User Reviews

Modern Family is back for its second season, fresh from its big win at the Emmys, with a new writer- Abraham Higginbotham. I couldn't believe seeing that name in the opening credits. Higginbotham co-wrote the series Arrested Development, including its best episode Afternoon Delight, and also In God We Trust and Spring Breakout. It's great to have an opportunity to see his work again, and I'd say he's already doing well here.

The Kiss concerns, well, kisses. Modern Family's strategy is usually to have a few different plots going on which share only a motif. Mitchell can't kiss his boyfriend Cameron in public, Alex is pressured by her sister to have her first kiss. Alex is embarrassed in the process. Picking up on what was first mentioned in the Pilot, Claire has a wild past and finally admits to Alex that she was not the good little girl she claims to have been. Claire's story and Alex's debacles make for good, honest humour. Alex is one of the show's best and underrated characters- the clever trickster, who's now growing up.

Also making for good humour is Jay and Gloria fighting over traditional Colombian meals. She claims her grandmother's ghost told her to cook an exotic meal- Jay dubiously replies that a ghost told him to have steak. Seeing Cameron fall dramatically when Mitchell dodges his kiss is good physical humour (they later do kiss, which I hope appeases those who've been complaining you never see that on TV). Gloria plays mean tricks on Jay, and he deserves them. I'm looking forward to the rest of season 2.

The basic premise of the episode "The Kiss" is a variation on the theme of how humans show their affection in public. Some people would not hesitate to demonstrate how much they care for another, being a close relative, or a good friend in front of others, which seems to be the case affecting Mitchell and Jay. The father is a man who confesses he is not a "touchy-feely" kind of man, so kissing for him is only reserved to the privacy of his bedroom, but he will not show it in front of his family, much less kiss his son in public. No wonder Mitch feels bad about the situation.

Mitchell feels his love for Cam does not include to be seen kissing his partner in the street, or even in front of his family. After all, the whole family realize what is going on between the men. Maybe Mitch's attitude was what he experienced from a father, Jay, who never kissed him, or showed any tenderness for a son that turned out to be different from what he probably expected.

Even the young are affected by the effect of not having been kissed, as it is the case of Alex, the nerdy sister that does not have the same values as her much flashy sister, Haley. She also likes a boy, who is not as bold as to show how much he likes Alex, even though it is the girl who takes steps to tell Jeremy about how she feels.

The theme is handled with humor by a new contributor to the sitcom, Alexander Higgingbotham, and Elaine Ko. It also helps Scott Ellis, an innovative director is on hand to keep everything going smoothly in this chapter of the series. The program hits the mark in its approach as how one person shows affection for another in public.