“I was born to play Tevye.” – Manny
The top of the episode is packed with killer lines, mostly at the expense of Claire Dunphy (Julie Bowen):
- “Oh my god, gross. I can’t even picture you with a woman.” – Haley (Sarah Hyland) about her dad Phil meeting an old girlfriend.
- “Trust me, I had plenty of fun. Then I met your mom.” – Phil (Ty Burrell)
This episode is called “Truth Be Told” and, truth be told, Modern Family works as well as it does because its killer lines come from an honest place and offer a genuinely fresh take on modern society and, well, modern family life.
And this episode was one of the best yet. From the recreation of Cam and Mitch’s phone call, to the recreation of how Manny’s pet turtle got got (Flyza Manelli, indeed), all systems were humming and snapping and percolating funny in this one.
More thoughts on “Truth Be Told”:
- “I was born to play Tevye.” – Manny Delgado (Rico Rodriguez). That right there may be one of the greatest lines I’ve heard in some time. Yes, once upon a time I played a “son” in Fiddler on the Roof. But now I lead a TV Geek Army. But I digress.
- “We’re recreating a phone conversation here!” – Cam (Eric Stonestreet). Stonestreet stone cold brings it week after week. And working Mitch (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) into singing “Shout” was just awesome.
- Manny and Jay (Ed O’Neill) are pretty dynamite together and seem to get better each week.
From Around the Web: Modern Family, “Truth Be Told”
- TV Squad: In the middle of all the laughter, we also got a major change in the status quo of these characters for the first time. I’m not sure if they’re going to keep things this way, but Mitchell finally standing up to his boss and walking out on the job is a huge thing for the character, and for their entire household. I trust the writers to be able to keep the show great while following this life change.
- A.V. Club: The extra layer of jokes with the Dunphy kids worked like gangbusters to mix up that very standard ex-girlfriend trope. Luke burns Alex at the breakfast table, so Alex gets him back by telling him Denise is his mom coming to check him out. I never get tired of Luke blurting out something in panic, groaning oddly, and running out of the room.
Some stats and info about Modern Family, “Truth Be Told”
TV SHOW – Modern Family
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 1, Episode 17
AIRED ON – March 10th, 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.