While the show features nuclear families, which are becoming not so modern, there is a gay couple, Cameron and Mitchell and their adopted daughter Lily, who just might be my favorite character, and then there is Jay, who is on his second marriage to a younger woman who brings her son, Manny. The other family, Phil and Claire, are the most "normal" family of the bunch, having one man and one woman of the same age, but that's where the normality ends, as is true with most families. Jay is the father of Mitch and Claire, so as I said, they are all one extended family.
Each episode has excellent humour, writing, and the actors are all superb, even with the ridiculous story lines they are given, time after time. I'm not saying ridiculous is bad, either. I mean, how often do you get to see a man dressed in a costume from Cats sitting in a tree, protesting it's removal? But then there is something to learn in it all, whether it is the importance of loving your children even though they get kicked out of college, or the hardships of raising a child being worth it all, the end of every episode is one giant sigh of happiness, as you watch these characters grow. Honestly, at the end of every single episode I have happy tears in my eyes.
There are other things I admire about the show too. As I said before, the show features a gay couple and their adopted child. Because Modern Family is a comedy it would have been easy for the writers to make a mockery of Cameron and Mitchell, have them be overly flamboyant and live up to every homosexual stereotype in the book. However, they did not. Cameron and Mitchell are portrayed very realistically, as two normal people who happen to be attracted to be people of the same gender, and that is great. Because the gay best friend or the flamboyant gay man/couple trope is getting real old, real quick.
And the writing. The writing is great. The show is so...quotable! There are cute, heartfelt lines, but really this show is around to make people laugh, and the writers do an excellent job of ensuring that happens. In the last episode I watched, Haley stated that "Elle Woods won her case in Legally Blonde because she was true to herself and looked cute." to which her father replied, "This is about a serious issue, not an excellent movie". Or when Gloria, angrily says, "I'm not a hothead, I'm a Colombian. I'm excited, our entire country is covered in coffee beans!" The banter is witty, without being malicious, and the script does an excellent job of showing growth in characters across the seasons.
My point here would be to go watch Modern Family, because hopefully you'll love it as much as I do. If you're a fan of Parks & Rec or The Office, Modern Family employs the same single camera shooting style and the same mockumentary format, so it's a safe bet that you'll like this show as well. Till next time!
Alexis Olmstead has recently turned into a part time hostess and a full time cat lady/servant. If you don't believe her on the cat servant part, meet Rifka, the princess of the couch, also known as Alexis' master. For more random reviews, rants, and thoughts, check back every few days or so.
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