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Modern Family’s weird kids, gay jokes and sneaky laughs

- Season 1, Episode 5

modern family football

I’m just going out on a limb and saying it: this was the funniest episode of Modern Family since the pilot. I’ve enjoyed every episode, don’t get me wrong, but this episode was written in the style of the pilot, meaning it left me with the inability to recover from one laugh before they got to the next one.

And did you catch all those little funnies they slipped in when you thought you weren’t listening closely? Yeah, they were there and they were priceless.

In reference to Lily’s referee outfit, Mitchell asks, “Why is she dressed like the Hamburglar?” That was pretty sneaky, but Phil’s reaction to “Miss Passwater” was downright covert. You would have giggled too.

There’s nothing I love more than when a show celebrates a weird kid. Nope, that’s not because my kid tucks his pants into his socks, thinking it makes him look like he’s wearing super hero boots, or because he makes up words as a part of his own secret language. It’s not even because, like Claire, “I ask why a lot.” OK, it probably is, but the fictional kids tend to be even weirder than mine, and it makes me laugh, with love.

“I’ll tell you what’s weird. Our son is not weird. What’s weird is that her kid wears after shave and dresses like a count.” – Claire, about Manny

Modern Family handles gay jokes with reverence, which I suppose means that they don’t make fun of gay people any more than they make fun of weird kids, “mud flap” moms or… Phil.

“It’s not just the game. It’s the bands, and the drama and the pageantry.” – Mitchell
“Don’t forget about the team mascots.” – Cameron
“They wear ascots?” – Mitchell
“No, mascots, with an ‘m.’ that could have been very embarrassing.” – Cameron

But my favorite gay joke of the night: “Dad, you’re really close to ruining gay for me.” – Mitchell

Other stuff:

  • This episode was originally scheduled to air on November 4, so I’m wondering why they decided to mess with the order of the episodes.
  • Seriously subtle funny: “Claire likes to say you can be part of the problem or part of the solution. I happen to believe that you can be both.” – Phil
  • What do Erik Estrada and the Righteous Brothers have in common? I don’t know either, but somehow Jay managed to reference both of them in the same sentence.
Photo Credit: ABC

9 Responses to “Modern Family’s weird kids, gay jokes and sneaky laughs”

October 22, 2009 at 2:16 AM

Totally agree– I was laughing out loud so much during it. Each ep just further reinforces my love for Cam and Manny.

I hope the airing out of order doesn’t make any interactions we see in future eps seem off. So far each one seems standalone enough that it shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

October 22, 2009 at 2:27 AM

By the way– though the captioning said “cannonball”, did anyone else hear “Cam-onball”?

October 22, 2009 at 9:36 AM

Ah! I didn’t notice either way, but knowing this show, I’d bet you’re right about the Cam-onball… too funny!

October 22, 2009 at 10:43 AM

I said to my husband as we were watching last night that this show consistantly gets it right and hits the mark every time. Granted it has only had a couple of episodes so far, but I am absolutely loving it!

October 22, 2009 at 1:39 PM

best new show of the season!!! Miss Passwater…i laughed so hard!

October 22, 2009 at 4:35 PM

My brother is turning 21 in two months and he still makes up secret languages, elaborate maps for fantasy worlds, and when he was four he wanted to change his name to Sonic the Hedgehog. Believe me, Owen is totally normal.

October 22, 2009 at 6:18 PM

So the fact he had a bag on his head at Trader Joe’s the other day, and that he wen to the Boston Children’s Museum today with his shirt on backwards and wearing a tail — totally normal? ;-)

October 23, 2009 at 7:44 AM

Your weird son can certainly get away with his dress code at this time of the year because of Halloween. The rest of the year he gets away with it because he is so darn cute!!!

I love Modern Family. It is a laugh outloud weekly treat.

October 27, 2009 at 11:00 AM

Mitchell: “I am a fan of musical theater.”
Cameron (with hands splayed upward): “Surprise!”

It’s all in his delivery.

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