Modern Family - TV Fanatic

Eric Stonestreet Introduces Modern Family Fans to Cam's Father

matt@mediavine.com (Matt Richenthal) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:15:17 EST

Our favorite Modern Family is about to get even bigger.

And a bit more country.

Eric Stonestreet posted a photo today of him and Barry Corbin at a table read for the ABC sitcom, confirming that the veteran actor (The Closer, One Tree Hill) will guest star later this season as Cam's father, Merle.

What will bring Merle Tucker to town in May? We don't know. But we bet there will be a lot of tractor talk between father and son.

Modern Family Review: Green with Envy

leigh.raines@gmail.com (Leigh Raines) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:11:12 EST

If jealousy is a sickness, everyone on Modern Family should have been hospitalize this week.

Indeed, while "Me? Jealous?" once again featured a lot of in-fighting, I'm happy to note the sitcom finally shook things up and took the familial squabbles to new territory.

One thing that remains steadfast on Modern Family is that couples will argue. Cam will get mad at Mitchell for being uptight, Mitchell at Cam for being dramatic; Claire gets peeved at Phil and then she starts nagging; Gloria gets upset when Jay isn't passionate enough. You get the picture, right? Here, though, I was excited to see the tension grow between different pairings for a change.

Hands down, my favorite family feud of the episode was between Cam and Gloria. They're both dramatic, passionate and intense, so normally they get along quite well. But when trapped under the same roof, even the most like-minded people can start to rub each other the wrong way.

Sure, they were both being super-sensitive here, but that's how Cam and Gloria can be. Honestly, this is one of the first weeks that I actually found Gloria to be really enjoyable. Actually the last episode when she jumped in the pool after Stella was pretty wonderful, but in general I find her character to get pigeonholed a bit.

In the past I might have said who really cares if someone rearranged your kitchen if they are just trying to help you out? But as I've grown up a bit, I realize I would feel a little territorial, too. Gloria is more of a homemaker than she gives herself credit for and Cam was just doing it out of love. He was also doing it out of insecurity that she and Lily were bonding so much, but he dropped that act the minute Lily handed him that leopard apron.

The truth is, all jealousy stems from insecurity. Phil's schtick is his humor, so while he wasn't really threatened to think Tad (Greg Kinnear) might've been hitting on his wife. However, the second Claire laughed at Tad's joke Phil became the green-eyed monster. Phil knows he has a hot wife and that people may hit on her but he also knows that she loves him and would never stray. He also probably knows deep down that his humor is kind of corny, so sure, he wants to be the one to make the love of his life giggle.

The sister jealousy is so obvious I barely need to delve into it, but for the sake of Betty Luke and his tennis ball boobies, I will. First of all, I just need to mention how hilarious it is that Haley tried to put down "Big Sister" on her college application - because that's so Haley. As for the jealousy, well, Haley is never nice to Alex and as much as Alex pokes fun at her big sis, she just wants her to love her and pay attention to her.

Any younger sibling can likely tell you as much. I'm the youngest of five and not all sisters are best pals in their teenage years. Did you relate to any of the arguments this week? Or were you the peacemaker like Manny?

Overall, Luke looked great in drag, there were lots of funny quotes, but I would've loved to see some more from Greg Kinnear as Phil's new business associate. Maybe in the weeks to come.

Modern Family to Tackle Lost Virginity on Upcoming Episode

matt@tvfanatic.com (TV Fanatic Staff) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:54:32 EST

If certain watch groups had a problem with Lily dropping the F bomb, we can't wait to see how they reach to the following Modern Family scoop:

On an upcoming episode of the award-winning sitcom, Phil will learn that Haley is NOT a virgin.

The protective father will be "horrified" by the news, Ty Burrell tells TV Guide, and salt will be added to the awkward wound when he discovers Claire was already privy to this private information.

No air date has been announced for the episode, but Burrell assures fans the outcome will be "very heartfelt and meaningful."

Modern Family Review: Dropping the F-Bomb

leigh.raines@gmail.com (Leigh Raines) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:31:23 EST

Despite the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's opinion, this season of Modern Family hasn't exactly been award-winning in my eyes. That is, until "Little Bo Bleep" had me doubled over in stitches.

Holy bleep Modern Family is back! There was a lot of controversy buzzing throughout the interwebs about the fact that there would be a cursing toddler on tonight's episode. But, come on, who out there had a problem with Lily's antics?

For those of you who have young kids, siblings, nieces or nephews, there is this one basic fact we all know: KIDS REPEAT THINGS. With five nieces/nephews under the age of thee in my family right now, I've learned the hard way just how much I need to censor my potty mouth!

Modern Family has always prided itself on being realistic and representing true-to-life situations. So why should it gloss over something as basic and common as the fact that little kids sometimes mimic bad words they hear their parents sa?. And just like Cam did, sometimes people laugh! If people are being that uptight one little curse word, sorry, but you're watching the wrong show. Heck, you shouldn't even be watching TV.

Back to the episode: what was up with the light-up wedding dresses? Hideous yet hilarious! Still, that wasn't even the best part of the episode. The debate was pure gold. Readers, PLEASE find me the YouTube remix of Phil's perverted confession. It has to be floating around Tumblr already, autotuned and everything.

The family coaching session was also pretty amazing, because there's just no way Claire would ever be able to control all of her little ticks. In the end, it was just better for Claire to be herself. It turns out she wasn't the one the kids had to worry about.

Clive Bixby always finds a way back into our lives. Although I think it's safe to say that Phil and Claire will be finding a safer environment for their Valentine's Day exploits this year.

The storyline with Stella was only okay, but it gets boosted by the fact that I'm just obsessed with that little angel! Plus, everyone knows people who prefer their pets over their family members. (Cough... cough... Mom, I'm looking at you.

Great post-GoldenGlobes episode for the Modern Family crew. For me it was chock full of amazing quotes, not including Lily's little slip up. Do you guys think this was Modern Family's comeback episode? What did you think of Lily's slip-ups? They were...

Modern Family Review: Eggs and Egos

leigh.raines@gmail.com (Leigh Raines) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:37:05 EST

What's even more fragile than a raw egg? How about Claire and Jay's egos! "Egg Drop" was just another example of how important competition is to the Pritchett crew.

Big props to Manny for figuring out how to use Jay and Claire's competitive nature against one another in order to avoid doing a school project. I'd say Manny and Luke, but let's get real, the kid who was going to toss his body off the top of the stairs for his project clearly was not the brainchild behind this operation. Manny really is a child of the mind.

Did anyone else think about the Full House episode with the egg drop here? I bet Alex would have considered it cheating. Loosen up, girl, that's what siblings are for! Helping each other on silly projects that you've already done! Well... that, and screaming at each other.

Gloria was almost dead on with that one. I wouldn't say that you know your family loves you when you can yell at each other because that's just madness. But I would say that it takes a really tight family to be able to fight and bounce back and say I love you right after. Just ask my sister.

It's all about learning to thicken your skin and communicate openly when you're part of a big family. Just don't tell Cameron you think he's pitchy. You know how touchy he is about things like that! Too bad, but I don't think that was the right birth mother for them. There wasn't much of a connection there.

As much as I adore silly Phil, I love that he got a little real this week. For once it was less about being the jokester and more about the fact that he really just needed his family's help. That presentation was important to him. He's such a pushover. I'm glad Gloria pulled his true emotions out, no matter how nutty that sounded.

I found this week's Modern Family a major improvement over last week's installment. Even little moments like Alex thinking she was having a deep conversation with Haley, when Haley was really on her cell, had me giggling. Don't forget to check out the best quotes from this week and hit the comments!

Modern Family Review: Competition and Paranoia

leigh.raines@gmail.com (Leigh Raines) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:25:01 EST

There's really nothing funny about waiting for medical news. That was the first mistake in this week's Modern Family. "Lifetime Supply" - a title as random as the storyline it came from - brought us a depressed and neurotic Phil as he waited for results from his doctor.

This episode was far more about competition than it was about the lifetime supply of razors that Phil won from a game show he was on in the 1990s. Although props to the costume department for digging up that wig.

What a random bit to throw into the episode, it didn't even tie into anything else. In an effort to not be completely negative, I'll express my appreciation for Phil's neutrality in the whole East Coast/West Coast rap war.

Mitchell and Cam started the year off right by celebrating Mitchell's environmental law award. Then, of course, they got petty and competitive, Cam's farm stories came up and Mitchell tried to do the right thing and got caught in a bad position. Pretty similar to what we see from these two every week.

If it weren't for Alex Dunphy expressing her completely Pritchett-dominated personality, Mitchell never would have realized his mistake in the first place. Can someone also please explain to me how there was still a fish flopping on the ground in Cam's box of trophies? I did at least love that Mitchell owned up to the fact that he was acting like a 14-year-old girl.

As sexy as Benjamin Bratt is, and Cam's staring only proved my point, his appearance was kind of wasted. We all know that Jay is a great dad to Manny, we didn't need to see him and Javier try to outdo each other at the horse races. Manny ought to stick to dressing like Matt Damon in The Legend of Bagger Vance rather than getting sucked into the black hole of gambling.

Lucky for us all, Phil's results were fine. The doctor only called to discuss real estate. Overall, a weak first episode back, but there were a few good quotes per usual. Hit the comments with your thoughts!

Modern Family Midseason Report Card: B

leigh.raines@gmail.com (Leigh Raines) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 09:20:07 EST

It's piled up a number of Emmy Awards, but how does Modern Family fare when it really counts?

That's the question Leigh Raines answers below, as this TV Fanatic writer tackles the ABC sitcom in the latest edition of a Midseason Report Card. Read on and see if you agree with her season three assessment...

Best Character: Phil Dunphy. Buffalo Phil, the male cheerleader, is the eternal optimist. This season, we've learned he can give a man a mean massage, walk a tight rope and will survive getting tasered!

Worst Character: Claire Dunphy. I know Julie Bowen won an Emmy for this role, but 95% of the time I find her character to be annoying. She’s always so down on everyone and everything. Claire is her best when she throws out the rulebook.

Best Episode: “Go Bullfrogs.” As I mentioned above, Claire needs to loosen the heck up. See how fun and hilarious she can be? Sexy guest star Gilles Martini, Cam and Mitchell’s concern over their potpies and Prius and a special father/daughter bonding trip just rounded out the perfect episode.

Worst Episode: “Punkin Chunkin.” It had a good intention with the theme that the realists and idealists balance each other out, but, ultimately this one just fell short. It wasn’t funny. Too much nagging and not enough laughing.

Favorite Quote: It’s so tough to choose, but Cam’s “It’s ironic, like ‘The Gift of the Vagi” line when he was hitting on Leslie Mann was pretty classic. Speaking of, can we please bring back Leslie Mann?

Surprising Development: Haley and Alex are so fun when they team up together! I’m glad to see they’re venturing out of the “I fully hate you” sister zone and into the “There’s a thin line between love and hate” sister zone. Nobody get away with busting your balls like your sister.

Hopes for 2012: More Jay! Jay secretly has this huge heart and I love when we get to see that side of him. Hmmm... what else? Claire letting loose, maybe a boyfriend for Alex, Phil just being Phil, and Gloria still wearing tight clothes (fellas, that one’s for you.)

Overall Grade: B. Modern Family is so well written, but sometimes it just pigeonholes its characters. Also, the nagging has gotten boring to watch.

Agree? Disagree? Weigh in with your own grade now!

Modern Family Review: Manny Get Your (Taser) Gun

leigh.raines@gmail.com (Leigh Raines) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:48:35 EST

Ho Ho... Hold up! Phil Dunphy found a way to save Christmas this week. In "Express Christmas," we watched as America's favorite Modern Family threw together a celebration in a matter of hours.

Naturally, I expected shenanigans to ensue, but the one thing I never expected was to shed a little tear. Jay Pritchett may use a lot of tape to wrap his gifts up tightly, just like his emotions, but the guy has still got heart. That fake snow was the one thing I didn't see coming and it was a beautiful gesture.

But let's not get into Jay's soft spot for the adorable Frenchie Stella, because then I will start in with how much I want to steal her!

Everyone has a special talent within their family and the Dunphy/Pritchetts divided up to perfection. I would personally like to invite Cam to my family's Christmas Eve celebration. He can wrap all of the gifts we leave until last minute and my mom won't be the only one in a hideous Christmas sweater.

I don't know if he's ready yet, though. Let it scab Jay, let it scab.

Alex and Mitchell never realized what a perfect duo they really are. We finally know who Alex takes after! Props to Lily's one line after Alex's tirade against the tree guy: "I have two Daddys." I think Mitchell was equally mortified and proud in that moment.

The tree would've made it if Gloria wasn't such a lunatic driver. Who the hell decided it was okay for Luke to get in the car with her? Then again, Luke was terrifying Manny to the point of paranoia all day, so I supposed he deserved some punishment.

My two favorite parts of the episode, not counting the tear-inducing snow scene, were Phil's explanation of Craigslist's shadiness before Manny tasered him and Haley working her magic at Target. Claire and Haley are learning how to play to each other. Claire knew if she encouraged Haley that Haley would put all of her heart - and some of her boobs - into the task at hand. I really want to know how she got that Target employee shirt, don't you?

Of course, Christmas stories were always designed to teach some sort of lesson and tonight's Modern Family was no exception. Sometime we try too hard to make things perfect and that's when they go awry. Mitchell and Claire's mother may have ditched them via voicemail and newsletter, but the family around them was still pretty amazing. Besides, Gloria is somehow way saner than Shelley Long.

Hit the comments, check out the best quotes and have a happy holiday!!

Ellen Barkin Cast on Modern Family As...

matt@tvfanatic.com (TV Fanatic Staff) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 19:00:17 EST

Modern Family is about to give us a major look inside Phil's professional life.

A couple weeks after Greg Kinnear was announced a new co-worker for the funniest father on TV, we can confirm that veteran actress Ellen Barkin will come on board as a nemesis for Luke, Haley and Alex's wacky dad.

Barkin will portray a real estate broker named Vera and debut in early 2012.

Modern Family Review: Dreamers vs. Realists

leigh.raines@gmail.com (Leigh Raines) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 22:27:22 EST

What's a holiday without some family drama? The Dunphy-Pritchett crew was all to willing to demonstrate this fact in "Punkin Chunkin."

I never want to hate on an episode of Modern Family, especially a holiday-themed one, but this week was just depressing. Not even Phil's humor could push my rating up to a 4.

The Pritchetts are so negative sometimes, it's painful. I totally agree with Jay's assessment that you don't have to praise every little thing a kid does, but this isn't about child psychology. This is just about supporting people that you love.

Cam's farm stories are excessive but that's Cam. Mitchell knew that when they got together. Phil's a dreamer and Claire is overly critical. It really wouldn't hurt them to be more supportive of their partners.

Josh Gad was totally underused, too. Maybe we should all think like him, and I don't just mean "What would Phil Dunphy do?" Maybe if we were more optimistic and took some risks, we could all be Internet millionaires. Okay, so that's a stretch, but sometimes a little positivity goes a long way.

My favorite parts involved Haley and Alex. I like how despite all of their differences in the past, they're now able to come together as sisters. Granted, it's coming together against Claire, but they're still amusing.

If there's one thing we learned it's that dreamers and realists do balance each other out. Or as Cam said: "There are dreamers and there are realists in this world, you think the dreamers would find the dreamers and the realists would find the realists, but more often than not the opposite is true. See the dreamers need the realists to keep the dreamers from soaring too close to the sun. And the realists? Well without the dreamers, they might not ever get off the ground."

Check out more lines in the quotes section and have a Happy Thanksgiving!