Modern Family: ‘Caught in the Act’

Who else watched MODERN FAMILY this week instead of AMERICAN IDOL? I don’t know about you, but I’d rather hang out with the Pritchett family than Ryan and the (over-hyped) new judges any day.

Unfortunately, the classic sitcom misunderstanding was once again used on the show this week. I hope they get out of that habit soon because the writers are better than that. Still, it was funny…

Gloria accidentally sent Claire a rude email and spent the entire episode trying to figure out how to apologize for it. Begging Jay to get the message to come back had me (and my mom and my aunt, whom I watched this episode with) all giggling. Claire and Phil, on the other hand, spent the episode trying to figure out what to say to their kids after they walked in on them in a rather, um, compromising position. In fact, they were so preoccupied with what had happened at their house that they didn’t even know about Gloria’s email.

When Gloria and Jay stop by the Dunphy house to talk about the email, Jay takes the opportunity to lecture Claire about privacy. I loved it when, thinking quick on his feet, he says the email that Gloria sent was naked pictures of herself, so Claire won’t look at it before deleting it. Claire thinks he’s a hypocrite, but who cares. Crisis averted and he and Gloria are out the door, heading for a Vegas vacation.

The Dunphy kids were the highlight of this episode for me. From Alex washing her eyes out after walking in on her parents to Luke not shutting up about sex, they were my favorite part of the night. The smiling and nodding while Phil and Claire were talking to them also made me laugh. But what I really loved was the sweet moment at the gas station after they escaped their house. The three of them talking (about how sad it is that many of their friends’ parents are divorced and at least they have parents who still love each other) was heartwarming. That’s what I love about this show – it can be laugh-out-loud funny one minute and then make you go “awww!” the next. That’s why it should have won the Golden Globe last Sunday and not GLEE, but that’s a whole other discussion for another time and place.

I know I went on and on last week about how much I love Cam and Mitchell’s storylines, but I didn’t think this week’s was too engaging. And what a waste of Rachael Harris! They’ve had three great guest stars on the past three weeks and have underutilized them all! James Marsden was my favorite of the three, but his role was still kind of lacking. Anyway, Rachael Harris played a restaurant owner named Amelia whose son is in Lily’s preschool class and whose restaurant Cam and Mitchell desperately want to go to. They arrange a play date and then have to babysit when Amelia has to handle an emergency at the restaurant. While she’s gone, Cameron accidentally spills Lily’s strawberry juice on her $50,000 white rug – the same white rug Diane Keaton has! (Or was it Anjelica Huston? Joan Collins?) They blame the spill on Amelia’s son, Jackson, whom they find out is allergic to strawberry juice when Amelia pins him down and is about to inject him with an EpiPen. Now, I’m not a parent, but wouldn’t she be able to tell that his throat is not closing up and he’s fine? Whatever, again, not a childcare expert here. Unsurprisingly, Cam and Mitchell never find out the secret to getting a reservation at her restaurant.

Some favorite lines:
• Gloria – “Why the whoosh? Where is the email?! It sended! Make it come back!”
• Mitchell – “Okay, the most important play date ever so I’m really going to need you to sparkle, sweetie.”
Cameron – “Oh, I’m going to sparkle like it’s the Fourth of July.”
• Luke – “What were they doing? Whatever it was, it looked like Dad was winning.”
• Phil – “Claire, we’re not your parents. We’re in much better shape.”
• Mitchell – “Did you not hear her on the phone? ‘Fix it! Replace it! Write me a check!’ She probably has that embroidered on a pillow. Right next to a jar of human tears!”
• Luke – “So it’s a good thing Mom and Dad still do sex.”

What did y’all think of this week’s episode? How would you have used Rachael Harris differently? And have you ever been caught in an embarrassing and compromising position? (Oooo, scandalous!) Let us know below!