Modern Family: Best Men (4x17)

This episode was a really mixed bag. Often times I'll notice that with Modern Family's several parallel families and plots, you'll get one or two good story-lines per episode, but rarely are they all simultaneously good. Let's take a look at this week's episode:

Jay/Gloria/Manny plot - Rather uninspired. I think we've seen quite enough of Manny showing his romantic side to women that he'll never have for whatever reason, and then being let down in the end. I think it's just about time to give that boy a real love interest, or a chance to succeed at something in his life. The fact that Gloria has big boobs is also a little overplayed here. Yeah. We know, honey. Now put them away.

Cam/Mitchell plot - Hmmm. I'm a bit divided on this one. Elizabeth Banks plays Sal, Cam and Mitch's crazy friend who is getting married. Their antics during the wind up to the wedding didn't much amuse me, but this section did have some of the episode's best moments - Cam getting all teary-eyed during the ceremony, the new contact paper in the cupboards, and, especially, Sal's scene with Lily at the very end of the episode. The animosity between the two of them was perfect: "I don't like you" says Sal. Lily leans forward slightly to catch her eye and replies "I'll get over it." It was the perfect way to remind us that having a sass-master baby in the house can be comedic instead of just annoying, as Lily has sometimes been in the past.

Haley/Claire/Alex plot - the best thread of this episode. I loved Claire's analogy (that she got from Phil) about having children. Maybe Haley is finally coming around past the dark side now and is ready to be friends with Claire again... although there are a few hiccups along the way, they end up staying to watch Alex play music, and are surprised to find that rather than a classical piece, Alex's band is pretty.. cool. Alex gets an awesome moment when she ditches Haley and Claire to go off with her friends after they finish playing. She apologizes for Haley and Claire's behavior, leading to a funny moment: "Did she just apologize for us?" Haley asks, horrified. "But we were just being nice!" Claire responds: "Sucks, doesn't it?"

Phil/Luke plot - I liked this, especially Phil's accidental flirting with Luke's date's mother. It was a good acting opportunity for Ty Burrell. However, I will complain a bit and say that this is another repeated gag on Modern Family that I'm getting a little tired of: Phil is really nice, and accidentally flirts with women. There's no real threat to Claire and Phil's relationship in any of this, so the comedy is not coupled with any sort of tension. I do hope that we continue with Luke's new love interest, however... this show could use some fresh blood, and I'd love to see Luke (Nolan Gould) have a subplot tying through the rest of the season.

Overall, I loved seeing Alex running off on Claire and Haley. I liked Sal and Lily's moment at the end of the episode. I think Luke's date has potential to be something in the future. Gloria, Jay, and Manny didn't really have much to say for us in this episode, however. See you next week!

7/10