“Am I driving him to school or is he riding his burro?” – Jay to Gloria about Manny wearing his poncho to school
You want to know why the ABC comedies are getting such rave reviews? Because people can relate to them. I just finished watching The Middle, celebrating the weird kid, and then Modern Family highlights the weird husband. Yep, totally relatable. Wait — it’s not just my life, is it? [Edit Keith: Hey!]
The thing is, they balance it so perfectly. Yeah, I’m completely laughing at Brick and his soothing ketchup packets, and you know I’m mercilessly laughing at what a complete ass Phil makes of himself with the running race. Yet both of these shows handle their characters’ weirdness with such tenderness.
Where his parents accept and love Brick for who he is and are just thrilled that he’s happy, Claire pretty much feels the same way about Phil. As childish as he was being, she realized that he really needed to win that race, so she threw it. And that tender moment was balanced … because right after he won, Haley hit him with the car. Justice is served.
Some other great moments and observations:
Clacked by Debbie McDuffee
on Oct 28, 2009 @ 23:15 EST5EDT
Don’t forget the hilarious montage of Lily dressed up like singers– Diana Ross was hysterical in its own right but by the time her Stevie Wonder look came up I was nearly falling off the couch laughing.
you forgot the awesome part after the credits where the eldest daughter was driving the family and wouldn’t stop for the police because she hates cops … with Phil egging her on saying that he has an unpaid ticket from the mall
(actually all the driving lessons/scenes were great)
I know the article is about Modern Family, but you did mention Brick from The Middle. Brick has got to be the funniest character on television this year . . . “this year,” he whispers.
both of these shows are great – they have commonality, but they approach it very differently. My wife and I picked up on the Brick-speak right away. When I text her, I will occasionally throw in a Brick whisper at the end between asterisks *asterisks*. The key is to pick up on what terms or words he repeats. The kid is in love with language, as this week’s episode shows. he repeats fun, interesting or significant words.
Getting back to Modern Family, having just gone through it, the driving was cute but a bit cliched. Cam’s over-sensitivity is well within character, but could go too far if they’re not careful. I loved that they had Jay’s family watching Manny wear his poncho, play his flute and do his dance AT HOME, where they accept his weirdness. That’s a family.
It was nice that they covered the Denver thing, but they missed the part I always hate that considers Vietnamese to be the same as Chinese, Japanese, or Korean.