DVD Flashback Friday: Modern Family

OK, you told me so. All year friends and readers alike have been telling me “You have to check out Modern Family!” and all year I’ve been saying “Yeah yeah, totally!” while really thinking “Are you kidding me? I don’t have time for another show!”

Well, I was wrong. There is no such thing as not having time for Modern Family. It’s too funny to not watch and since episodes are only 20 minutes long, it only takes eight hours to watch the whole first season. Oh come on, that’s nothing. Take the day off work! Just kidding. But seriously, you can watch it in one day.

That’s almost what I did. I live on the East coast of Canada and last weekend a hurricane hit. I was powerless for more than 24 hours, so I curled up on the couch with my laptop and a spoonful of peanut butter to watch Modern Family and listen to the wind rattle my entire house.

Modern Family is an ABC show (don’t let that stop you from watching it) that premiered last fall. It cleaned up at the Emmys this year and has been all over the media. Modern Family is a light, funny show shot in a mockumentary style.

The show’s title pretty much explains it all. It’s about a Modern Family. There’s the family patriarch, Jay Pritchett. Jay has two adult children and has recently married a much younger woman, Gloria. He and Gloria are raising Gloria’s precocious pre-teen son from a previous marriage, Manny Delgado. Gloria and Manny are Colombian, which results in some hilarious cultural clashes in the household. Gloria is passionate and sometimes has a bad temper. However, you can tell that she loves Jay and didn’t just marry for money. Manny is an old soul. He’s always falling in love with girls and writing poems. He looks up to his biological father, but he’s starting to develop a relationship with Jay as well. Jay pretends to be annoyed by his family, but it’s always obvious that he really loves them.

Jay’s adult children, Claire and Mitchell, also have families. Claire is married to Phil Dunphy and they have three children together. Phil works as a real estate agent while Claire is a stay-at-home mom. Haley, a ditzy teen, is the eldest. Alex, the middle child, is probably about 13 years old and is a smart overachiever. She’s constantly messing with both her siblings, and often her parents as well. Luke is the youngest and is always getting into messes. Phil tries to be a cool dad (he tried to befriend Haley’s rocker boyfriend and created the word “peerenting” – being a peer and a parent) which leaves Claire to run the household and discipline the kids.

Mitchell Pritchett is Jay’s son. Mitchell is gay and Jay is not incredibly comfortable with that yet. Micthell has been in a relationship with Cameron Tucker for five years and in the pilot episode they adopt a little girl, Lily, from Vietnam. Mitchell and Cameron might be my favorite branch on the Modern Family family tree. They’re total opposites – Mitchell is reserved, neurotic and ambitious in his career as a lawyer. Cameron is more sensitive, more outgoing and more flamboyant. Cam stays home raising Lily, but it seems that in every episode another talent of his is revealed. My favorite is that he’s a classically trained Auguste Clown.

What’s great about Modern Family is the amazing balance it strikes between humor and kindness. Family members are always making fun of each other, but you never feel as though they secretly hate each other. I was always a fan of Everyone Loves Raymond, but there was a lot of hostility and resentment on that show. Modern Family is lighter and happier. Sure, Jay mocks Gloria and Manny’s wacky Colombian customs. But he also embraces them. Sure, Claire and Phil openly recognize that Alex is their only smart kid. But you know they’d do anything for their children. Claire has nailed the art of being almost simultaneously exasperated and in love with Phil. And though Mitchell and Cameron are so different, you always understand why they’re perfect for each other.

Every episode offers a lot of laughs, and there have been some great guest spots from actors like Judy Greer, Benjamin Bratt and Elizabeth Banks. It’s such a funny show, it can appeal to everyone, and you can watch it very quickly. Now try and give me a reason that you shouldn’t check it out!

The first season of Modern Family will be available on DVD on September 21, and the second season will premiere on September 22. Don’t try to tell me that’s a problem – record the first episode of season two and you can watch all of season one by the time the second episode airs.