps in season six have come in episodes that keep the families separated, and yet 'Neighbor' is solid throughout despite the lack of family overlap, persuasive evidence of assured hands at the wheel." -Joshua Alston (avclub.com)

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Modern Family S6 E4 "Marco Polo"

Synopsis: Due to a mold infestation at their house, the Dunphys temporarily move into a cramped hotel room where they bump heads so much, Claire and the kids move to another room for more space. Gloria and Jay are surprised to find that Manny's first girlfriend is a beautiful high school senior. Unfortunately, this older girl was only using him to make her old boyfriend jealous and she tosses Manny to the wayside and gets back with her ex. Mitch, meanwhile, becomes slightly aggravated at all the attention Cam is getting as the high school football coach. When Mitch finally decides to be supportive, it seems that his presence at the football game is bad luck that causes the dolphins to lose.

Review: The stories of this episode were all satisfying. What was lacking from "Marco Polo" was comedy. Episodes from earlier seasons of Modern Family had me laughing out loud multiple times within an episode. I'm starting to think Modern Family was able to repeatedly reuse the relationships between the three main houses of the show because wow factor of the show was impressive wit and hilarious situations. After watching "Marco Polo," I really felt as though I had just watched three stories that were void of any jokes. At one point, I thought that Modern Family was on the decline because the stories were so redundant, but now I'm starting to wonder if there's just not as much "funny" as there used to be. Regardless, the ratings are staying up, so I guess I may be riding this one out.

My Grade: C+

Reviewer's Quotes: "'Marco Polo' features a few light twists, making it one of the season’s fleeter installments, and yet somehow there’s still a pervasive feeling of been-here-done-that weighing it down despite its charms." -Joshua Alston (avclub.com)

Nielsen Rating: 3.4 (9.71 million viewers)

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Modern Family S6 E3 "The Cold"

Synopsis: In the interest of victory, Cam benches Manny, who had been the starting kicker for the school football team, and Gloria and Jay are left bitter at Cam. Phil and Luke attempt to edit the footage of Mitch and Cam's wedding so that their is no evidence of Phil sneezing on the cake and giving everyone his cold. A play-date between Lily and a highly intelligent six-year-old goes awry when Mitch calls Lily's friend a know-it-all. Claire attempts to go to work even though she is deathly ill and can hardly stand. Haley kisses Andy after a long talk about how it's a good thing that they resisted their attraction to one another.

Review: The first thing to be said about this episode critically is that there were just too many individual stories packed into it. I had to keep track of five different situations and, while Modern Family has always pushed the envelope as far as many different situations, this one had me wishing that I could toss out two of them so I could focus on the three that I liked. Claire's cold situation didn't deserve its air time. She merely stumbled into a lunch meeting looking quite ill and that was the end of it- no resolution or twist of any kind. Haley and Andy's kiss was thrown into this episode as an investment in continuing that story arc later this season, which should be enjoyable later, but it certainly didn't bolster this episode in any way. At least it wasn't totally useless like Claire's cold.
Focusing on the good three stories would've made a killer episode. It was quite funny to watch Cam start a ringer as kicker for the football game ahead of Manny, his desire to win beating out his desire to be a good uncle. Phil and Luke's edits of the wedding video were hilarious and seeing Mitch lash out against an amazingly talented six-year-old was thoroughly entertaining. At the end of the episode, I was just sad that I wouldn't get to see these scenarios play out further thanks to time taken up by the lame stories.

My Grade: B-

Reviewer's Quotes: "There’s more variety in “The Cold,” which starts a bit slow but hustles in its second and third acts. It’s also built on a theme, one which is not particularly observant, but makes “The Cold” nicely cohesive. Nearly every member of the family is killing themselves to look good for everyone else." -Joshua Alston (avclub.com)

Nielsen Rating: 3.6 (10.63 million viewers)