Modern Family: Lake Life (9x01)

Modern Family  is a show resting comfortably on its laurels at this point. It doesn't have to reach for anything new or surprising, because we're all pretty comfortable with the premise and the characters. This wasn't anything too special, but it wasn't a flop either. Let's take a look.

Cons:

This episode was too crowded. Everybody had their own little plot threads to carry, and several of them didn't have time to land. The premise is that everybody is out on a boathouse to see the total eclipse. Instead of keeping everybody in close quarters and having fun with the ensemble feel, everybody pretty much goes off in their own directions. For example, Gloria and Cam spend time out on a boat, where Cam is trying to hide from the sun by covering himself in comical clothing, a giant hat, and excessive sunscreen, because his antibiotics don't do well with sunlight. Meanwhile Gloria is afraid of the water because in Columbia the water was a place for dumping drugs and bodies. So this plot thread was essentially just a time-wasting exercise mixing some uninspired slapstick from Cam with some fairly stereotypical and problematic commentary about Gloria's homeland.

Then we've got Mitchell, who runs in to the first boy he ever kissed working the bait shop in town. The memory is an embarrassing one to Mitchell, who kissed this boy at age thirteen only to find out he was straight. He decides, on his father's advice, to run toward embarrassment so it won't have power over him. He apologizes to this man, only to discover that the man is indeed gay, and was only "not interested" in Mitchell himself, not because he was a man. This leads to Mitchell questioning his desirability. The punchline, that the guy is gay, was obvious from miles off. I really wish they had subverted expectations. Maybe the guy could have been straight and this could have been a moment where Mitchell feels relief at not being ostracized by a straight man for a youthful moment of weakness. Instead, we go for the uninspired cheap laugh.

The older kids - Luke, Manny, Haley, and Alex, all ditch Ben, who Alex brought along, in search of a party that they end up never finding. I liked the idea of a mysterious un-find-able party, but instead this plot thread focuses on Alex pushing Ben away because he's driving her nuts, and the kids who invited them to the party stealing their boat once they make their way to the island. I just don't find any of this stuff too interesting, and I wish they could have gone another angle with this.

Pros:

The best plot threads were the ones that focused on a concern with aging. Maybe there's something meta that could be said about an aging show commenting on aging and how that works... I don't know. Regardless, I feel like maybe Modern Family itself is struggling for relevancy, and that reflected very well in a few of the stories.

Phil and Claire are given an "old person" pamphlet for events in the area, and they decide they need to find their youth and vigor. They go cliff diving - or, rather, Claire does, as Phil chickens out three times and makes Claire jump alone. Later, Phil gets a jet pack to prove that he's still adventurous, and to show Claire that he won't hold her back. All in all, there's nothing too original about this plot thread. But it felt enormously real to me (not the jet pack part, but the rest of it). Phil and Claire have three grown children and are starting to enter that period of their lives where they can either stop caring, or renew themselves and get out there more than ever. I've watched the same thing happen to my parents over the last couple of years. It can be a difficult transition, but Phil and Claire are sure to weather the storm.

Jay had the most interesting plot thread. An old business rival of his has passed away, and he spends the day obsessing over this guy's memorial posts on Facebook. He wonders what his family will say about him when he's gone, so he tries to create good memories, giving Mitchell cheesy advice, putting sunscreen on Phil's back, and gifting his telescope to Alex. At the end of the episode, everybody realizes what Jay has been up to, and they're forced to come up with good memories about him on the spot, which is actually quite sweet. The family all gathers on the top of the boat and sings "Total Eclipse of the Heart," with even Jay joining in as they point out to him that this will make a good memory!

I started this review by saying this was an okay episode, and then spent more time complaining about it than praising it. I have a feeling that this season, even if it improves over the last one, is still going to be basically a chore for me to watch. The innovation is gone, and we're left with a veteran sitcom that's sure to overstay its welcome.

7/10