MODERN FAMILY Recap: ‘See You Next Fall’

I’m gonna come out and say it – not only do I think that was the most physical comedy from any episode of MODERN FAMILY I’ve ever seen but I think it was the best use of physical comedy from any episode of MODERN FAMILY I’ve ever seen! I also loved that the families interacted organically with each other. And there was reason; they weren’t just thrown there for the sake of being thrown together — they were going to Alex’s middle school graduation. But of course there were bumps along the road.

The first pratfall of the night occurred when Cameron fell into Lily’s blow-up ducky pool. Honestly, I don’t know what he was doing besides walking that made him fall in, but it was a great way to start the show. And of course, Lily had no reaction at all about it. She’s my favorite – all this crazy can be going on around her and she just sits there, stone-faced. Later, at Jay and Gloria’s house he walks into the sliding glass door and then takes the screen door with him as he goes. Did anyone else catch how quite concerned Gloria and Phil were when he did that while the Jay, Claire and Mitchell howled with laughter? Sorry, I’m with the Pritchetts on this one – it was hilarious.

The physical comedy was still on display later in the episode when Phil cheerleader-throws Claire over Jay’s driveway gate because it’s stuck. Her unseen pain and his, “Oh, she’s fine” reaction was great, but what really tipped it over on the funny-scale was when Phil wanted Jay to throw him over and everyone just walked away. Phil was so offended and sad! Again, hilarious!

The third “highlight of pain” for me was Phil and Claire tumbling down the hill to get to Alex’s graduation and looking like they were really hurting themselves! And Cam finally laughing at someone else’s falling made it worth it for me. And what exactly made it so funny? Like he said, it was, “The juxtaposition of absurdist comedy against the backdrop of a formal setting.”

Lastly, how great was Jay’s fall in the flashback when Phil opened the front door in his face and he went flying to the ground? Ha!

But back to the actual plot of the show. With Alex graduating and heading off to high school, Phil knew Claire would be freaking out about losing another child to the “I-hate-my-parents” years. After all, Haley doesn’t run to greet her dad in her Aladdin pajamas when he comes home from work anymore so why would Alex turn out differently? So Phil tried to make Claire have a meltdown that day because he was going to Vegas with his college cheerleading buddies the next day and didn’t want to tell them he wasn’t going because he had to console his wife. Side note – who else would love to see a Phil in Las Vegas episode? It doesn’t even have to be with the whole family – it could just be him! OK, he probably should bring the family, but if not, we need to see him there with the cheerleader friends! It would be funnier than THE HANGOVER! Side note two – with the second movie coming out in a couple of weeks and being on everyone’s minds, who else could only think of Phil and his very own wolf pack taking Vegas by storm?

There were a couple of other subplots going on in the show, the first one involving Jay. While at the dermatologist, he decided to get Botox (or as Gloria called it, “lady juice for the wrinkles”) and it made his face droop. I wasn’t really a fan of this storyline, other than the fact it gave Mitchell the opportunity to use the phrase, “No my God!” again. And kudos to the makeup department! The droopage looked very real and I loved it got saggier as the show went on.

The other side story involved Haley and Alex. Alex was determined to make a very pointed speech against her classmates at graduation, while Haley likened it to social suicide (or as she called it, being a “social piranha”). Haley reiterating how insignificant she feels next to Alex and her perfect grades when she herself was failing Biology and had to go to summer school was such a poignant moment, especially after they bonded over their vandalism a few weeks ago, when Haley first admitted her insecurities to Alex. Though I love what Alex got out of the conversation was that Haley thought she was pretty and that caused her to change her speech while up at the podium.

Before I wrap this recap up, here are a few of my favorite lines:

• “‘Guys, I can’t go to Vegas because my wife’s freaking out!’ Trust me, that is not a phone call that you want to make to a bunch of ex-college male cheerleaders. They will mock you with a hurtful rhythmic taunt.” – Phil
• “I was there when she was born, in the delivery room…. If I wasn’t gay before…” – Mitchell on when Alex was born.
• “He’ll be here all week, folks.” [Turns to Mitchell] “Literally, because you’re not coming home with me.” – Cam
• “What’s the plan, MacGayver?” – Jay to Cameron who thinks he can fix the driveway gate

What did you think of this episode, MODERN FAMILY fans? Did it make you excited for next week’s finale? And how much did you love Jay kept the dog from last week? Let me know your thought in the comments!