“She was like this last month. And the month before that. And the month before that. – Luke
I’ve been hard pressed, as of late, to find something more to provide you than a simple recap in my weekly coverage of Modern Family. The multiple award-winning show and cast do a succinct job of speaking for themselves though, making the praises sung in their favor somewhat redundant after a certain point. Still, very much in its defense, I don’t remember an episode that hasn’t had me barking with laughter; they’ve taken the simple formula for family comedies and polished it so pristinely, it distracts from the similarities between their own storylines, never mind between other programs.
The Leap Day birthday staple, for example, should be boring me already; it’s already been a driving storyline in Parks and Recreation and The Middle, and yet it’s Cam’s cake-day which ultimately takes the… cake. I realize it’s a one-year-in-four opportunity, but some shows do this thing where they become popular, and now Modern Family has written themselves into a birthday-corner for future leap-years instead of doing something truly iconic like 30 Rock did with “Leap Day William.”
Wait, never mind – that’s exactly what they did.
Like the 30 Rockers, the Dunphy house chooses to capitalize on the extra 24-hours of time by doing something they normally don’t do. Unfortunately for the males in the house, those extra hours were just enough for the girls to “synchronize” their “monthly monster” as Phil puts it. Phil is forced to forego the family’s planned trapeze-training to perform his own domestic acrobatics to save Luke and Manny from the over-emission of emotion aimed in their direction.
Mitchell, meanwhile, shares the responsibility taken on by Leslie in Parks and Rec., determined to give Cameron an unforgettable tenth (fortieth) birthday. He starts decorating their house in a Wizard of Oz theme, until Cam offhandedly reminds him about a devastating tornado that recently claimed the life of Lily’s namesake, Aunt Lily the pig. Mitch’s last-ditch effort to book a cruise falls through, too, however, when Gloria defends Jay from defending her by punching out the captain.
It figures – I complain about Modern Family being too hilarious to review, and it goes and gets better. Phil’s emotional breakdown brought on by Claire, Hayley, and Alex’s combined tenuousness easily matches Ty Burrell’s Emmy-winning performance last year, and this episode should definitely thrust Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s Mitchell into contention to bring in an Emmy of his own. Sharp ears should also catch the masterful voice behind Futurama’s Bender and Adventure Time’s Jake, guest-star John DiMaggio as the ship captain Gloria punches in the face.
Some stats and info about Modern Family, “Leap Day”
TV SHOW – Modern Family
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 3, Episode 17
AIRED ON – February 29th, 2012
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.