Modern Family: Brushes with Celebrity (9x08)

This episode was... okay. It didn't offend me or anything, and there were a few really great moments. Let's dive in.

Cons:

I didn't get very much out of Manny and Gloria's plot thread. They're at a cafe and they see a playwright that Manny really admires, so he goes over to say hi, but the guy is a jerk. Gloria then goes over and makes the playwright cry. Billy Crystal shows up, but neither Manny or Gloria recognize him and they are both dismissive and annoyed at his intrusion. I've seen this idea before, that a celebrity makes a cameo and the joke is that nobody knows who they are. It sort of works, but this in a world where we're meant to believe that everybody is head over heals for Chris Martin, but somebody wouldn't know Billy Crystal? A little hard to swallow.

There were some funny moments with Jay and Terry Bradshaw, but I felt like the cameo was underutilized. All the comedy was coming from Jay's reactions, which meant that the cameo itself could have been replaced with a cardboard cutout.

Pros:

That being said, I did like some of Jay's moments in his plot thread. His overenthusiastic fan-boy attitude might not be the most original thing in the world, but it got a few chuckles out of me. The best joke is when they're talking about the case and Jay says he doesn't think he'd be able to "lock up a steeler." Puns are my weakness, what can I say?

Mitchell and Cam follow around the host of their favorite show, "I Beg Your Garden," which is a garden make-over show. They try to pose as a good couple with conflicts and resolutions in order to get his attention, only to discover that the show was cancelled two years ago. The celebrity part of this plot line is not really the important thing. What's interesting is that this plot thread proves that there is some direction and intention behind Cam and Mitchell's increasing bickering this season. We've seen them be pretty horrible to each other, and here Mitchell outright acknowledges that they fight a lot, and that sometimes it reveals something deeper about their relationship. Of course, we then go right on past this revelation to some silly moments and a sweet resolution, but I like that the truth of this is finally acknowledged.

Chris Martin from Coldplay kind of stole the show here. He was the one celebrity guest who really hammed it up and made the comedy come from his own performance. The basic gist of the premise here is that Phil is showing Chris Martin a house. Just before Chris arrives, Phil feels a shooting pain in his testicle. His extreme reactions to this pain are misinterpreted by Chris as disappointment in his appearance. I like that Chris is a well-meaning yet ultimately self-centered guy who assumes everything is about him. And then later, while Phil is in the hospital, Chris is really attentive and kind, but Phil just wants to be alone in his agony, instead of putting up with the crowd that this celebrity is pulling in. We even get a little song that Chris performs, advertising Phil as a realtor. There were just so many funny images and cute moments in this plot thread. I would have liked even more time with Chris Martin, even if it meant it came at the expense of the other celebrities in the episode.

There you have it - this is about as standard and unoffensive as an episode of a veteran sitcom can get. Nothing to write home about, but I enjoyed myself.

8/10