Modern Family Fodder

Modern Family - Games People Play

It was all about Phil on last night's episode of Modern Family. The Dunphy clan celebrates Phil's birthday, and our favorite goofy father has his eye on a new gadget. His dream: receiving an iPad (Product placement much?) for his birthday, which coincides with the device's release. That dream becomes a nightmare when Claire, who's promised to pick up the iPad at the store, falls asleep on the couch and misses her chance to bring home her husband's much-desired present. Phil, devastated at his wife's poorly-timed slumber, sets out for the local park and meets Little Phil, a young boy who's receiving the birthday party that Phil's family couldn't provide.

As Claire tries to solve her problem, the rest of the family is working on their own issues. Cameron, true to his warm-hearted ways, becomes involved in his neighbor's marital problems when their conversations come spitting through the baby monitor. He saves the couple from near-divorce, only to find himself mired in another mess when they uncover his meddling.

His partner is worse off. Flustered by his inability to defend himself, Mitchell vows to learn some basic skills of self-defense after his save-the-baby efforts (Cameron: "It's go time!") fail spectacularly. First, he asks Jay, who drudges up Mitchell's childhood love of Olivia Newton John, for tips to taking down potential bullies. Then, after meeting Claire in line at the store, Mitchell puts the sleeperhold on a line-cutter (Mitchell: "Go to sleep."), but security guards stop him before he does any damage...to himself.

In the least-interesting exchange of the evening, Jay is pitted against Gloria and Manny in a family (but not friendly) game of chess. The May-December newlyweds eventually compete---with Phil's chessboard/birthday present---at the Dunphy house, but the two call a truce right before Gloria goes in for the kill. A good thing, considering her sore-loser streak: "If I lose, I burn this house down!"

And leave it to the usually-dense Dunphy son, Luke, to salvage Phil's celebration---shortly after he tells Claire, "Honey, it's okay, I don't feel things anymore."---and sneak an iPad away from one of Phil's geek friends. (His Phil-is-dying story didn't hurt.) This twenty-two minute commercial for Apple's latest tech creation again highlighted the insecurities---and the insanity---of this Modern Family.