Modern Family: Pilot Review
A gay couple with a an adopted Vietnamese baby, a May/September relationship, and a traditional family comprise the characters of Modern Family, a show that explores the dynamics of three different families that are all related (the patriarch of the May/September relationship ties the other two families together).
The show is filmed in the mockumentary style, with brief interstitials that allow for exposition. Though the show is obstinately about intra-family relationships, it has a greater focus on dark and absurdist comedy. One such example is a scene in which one of the children has a problem with shooting his siblings with a toy BB Gun. To correct this problem, his parents (Ty Burrell and Julie Bowen) decide that he needs to be shot with the gun. While discussing when he this shooting should take place, Burrell and Bowen manage to work in references to soccer games and other obligations, which creates a degree of recognition for people who grew up on the traditional family sitcom. Yet, at the same time the dark and absurdist comedy coexists with the traditional.
And yes, the show does venture to the absurd quite often, usually while referencing some elements of pop culture. Burrell dancing to High School Musical was used heavily in commercials, but there are other gags that are just as adept. The show plays upon the “I gave her my heart, she gave me a pen” line from Say Anything when detailing the courtship of an eleven-year-old by substituting “picture of me as an old-time sheriff” for “pen”. These references aren’t in any heavy-handed manner and fit the characterization of each character (much unlike the “manatee gags” of Family Guy).
The breakout star of the show is Burrell, who portrays the self-stylized “cool dad”. He tries to be hip when it is painfully obvious that he is not in any sense of the word. Even though the “cool” dad has been performed many times throughout the years, the mockumentary interstitials allow for more development and jokes that seem fresh, even if the archetype itself is stale.
Modern Family marks a step in the right direction for television comedy, and is the best new comedy this year. There is tremendous potential to be found within its first thirty minutes, and it marks the first comedy on ABC in a long time that is worth watching.
