Modern Family has been having a mixed season so far. Some episodes have been pretty solid, but it's had a few misfires as well. The writing hasn't been as consistent as usual and the show was failing to even offer one episode with big laughs from start to finish.
Playdates fills that void, though. It gets back to Modern Family basics with a quartet of simple but effective stories, and packs each with genuine humour. The three kids with Mitchell is a character pairing we haven't seen before, but it worked terrifically well. Haley continues to be the show's most reliably funny character - her "Oh no, I'm meant to be cat sitting" line made me laugh harder than anything else this season, and the titles hadn't even rolled yet. Phil and Claire fighting paying the bill with their restaurant buddies was a trademark example of Modern Family taking the simplest of stories but injecting it with energy and clever dialogue. The cricket eating twist at the end was a brilliant conclusion to an excellent story.
Cameron and Lily's story gave us a nice development as to Lily's character with her first crush, and the reveal that her crush was on her friend's dad rather than her friend was entirely unexpected. Aubrey Anderson-Emmons sold the moment entirely, and Eric Stonestreet completed the story with some of the best comedy we've seen from Cameron all year. Jay's plot may not be the most original thing the show has ever done (Yes, Jay is older than Gloria and he feels self conscious. We get it) but this was cleverly punctuated with Manny's subplot about his "moustache". Jay's "old guy" humour is contrasted with Manny's "young man" humour, and it keeps the story feeling fresh.
Playdates is far and away the best episode of Modern Family's seventh season yet. This is the first episode of the season to offer consistent laughs, and four stories that were all equal in quality. Let's hope it can keep up the momentum.
Grade: A-
Playdates fills that void, though. It gets back to Modern Family basics with a quartet of simple but effective stories, and packs each with genuine humour. The three kids with Mitchell is a character pairing we haven't seen before, but it worked terrifically well. Haley continues to be the show's most reliably funny character - her "Oh no, I'm meant to be cat sitting" line made me laugh harder than anything else this season, and the titles hadn't even rolled yet. Phil and Claire fighting paying the bill with their restaurant buddies was a trademark example of Modern Family taking the simplest of stories but injecting it with energy and clever dialogue. The cricket eating twist at the end was a brilliant conclusion to an excellent story.
Cameron and Lily's story gave us a nice development as to Lily's character with her first crush, and the reveal that her crush was on her friend's dad rather than her friend was entirely unexpected. Aubrey Anderson-Emmons sold the moment entirely, and Eric Stonestreet completed the story with some of the best comedy we've seen from Cameron all year. Jay's plot may not be the most original thing the show has ever done (Yes, Jay is older than Gloria and he feels self conscious. We get it) but this was cleverly punctuated with Manny's subplot about his "moustache". Jay's "old guy" humour is contrasted with Manny's "young man" humour, and it keeps the story feeling fresh.
Playdates is far and away the best episode of Modern Family's seventh season yet. This is the first episode of the season to offer consistent laughs, and four stories that were all equal in quality. Let's hope it can keep up the momentum.
Grade: A-