Yay! I've said again and again that Modern Family shines the brightest when all of the family comes together. It allows for so many creative opportunities. Let's take a look at this Thanksgiving-themed episode.
On Thanksgiving, we see Phil preparing the meal. He has agreed to make the food this year, to give Claire a break, but of course she is nervous that he is going to mess the whole thing up. She prepares a backup turkey, and she and Alex wait to swoop in and save the dinner from Phil and Luke, if need be. Claire and Alex accidentally blow the fuse while they're in the garage, which means that they all have to move the Thanksgiving dinner over to Jay and Gloria's house.
Jay and Gloria, meanwhile are lying about their own Thanksgiving. They had plans to be in Mexico, but when the trip got cancelled, they decided to pretend to still be in Mexico so they can have a quiet holiday together. When Claire, Phil, and the kids show up at the house, Jay and Gloria try to hide in the bedroom to get away from everyone.
Mitch and Cam, meanwhile, have been having some problems with Lily. Cam spoils her, so she never does as she's told. When Cam tells Lily to put on the dress they got her for Thanksgiving, Lily does so by putting the dress over the clothes she's already wearing. When they get to Jay and Gloria's house, Mitch and Cam decide to make a point by wearing some of Gloria's dresses to show Lily how silly she's being.
Gloria and Jay manage to hide from Cam and Mitch coming into the bedroom to get the dresses, but at this point they decide they can't keep hiding, so they come around the house and come in through the front door, saying that they've come home early.
From here, shenanigans ensue. Gloria tries to sneak out the small turkey that she and Jay were planning on eating, but instead grabs the turkey that Phil was cooking. When Phil sees the smaller turkey, he thinks his turkey has shrunk. Claire learns from Alex that something went wrong with the turkey, so she brings in her replacement turkey. Suddenly, there are three turkeys.
The truth comes out - Gloria and Jay admit that they tried to avoid Thanksgiving with the family. The thing is, these holidays are for families that don't see each other very often. This family spends time together all the time! Maybe they should all just go home and not bother. However, at this point Haley jumps in and says she wants to have Thanksgiving with the whole family. She suggests maybe they skip Christmas instead. Turns out, Haley has plans with her friends over Christmas, so this works out nicely for her!
Okay, complaints to start with:
There were a few jokes that missed their mark, but that's inevitable with any show. I noticed especially that the plot thread with Lily, Cam and Mitch did not provide a lot of comedic opportunities.
However, mostly I loved this episode. The setup was really fun, if a bit basic. It reminded me of the episode in Las Vegas a little bit, in that there were misunderstandings and people sneaking in and out of different rooms and hiding things and such. Of course, I don't think it was quite as good as that episode, but it had some of the same feel, and I appreciated that.
I'll just quickly list a few of my favorite jokes.
Phil's obsession with his cooking app lead to some funny moments, especially with all the pornographic-sounding cooking instructions.
Alex and Claire got to bond over the ineptitude of the rest of the family - I particularly liked it when Alex ran interference so that Claire could get the replacement turkey.
When Cam and Mitch are getting Gloria's dresses, they are talking about Lily when they say that she's getting to old to dress the way she does. Gloria, who is hiding, thinks that they are talking about her!
There were other good moments, but I think I'll leave it there. What a fun episode!
8.5/10
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