BWW Recap: Phil, Mitch, Alex & More Learn to Grow on This Week's MODERN FAMILY

Hey, all you MODFAM fans, and welcome back!! Hope you enjoyed your short hiatus, and that you're all ready to dive into the next batch of new episodes!!

And it seems like while we're coming off our MODFAM "Spring Break," so to speak, the Dunphys are just stepping into theirs. Or at least trying to.

When we open, Alex is checking her computer - something we learn she's been doing repeatedly - for college admissions' e-mails, so Claire, who's busy de-cluttering the house for the annual spring cleaning (Of course she is!), suggests she tag along with Haley to the Bonnaroo-like music festival Haley's attending (More on that later). Among the items on Claire's throw-away list is Phil's old banjo, which, when he notices it while announcing to the family he's trampolining with Luke for the day (Of course he is!), disheartens Phil. Unfortunately for him, it's only the first - and least - disheartening moment he'll have throughout the day. First, Luke picks up the banjo and learns a song, and Claire suddenly starts loving the thing. Next, Phil falters on the famed Dunphy Tuck trampoline trick, but Luke miraculously masters it! Feeling bad for him, Claire puts Phil to work on some manly, muscly tasks for her cleaning regimen; kinda smart how Claire uses Phil's weakness to get him to help out, but what else would you expect from her?

However, Phil remains belittled, and confronts Luke about it... and - to no fan's surprise - things get out of hand. Fortunately, they come together and after a hilarious, Broadway-esque exchange (let me know if you can spot it!) have the greatest heart-to-heart I think we've seen from the two of them in the series. And no, I'm not kidding. I won't spoil it too much here, but it really addresses Luke's growth and his transition into becoming a man. He's not lil' Luke from S1 anymore, and I feel like this exchange was a way to not only let Luke let Phil know that, but also for the writers to let the audience know that. The talk, too, took the traditional "Dad-getting-older" plot line (which we already saw from Phil anyway in S3's "Disneyland" episode) and put a spin on it. And nice to tie in these two elements (growing older as better for Luke and worse for Phil) as well. Flowing seamlessly... that's how MODERN FAMILY writers do it! #winning

Mitch and Cam's plot this week is twofold; for one, Cam is performing in the Faculty Follies singing "Memory" (hello, Broadway connection!) in full cat garb - which, of course, sends me right back to the image of Cat Cam in S4's "When a Tree Falls." Should be pretty darn funny! But continuing with the rivalry element introduced in the Dunphy storyline, Señor Kaplan (Will Sasso) arrives and announces he's singing the same song - in a similar cat costume!! Ruh roh. Or rather... meow?!

Jay and Gloria are head to head this week: she challenges him to give up cigars; he challenges her to give up soap operas. And luckily for Gloria, the antics surroinding the Cam-Señor Kaplan rivalry are a great substitute for the telenovelas she loves! And in true soap opera fashion, after a slew of hijinks, Cam's snagged the role from the señor! Again, in my goal to stay spoiler-free, I won't ruin the ending, but this one was great fun. Okay, a little hokey, yes, but I do give credit to the clever way these writers wove in Gloria's telenovela storyline. Just wish it would have been a bit longer. Didn't seem like we saw Gloria suffer too much without her shows, and the "this is just like a soap opera" was too planned; it came about too easy, rather than planted and then developed as the episode went along. And we didn't see the fallout with Jay. Like... at all.

Speaking of Jay, he's paired this week with Mitch, whose plot concerns his obsession in making sure everything's okay with Lily, while she's out on her first "away-from-home" scout camping trip. Great choice to pair this story with Jay's "can't-let-go-of-his-cigars" plot line. The parallels couldn't be more perfect (J: "It's to keep the smoke off me so Gloria won't smell it." / M: "That's insane." / J: "Yeah, I've lost my mind. Have fun breaking your daughter out of sleep away camp"), and of course, it leads to a discussion where we get more insight into Mitch's rocky childhood and how he felt Jay treated him as a kid. Predictable, yes - and more so, than Phil and Luke's - but it's still cute; a nice bonding moment between father and son that I'm happy to know can feel fresh six seasons in. And yes - spoiler-free - the conclusion of this plot is pretty special, and ties all the elements together. Again, kudos to the writers to making it all work!!

And back to Haley and Alex. Haley tries to get Alex to let loose and have fun, but turns out it's one Long Island Iced Tea too many, and Alex goes crazy overboard. Nice to see a change in the sister dynamic here - Haley being the protective, worried one, and Alex being the party girl. The reveal was fantastic - "I spent my whole life trying to be perfect and where did it get me?!" - and so true to life... seriously, folks, just relax, dust yourself off when things go wrong, and keep going. Superb work by Ariel Winter here - damn, Alex keeps growing and revealing new sides of herself... which is nice for us to see, especially as she heads into college. Sarah Hyland turns in a pretty stellar performance as well, as she gives us the softer side of Haley in the party-girl environment; maybe more of a stretch for Haley than Hyland (haha), but that's even more reason to praise the performance. Excellent acting this week by both! Although, I will say once again, I just think this plot, too, went a little quick; Alex was resistant to full-on drunk party girl in the literal blink of an eye! No buildup.

On the whole, though, a good effort. I really appreciated the commonalities in all the stories this week. From Phil and Luke to Haley and Alex to Mitch and Lily (okay... maybe not Gloria and Cam), it was all about letting your kids grow up (for the adults) and fending for one's self (for the kids). Good things to teach viewers as they watch these kids head into maturity, and a nice wholesome family theme that reassures us that kinda stuff can still be found on television even in 2015. Oh, MODERN FAMILY, you never fail to impress me.

QUOTES

- Luke: You're still on that thing? What are you constantly looking at on your computer?

Alex: Is that a question you really want people asking around here?

Luke: Indeed it is not.

- Phil: Haley didn't run a 10k yesterday to raise awareness for alopecia.

Luke: What's alopecia?

Phil: That is why I run.

- Cam: (re: Lily's camp) It's a scout camp. Not Leavenworth.

- Phil, crushed by Luke playing the banjo, re: the Dunphy Tuck: It's impossible to be safe all the time. You can get hurt just walking into your own house.

- Señor Kaplan: (re: Cam giving up his song) This is literally the nicest gesture I have ever witnessed. And I'm from Canada.

- Luke: Ow! The G-string snapped.

Phil: Probably not the first time that's happened in here.

- Phil: Everything I can do, you can do better.

Luke: No, I can't.

Phil: Yes, you can.

STRAY OBSERVATIONS

- Maybe the "too-much-plot-crammed-into-one-episode-syndrome" is really a result of us not needing so much exposition because we know these characters so well now?

- An episode about kids growing up with no Manny?! The kid who had a midlife crisis on his 10th (was it 10th?) birthday party?! WHAT?!

Photo Credit: ABC

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