Modern Family does smart physical comedy too

How can a show be so smart, yet do physical comedy so well? I never thought about physical comedy being smart. Granted, I’m the first person to break into hysterics when somebody trips, but really, it’s just a gag designed to get a chuckle. You don’t have to be smart to get it, and the writers don’t have to be clever to put it in a script.

Or so I thought. Modern Family sure had a different twist on physical comedy in last night’s episode, when Phil gets walloped in the face with the remote control airplane, courtesy of Jay.

Yeah, it’s completely hilarious when the plane knocks Phil over with a smack. But for me, it was all in the set-up. Phil in his overzealousness has no idea that Jay is trying to shut him up and get rid of him. As he stands there with the hoop, he is so darned eager, and not only his face gets smashed, his expectations and hopes for bonding with his father-in-law do too.

It didn’t stop there. The writers were able to take the one physical gag and milk it, as Jay carries Phil into the house, Phil acts disoriented and finally just unabashedly bonds with Jay, whether he likes it or not. If you’re going to bonk a character in the face with a plane, that’s the way to do it, folks.

Other stuff:

• Manny is so cute, I could just eat that kid up! He’s like a 40-year-old in a ten-year-old body. I loved him giving parenting advice to Claire.
• Mitchell meets Costco.
• The group hug, as pictured above. Don’t you adore Jay’s face of pain as he embraces his steps and in-laws?

Clacked by Debbie McDuffee
on Oct 08, 2009 @ 10:00 EST5EDT