“Yeah, I know you have all that greeting card ‘screw you’ money.” – Jay to Mitchell
It’s such a pleasure to watch Modern Family week after week. After twenty episodes, the characters are so well established that they easily play off what we know about them.
For example, we have Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cameron (Eric Stonestreet): Mitchell’s the Type A workaholic and Cam’s the doting stay-at-home dad (and trophy wife, says he). With Mitchell now out of work and Cam working part-time at a greeting card store (where they are saving a ton of cash on greeting cards thanks to his discount, you just have to do the math), each is clearly out of his element. Mitchell wants to plot the assassination of Dora the Explorer, while Cam is miserable not being around his dear Lilly at home. It’s a basic plot, but it plays out so well because of the characters and writing and acting. It’s great to note too that many of the Mitchell/Cam storylines don’t rely on their being a gay couple in a “modern family” world – this story could have played out largely the same with any male/female couple.
The “benched” storyline, which focused in part on Phil’s (Ty Burell) quest to step out from father Jay’s (Ed O’Neill) while coaching Luke and Manny’s basketball team, felt slightly flatter. And Claire (Julie Bowen) and Haley (Sarah Hyland)attempting to bond felt a little undercooked.
Overall though, if you’re into comedy of the modern familial sort, you can’t go wrong with this show.
Other thoughts on “Benched”:
- “We both know that your Latin blood makes that impossible.” – Manny (Rico Rodriguez) to momma Gloria (Sofia Vergara) on her inability to pipe down her encouragement during basketball games. Is there any better comedic child actor on the planet than Rico Rodriguez?
- Justin Kirk, Andy Botwin on Weeds, guest stars as a rich philanthropic type that may be a connection for Mitchell to get a new corporate gig. I’ve always thought that Kirk is great, and he’s got a very distinctive presence here.
- How awesome, weird, and modern is Kirk’s crazy beachside mansion?
- “Guys, you’re on the same team!” – Jay to Luke (Nolan Gould) and another player fighting over the ball. “But you said to be aggressive!” Luke responds. Now that’s funny.
From Around the Web: Modern Family, “Benched”
- A.V. Club: “Benched” is about naked desire … the kind that everybody can see except the people closest to you. I think there’s a great theme in there somewhere, but this episode stumbled. Clumsy exposition, inconsistent timing, and a lost opportunity at a big set piece mean this one counts as middling at best for Modern Family
- North By Northwestern: There are a bunch of non-dialogue gags. Cameron’s hilarious bawling and clumsy behavior during Mitchel’s job interview. Manny and Jay’s dual coffee chugging. Alex’s face when Claire drives away. And did anyone else see Luke just fall over with the basketball when Phil calls a time out?
- IGN: This freshman series has had a number of episodes that have taken some of your basic sitcom standards and given them a unique and hilarious spin. But a few episodes, especially early on, missed the mark when it came to presenting something fresh. “Benched” fell somewhere in the middle.
Some stats and info about Modern Family, “Benched”
TV SHOW – Modern Family
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 1, Episode 20
AIRED ON – April 14th, 2010
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – ABC
GENRE – Comedy, Relationship Shows
CREATED BY – Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd
CAST – Ed O’Neill, Sofia Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ty Burell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Rico Rodriguez, Nolan Gould, Sarah Hyland, Areil Winter, Aubrey Anderson-Emmons
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.