I think it's odd that Manny gets most of the recognition as the child star (not that he's not fantastic), when really all three of Claire and Phil's kids are pretty great also. The fight between Haley and Alex that ended with Alex yelling "Do you see how much you need to study!?" was funny, and Luke did a pretty impressive pratfall with that bumping his head into the wall bit...
I have a hunch that season one will remain the singular almost-perfect collection from this show. The way the much-shorter Lisa Kudrow project "The Comeback," stands as a perfect example of a sitcom with a strong beginning, middle and end.
I don't doubt there will always be funny lines, sequences and episodes of "Modern Family" in the future, I just don't think there is anywhere to go now that they are already revisiting ground they've covered.
We've seen guest stars simply not work as they bring what they do into the universe of the show. It's like the new characters have been Photoshopped in, (Shelley Long and Nathan Lane). If they're just going to amp up the neuroses already demonstrated by the characters (how much more screechy can Claire become? hasn't she already learned the lesson that Haley is just like she was as a teen a few times?) how long will it be before they're unbearable?
Also, I thought Manny's acting was really weak in last night's episode.
But an example of the poor writing choices is the fact that the Shirley Temple joke then had that annoying Phil add-on "Bill Bojangles Robinson, I said it first!" Just non-sensical and not too comedic.
I find that I usually find one of the 3 families to be funny each week. The head bump was funny but The explanation to Pepper and breaking the figurine was too funny.
Manny was annoying last night.
I still like "Cougar Town" better. The wine neighborhood watch was hysterical. And has anyone noticed what they have been doing with the title when it shows up?
For me, last night's episode may have been the funniest of the series. Every character had a moment to shine, and I laughed steadily through the whole thing.
Picking a favorite line is nearly impossible for me, but the one that made me rewind was "Oh no, they cut corners! They forgot to build fire escapes!"
Luke really is becoming the surprise star. His timing and deadpan are way advanced for a child actor. He is in many ways the equivalent of Brittany on Glee: a minor character that could easily be played as cliche dumb but somehow ends up as a truly original comic creation.
But last night's episode belonged to Sarah Hyland as Haley, who showed the smarts behind her dumbness as well.
I loved when the Japanese exchange student went back home and shared his new personality with his family. When he whispered to himself at the end I just about died!
I am up and down with this show. Last night was good though. The garage scene with the shovel was too funny. i was not into the whole Indian thing at the pre-school interview. I know this show can be out there but that was a bit much and annoyed me. The gay couple annoy me most of the time anyway. The whole contest thing was pretty funny. I didn't see the soap thing coming. I do love Sophia Vargas.
Oops- my bad! I did mean The Middle! That's what I get for posting while I have a migraine! I did love Modern Family when they were in the interview and he started speaking "Native American" The little girl who plays Lily is absolutely adorable!
Luke was overshadowed by Manny in the first season, but the writers seemed to have realized just how funny that kid is. Every line they give him hits. "Chicken pot-pie!"