Review: 'Modern Family' - 'Mother's Day': Big boys don't cry
A childhood memory sparks a surprising response for Jay
Ty Burrell and Ed O'Neill on "Modern Family."
Last night's "Modern Family" wasn't quite up to the level of "Someone to Watch Over Lily" or "Manny Get Your Gun" - for one thing, the Cam/Mitchell storyline had the kind of lazy/predictable quality the show unfortunately falls into when it keeps those two off on their own for most of the episode - but it had one of my favorite climactic scenes the show has ever done.
Where it sometimes feels like the big emotional climax to an episode can feel forced, Jay's outburst at the dinner table worked really really well. Part of it is that the show played it for laughs, paying off earlier subplots involving the Dunphy kids and Phil's desire to bond with Jay, but the actual heart managed to co-exist with the jokes. It helped that Ed O'Neill is so terrific, but also that they kept it so simple. Like Jay says, you only get one mom, right?
What did everybody else think?
News From Our Partners
-
The Telefile - Modern Family: The Best Lines of the Night
The Telefile - Fall TV 2013: What's On When
The Telefile - TNT & TBS Upfront 2013: Reaping What Other Networks Sowed
-
What to Watch Tonight: The Office's Big Farewell and the Season Finales of TVD, Elementary, and Five More
Supernatural Season 8 Finale Review: It's Raining Angels
Watch an Extended Trailer for CBS's Under the Dome (VIDEO)
-
'Zombieland' TV Series: Amazon Passes on the Pilot
'How I Met Your Mother' Final Season Spoilers: Producers Explain Time-Turning Format Change
'The Hangover Part 3′ Red-Band NSFW Trailer: It's Time to End the Trilogy
-
Listen to Selena Gomez's 'Come & Get It' Remixes
Katy Perry vs. Rita Ora vs. Beyonce vs. Kesha vs. Demi Lovato – Who Wore It Best?
Chris Brown Launches New 'Channel' Website, Gets More Personal Than Ever
-
'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon II': The Oscar-Winning Movie is Getting a Sequel
'The Bling Ring' Cannes Premiere: Emma Watson Steals the Show (PHOTOS)
Why Brad Bird Turned Down 'Star Wars: Episode VII'; Talks 'Incredibles' Sequel
-
'Pacific Rim' Trailer Surfaces: Watch Now!
'Star Trek Into Darkness': The Reviews Are In!
Emma Watson In 'The Bling Ring': The Early Reviews Are In!
-
Critics Consensus: Star Trek Into Darkness is Certified Fresh
Red Carpet Roundup: Star Trek Into Darkness Edition
Video Interviews with Katie Aselton & Lake Bell of Black Rock
-
Ilana Rapp: Actor Richard Harmon From Bates Motel and Continuum Talks about SpongeBob Squarepants and Yoga
'The Last Classic TV Comedy'?
'Biggest Loser' Host: 'I've Never Seen Jillian Eat A Cupcake'
Get Instant Alerts on What's Alan Watching
Latest Posts
-
Dwight gets married and the staff revisits the documentary in a lovely farewellThursday, May 16, 2013
-
Lecter becomes interested in a local killer, and Will begins hearing thingsThursday, May 16, 2013
-
A show that shouldn't have worked instead became a great, popular, influential oneThursday, May 16, 2013
-
Some experimenting, but mostly the same old, successful CBSWednesday, May 15, 2013
Comments
Option 1
Comment instantly as a guest GuestOption 2
Option 3
Login or create a HitFix account Login Signupsepinwall
May 5, 2011 at 1:10PM EST Reply to CommentAlso, I loved Phil's random Billy Joel paraphrasing ("Bottle of red, bottle of WHAT?") when he comes across Jay crying.
Turtle Thanks for that. I could tell Phil was quoting something, but I couldn't place it.
May 5, 2011 at 1:31PM ESTKid Zemo There was also a Big Chill reference in the beginning when Phil and Jay were in the kitchen and Phil started in with "Ain't to Proud to Beg"
May 5, 2011 at 7:04PM ESTAlex
May 5, 2011 at 1:15PM EST Reply to CommentYeah, this was a great episode but not on the level of Manny Get Your Gun or Someone to Watch Over Lily. The latter is one of the best of the series.
Guyitc
May 5, 2011 at 1:16PM EST Reply to CommentMitchell simply saying "Hands!" as Cam ran across the park was really good until you think about the fact that Cam was supposed to have played college football. Isn't that something he wouldn't do because all the other running he's done would be "less gay" for sports purposes.
I guess it's possible that he has simply let himself go in that department since he came out of the closet.
Mike Hunt As an offensive lineman, he didn't do much running.
May 5, 2011 at 2:10PM ESTKory
May 5, 2011 at 1:28PM EST Reply to CommentMy favorite moment was Phil's cautious attempts to hug Jay the "Lion".
Melissa
May 5, 2011 at 1:35PM EST Reply to CommentFor Cam to be so upset about being honored on Mother's Day is disingenuous considering how campy, over the top and feminine Eric Stonestreet has played him this year. It's a shame but Cam has become such a caricature of a overly sensitive, drama queen gay man that his storylines have become my least favorite.
Compared to the Dunphys, it's easy to think that Gloria and Manny's relationship is so healthy and normal but then you see that it is dysfunctional in its own way.
Cal Stonestreet has publicly stated that he based his portrayal of Cam off of his own mother, b/c gays are women or something, so it is odd that they would choose to show the character so offended by such a thing.
May 5, 2011 at 1:44PM ESTMatt C. Melissa, I beg to differ. Cam has always straddled the line between "man's-man" and a more feminine man character. He frequently goes against stereotype or archetype.
May 5, 2011 at 1:49PM ESTYes, he's a nurturer & yes he can be needy and a bit of a drama queen, but in both seasons now, it's also explicit that he's far more into "guy" stuff than Mitchell, and is able to do more "guy" stuff.
Cam is a renaissance gay man, if you will, and I find it refreshing that yes, he's a sensie (as JD would say) but he can also throw a football 50 yards, discuss a cover 2 defense, stand up to and physically dominate a bully, and look fabulous in pink (which loves him).
I think viewers can be too sensitive to an episode which shows Cam dealing more with his drama issues if they are humorless to that particular "stereotype."
Cam is who he is, richly-drawn, well-rounded character who happens to combine many aspects of being a more feminine gay man and a guy who can talk football and throw back a few beers.
Why can't that be okay?
Matt C. Cal, that is NOT what he said. He never said "gays are women."
May 5, 2011 at 1:52PM ESTHe based Cam partly on his mother because she is a strong, forceful personality, a "force of nature" type, who is can be dramatic, but also very down to earth.
EXACTLY what Cam is.
And I don't get why people don't understand why a MAN, even a gay man, doesn't want to be seen as a woman. Like Cam & Mitchell said, gay men don't like to be seen as interchangeable with women, itself a kind of subtle prejudice.
They're still men, just gay. Cam isn't a mom, he's a DAD. A gay dad.
Cal Matt - I apologize, that was my commentary on it and I didn't mean to imply he had outright said that. It's my fault for not communicating my thoughts clearly.
May 5, 2011 at 4:41PM ESTIt's just that whenever I've heard Eric discuss Cam's origins he's talked about appropriating his mothers mannerism's and facial expressions. It may be that what you said is true as well, but I'm just going on what I've heard.
Marc
May 5, 2011 at 1:43PM EST Reply to CommentThe Cam/Mitchell storyline is something that happens sometimes in real realtinships. The show did what it does best - mines humor out of real life situations.
Oh and and to the commenter before, you can play Football AND also walk with your hands like that. Gay people, like straight people, come in all different types. There's no rule. There are many masculine gay men that are more "manly" than some hetero ones.
Mike Hunt
May 5, 2011 at 2:17PM EST Reply to CommentAlan forgot his clever introduction.
How about: A quick review of last night's "Modern Family" coming up just as soon as I get a pair (of onion goggles)?
CouchTato
May 5, 2011 at 2:29PM EST Reply to CommentJay trying to sing in the kitchen as they started cooking. Manny being sarcastic about Luke killing the mood. Modern family is so classic, funny in every way. Cameron of course being lady like and moody about is-is classic Cam. ''Pink loves me'' with the occasional flashback of Mitchell reffering to him as 'the mrs'
mrbilliam
May 5, 2011 at 2:37PM EST Reply to CommentMaybe I wasn't watching close enough but I thought Ed O'Neil's crying seemed pretty fakey, and Haley and Alex emotionally breaking down and hugging their mother made me cringe.
sanen85 I'm glad I'm not the only one who caught this.
May 5, 2011 at 3:55PM ESTMarsha
May 5, 2011 at 2:57PM EST Reply to CommentI wish the Cam story had gone a bit deeper to discuss how virtually every stay-at-home dad deals with the same stuff Cam did - the playgroup who thinks of him as a mom, the spouse who treats him that way, etc, etc. It was an interesting part of cam and Mitchell's relationship to get into, and I hope they'll revisit it.
Sarah Or they even could have gone more into ideas about gender roles. Plenty of dads do stay home with their kids, and plenty more moms work, and yet people still have a picture in their head of mothers being the ones who primarily take care of the kids.
May 5, 2011 at 3:39PM ESTBut they would never address that, and this is actually a problem I've had with this show. It has a tendency to reinforce gender-role stereotypes, seeing as neither of the mothers in this show work (and there was an episode that implied that Claire's only choice was work and be single and childless or be married with children and not work). I guess I've found it disappointing that a show calling itself "Modern Family" doesn't have one example of two parents both working and sharing the responsibilities of raising the kids. If it weren't for Cam and Mitchell, there'd be nothing modern about the family at all.
Marc It's facinating how the only scripted show on network television depicting a same sex family with a child is getting criticized for not doing enough and how they're enforcing sterotypes. Quite the contrary. It's only the seocnd season, I imagine they will keep returning to this. In a 22 minute ensemble piece they've reflected a lot of real life. There are many people in this country that this is the first example of same sex parents raising a child they have ever seen. It's rather heartening that it's such a big hit. It's not like there haven't been countless shows on tv depicting a 2 income household. This is the story these writers are choosing to tell. You want two working parents, someone else might want one working one staying home. It seems like there's something to criticize about just the makeup of this show every week and the show just can't do right by some people.
May 5, 2011 at 4:18PM ESTSarah Having a same-sex couple with a child doesn't make you automatically free of criticism about using stereotypes. I find this show to be one of the most sexist scripted shows on TV. And I find no reason to believe that because the people making this show can break stereotypes about homosexuals that they don't buy into plenty of stereotypes about other groups of people.
May 5, 2011 at 5:02PM ESTAnd it's not just that they have three single-income families on the show, but also the way they've addressed working women and gender stereotypes in general.
I'll admit that I haven't seen every episode, but that's because there were enough things relating to all of this last season to turn me off from the show. Unfortunately coming back and watching this episode didn't give me much reason to change my mind.
May 5, 2011 at 4:17PM EST Reply to CommentI do agree in some ways that the Cam/Mitchell storyline was formulaic, but I feel like the subplot with Claire and her kids was far more so. The girls' breaking down and apologizing to Claire at the end of the episode felt way too much like wrapping that subplot up with a nice neat bow.
I honestly loved that scene showing how Mitchell does think of Cam as the "wife/mother", especially when he leaves the bedroom and tells Lilly "we're off, she's in a mood". It's about finding the humor in the things we don't realize we're doing to others even when we don't mean badly with them.
The strongest thing here was that they hit that emotional climax with Ed O'Neill without one of those silly voiceovers. It was organic and it *felt* right. They didn't make it too overwrought and just let it play. I also liked Mitchell's "No, I'm good" moment to Manny when Manny offered to give him a hug.
isaacl
May 5, 2011 at 10:15PM EST Reply to CommentThe onion goggles were funny enough as just the kind of thing Phil would buy, but it worked out as a great setup for Jay to cover his crying--nice gag work by the writers!
Bill
May 7, 2011 at 7:17AM EST Reply to CommentFor those of you who are obviously confused, this show is a comedy, not a documentary! Lighten up!!
Mike Hunt
May 9, 2011 at 10:17PM EST Reply to CommentHey Alan, how about an answer to my post...?
Another Pot
May 30, 2011 at 7:27AM EST Reply to CommentWow, speaking of lazy, your two paragraph review essentially went like this: "This episode was pretty good, but not as good as some other episodes...what did everybody else think?!"
pot, kettle, etc.