In the inaugural quarter of its sophomore run, "Modern Family" seems to be still grappling somewhat with maintaining the lofty Emmy-winning standards set by its inaugural season. It navigates the confines of its family-sitcom heritage and strives to transcend mundane humor. The series has been progressing in fits and starts, with this particular episode appearing particularly mired in a rut. It wasn't devoid of humor, but the show increasingly seems to be coasting on the popularity of its freshman year while it figures out its next steps. This week, it stagnated, offering uncommonly clumsy jokes and largely recycled conflicts.
Jay and Gloria have finally embarked on a spat that transcends her crazy persona as a South American woman engaged in bizarre practices like consuming pig intestines, euthanizing dogs, and believing in a higher power. This time, it revolves around Gloria's insistence on commemorating every relationship milestone, from first kisses to anniversaries to squabbles over overlooked anniversaries. Whatever it was they were supposed to be celebrating this time — Jay couldn't recall, and Gloria wouldn't prompt him — was momentarily forgotten after Manny, while visiting Jay at work, got entangled in a forklift mishap. Last season, this scenario might have been more amusing when Manny could be counted on for a couple of clever kid quips per episode, but here, he barely gets a chance to wisecrack. Once again, Gloria's madness is the punchline: "That wasn't an ambulance ride, I drove you," Jay informs Manny. "Then what was that siren?" "That was your mother," he responds.
Manny is unharmed, but only until he learns that Jay has terminated the stock guy who allowed him to operate the lift; he then politely storms out of the living room, ponders a lawsuit, and ultimately resorts to attempting to negotiate the guy's reinstatement by divulging where (and for what non-occasion) Gloria expects Jay to meet her for dinner. It doesn't quite work, but instead, we get to hear some pretty weighty words from Jay: “Anyone who puts my kid in danger doesn't get a second chance, ever.” “Did you just call me your kid?” Manny asks. “Oh, jeez,” Jay replies. But indeed, he did! And to think — it took one and a quarter seasons, a forklift accident, and the specter of legal action for those words to be uttered.
In the Pritchett-Tucker household, Cameron harbors ambitions for Lily to embark on a toddler acting career, while Mitch harbors doubts, pleading, "Let's just allow our daughter to enjoy a typical childhood, shall we?" Cameron responds with a wry smile, "I'm afraid that ship has already sailed, my dear." But what, pray tell, constitutes the abnormality in Lily's current life, beyond her enchantingly adorable demeanor? Could it be Cameron's secret reluctance to let her walk, crawl, or even touch the floor of their home? Against Mitch's reluctant wishes (which, these days, seem to be a recurring theme), Cameron secures Lily a starring role in a commercial for a local children's furniture store. On set, he fumbles around, accidentally consumes a fake grape, and transparently pursues his own unfulfilled dreams of a showbiz childhood through his daughter. Meanwhile, Lily remains blissfully oblivious to the hullabaloo, albeit experiencing the novel sensation of touching the floor. Just as filming commences, and despite Mitch's polite yet firm intrusion onto the set, the commercial unfolds in an unexpectedly hilarious manner – sailor suits, amateur lip-syncing, and cringe-worthy Asian stereotypes abound. It was undoubtedly the episode's highlight, catching everyone off guard with its unexpected humor.
Over at the Pritchett-Dunphy residence, Claire lies ailing in bed, and Phil finds himself without any real estate showings due to a seemingly sudden housing market crash in their peculiar Los Angeles suburb. With no other option, he's forced to confront a sudden crisis of masculinity within the confines of his home. He attempts baking cookies, only to burn his fingers and break a nail in the process. His worries about losing business escalate into a full-fledged anxiety attack. This situation presented a golden opportunity for the show, once preoccupied with depicting contemporary American family dynamics and challenging gender roles and expectations. Instead, we witness Phil moping about his inability to financially provide for his family – a supposed comic moment heightened by his apron-wearing antics, as if mocking his manhood. His thwarted masculinity manifests in an obsessive quest to silence an incessantly beeping smoke alarm hidden somewhere in the house. "Changing a smoke detector's battery is a rite of passage for any real man," he laments. "All I hear is, 'Beep beep, you're not a man!'" Just as he's about to snap, he realizes the beep is emanating from an old smoke alarm Luke (sadly underutilized once again) had stashed in the attic the previous year. At least Phil's impromptu smashing spree provided an amusing backdrop to Claire and Haley's conversation, where Claire tries to convince Haley to date beyond Dylan (Haley suspects Claire's subtly regretting her marriage to Phil). Incidentally, Dylan has been conspicuously absent all season until now, but his return is forgiveable solely for introducing the episode's funniest recurring joke – a risqué dream he repeatedly has about Claire. Keep Dylan around, Haley. We need his comic relief.
