Premiering in 2009 for years I avoided the acclaimed show Modern Family. Oh I knew it was on but it just never grabbed me. It wasn’t for silly reasons like the network it was on or it featured a gay couple. It was because it was mockumentary style!
While technically this was around before, The Office made this trend take off. And while it worked for that show, it drives me nuts they every show had to do it since. From Park and Rec all the way to the current Abbott Elementary (which is excellent btw). Why do I hate it? It’s several things. I’m a sucker for traditional three camera shows with a studio audience. So this hand held camera with no audience bugs me. Why I never watch The Middle! And of course what’s even worst is the thing these are famous for, those ridiculous testimonials. Ugh, it’s so lame! I mean The Brady Bunch is fake because they’re happy but characters stopping to do testimonials is real?? It’s also lazy. Why have the characters actions tell what’s going on when they can stare at a camera and tell us directly? But here, I got used to it.
However the last year or two I finally gave Modern Family a try (you know me, on top of a trend!) and ended up loving it. It’s so well done I got sucked in. With all the comments I’ve made against it for its entire network run, it’s time to share some love. So why does this show work?
Here are five reasons.
1.The mash ups
This show does a wonderful job of letting the characters interact act with each other. Yeah we get a lot of group scenes but we also get plenty of moments when two characters who don’t always get time together will have a plot for an episode. So we’ll see Phil hang out with Mitchell one episode, the next he’s got something going on with Cam. It really helps make the family feel connected when we get these scenes. This was something Friends did well this show expanded on. Watch old shows and the minor characters are just, there. Yes to be fair there are episodes when characters are just inexplicably absent.even when it makes no sense, that is a valid problem.
2.Sophia Vergara and Al Bundy
I know it seems weird to single her out but it’s amazing how well she fits into this show. I totally buy that she’s in love with and married to Ed O’Neil. It never feels contrived or forced. She adds a real flavor to the series and keeps it from being. And Ed O’Neil makes the perfect patriarch and I’m glad he found something to be famous for besides Al Bundy. I know people loved Married..with Children but I was not one of them. In fact this is the first time I ever really liked him in anything, and he does a great job being a father who has flaws but is working to be better than them.
3.Lilly and her dad’s
Not much to say here but I do love Lilly. She doesn’t get a lot of lines (in the early days anyway) but whenever she does it’s always a scene stealer. And yes Cam and Mitchell showing that a gay couple is pretty much the same as any other is handled very well. I always say Will & Grace walked so Modern Family could run. And besides that they’re very funny and well-developed characters. I like that they're both flawed but not to the point you wonder how the two could stand each other. By the way Mitchell and Clair are two totally believable siblings. Lily got inconsistent as she grew up and stopped being cute but creators kept making her be mean for the sake of being mean, Even Full House realized at a certain point Michelle needed to be more than catchphrases and the occasional funny line. With Lilly it was clear the creators wanted nothing with evolving her. But when they let her be part of the family and be nice (or appear at all) she was always a good fit.
4.And the rest…
It reminds me of Friends in the sense that the show was cast pitch perfectly. Every actor feels genuine and even the ones who you would think don’t fit, do. Julie Bowen is fantastic as the frustrated housewife , but unlike Debra Barone you really feel like she does love Phil. She reminds people of Monica with her demons but has a better handle on them. And man can she get a laugh. And what can I say about Ty Burrell making this annoying jerk so very likable. I was ready to hate Phil at first but he won me over. Even if some of his dumb moments push believability. Another actor would make him feel fake or annoying but Burrell makes it work. Finally the kids who are also well cast. I love they hit there stereotypes but are still real. Haley is the “dumb” one but she isn’t stupid like others (Mallory Keaton anyone?), Alex is the brain but she still acts like a normal person, and Luke is a normal kid not just “the cute one”. And unlike some shows you know they love each other even if they fight, some shows leave that out and just make the kids the targets of jokes. Yeah they disagree but I love theyre there for each other. Ok I should mention and Manny, and while he can annoying I certainly don't hate him.
5.It’s funny and well written
Yeah I know, this show set records for Emmy wins so I’m not the first to say this. But the writing is very sharp. I can’t count how many times I recognized the trope they were doing, but the show switched gears in a way I never saw coming. And the way the plots are structured are Seinfeld levels of fantastic. Combined with Frasier style misunderstandings. They also did episodes structured differently with unique gimmick but they still worked. And the vacation episodes..well I always hate travel episodes. Also the show is funny. It seems in the past single camera shows like MASH or The Wonder Years veer more toward drama and the comedy is muted, this is especially so these days (I’m looking at you “The Bear”). This show not so much. It is very funny and doesn’t stray so far into the drama you forget what genre it’s supposed to be. When a show makes me laugh out loud then I’m in. It happened with Cosby. It happened with Seinfeld. It happened with Friends. It happened with Big Bang Theory… and it happened with Modern Family. I’m just sorry it took me so long to realize it. And while it is funny there’s also lots of heart and sentiments. I ended up caring for these characters more than I thought I would. It’s nice after watching ELR to see a functional family on tv again.
The show actually joins a long list of shows I prejudged and then later loved. I have a real problem with that. A common criticism of its 11 year run is that the show ran out of steam the last few years. I get that, the stories got more silly, the gags more broad and the acting a little exaggerated. It’s perfectly normal for any show to get aged but unlike some (cough. Mad about you. Cough) it was still good and very watchable, leading to a very satisfying series finale in 2020. But the show was a hit, winning a ton of Emmy's, and I regret not watching it first run.
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