Modern Family: Australia (5x20)

Okay. I didn't love this episode. There was nothing exactly wrong with it, but I just thought that the Las Vegas episode was so much better, and that they really didn't take advantage of all the comedic opportunities that come from moving these great characters to Australia. They fell into a lot of the classic and overused tropes that pop up when sitcoms do vacation episodes. Let's take a look at the plot.

Phil wants to find a connection to his mother by coming to Australia, where he was conceived. Along the way, Australia seems to be out to get him, as he is continually attacked by kangaroos, jellyfish, mosquitoes, and more. He's also allergic to several things in the country. Gloria tries to protect him, but she's not sure how to save Phil from himself. In the end, Phil is despairing that Australia has rejected him, when a native Australian tells him that the country is always hard on its own people. Phil is an Australian in spirit, after all!

Claire and Jay spend the whole vacation working, as a big bid has come in and their competitor, Closets, Closets, Closets, Closets keeps trying to outbid them. At one point Claire's laptop is actually stolen by a wild animal, and she finally gives up on the work. She was worried that Jay would be disappointed in her, but Jay says that he's happy to get to spend vacation time with his daughter.

Cam and Mitchell meet up with an old friend whom they find extremely annoying, until they discover that he now has his own talk show. They spend the day hanging out with him and getting special treatment due to his celebrity status. The next day, they ditch their family to hang out with the guy again, hoping to meet Hugh Jackman, but things don't go the way they'd hoped, and they end up stranded, and in need of a ride from a tough-looking motorcycle gang.

Lily hunts for the perfect souvenir, not wanting to buy the first one she sees, while Haley does the same with hot Australian boys. Alex is trying to come up with a good college speech based on her experiences, but she keeps coming up with tired cliches and can't get anything good. Manny and Luke are on a quest to see boobs at a nude beach, but find them intimidating once they finally do see topless women. After participating in a native ceremony for men, they seem to get their courage.

So... complaints?

Well, Luke and Manny's boob plot was just beyond juvenile. Beyond even what I would have expected from this show. I was rolling my eyes the whole time. Claire and Jay's plot was also painfully boring. Do you know how many sitcoms I can think of that have done the "working too hard while on vacation" plot line? It's ridiculous. It didn't even allow for any funny jokes. Phil's plot had its moments, but it was mostly boring too. Lily wanting to buy a souvenir didn't really afford for any good opportunities either.

To be frank, almost every part of this episode had potential that it just did not capitalize on. However, there were some funny things going on here.

Cam and Mitch were great. I love how shallow they are - hell, if someone I knew had become a celebrity, I'd probably be their new bff, even if I didn't like them before. I'll admit that. It was just so hilariously blatant. The best bit was that apparently Hugh Jackman got mad at the celebrity guy because he insulted Russell Crowe's performance in Les Misérables. I can just picture Jackman getting all affronted on Crowe's behalf, and it's such a funny image.

I also loved Alex's continued attempts to make something meaningful out of her vacation. That rang true to me as someone who has written my share of application essays. The best part was the end. The entire gang climbs the bridge that Phil really wanted to climb, and we hear a voice over, as we often do at the end of Modern Family episodes. Just as she's starting to get all philosophical, her family yells at her to shut up. That was a nice little subversion of the pattern.

Oh, and I'll admit I did laugh at one of Phil's stupid jokes, when he referred to himself as "Crocodile Dunphy." It was really stupid, but I did chuckle.

I think I'll stop there. Unfortunately, this episode really didn't do much for me. Better luck next time.

5/10