Cast of “Modern Family”
“Modern Family,” Wednesdays, 8 p.m., ABC
OK, this is rare, so take note: a single camera sit-com just about as cleverly written as “Arrested Development,” filled with a gay couple more likable than anyone on “Will & Grace,” a woman more “ethnic” sounding than Rosie Perez and parenting techniques more screwed up than something on “Wife Swap” is the No. 1 new comedy on television.
This sounds like a clerical error to me.
But it’s true. “Modern Family,” the funniest and most addictive half-hour of comedy to come along in a very long time, is not only brilliant and slyly subversive, it’s also somehow managed to garner surprising mass appeal. Who would have thought that a show starring the former Al Bundy (Ed O’Neil) would become required viewing for soccer moms?
The still crusty and lovable O’Neil is wealthy retiree Jay, the patriarch of a surname-less clan that also includes his two adult children, Claire and Mitchell. Claire (played by Julie Bowen, the class act from “Ed” and “Lost”) is married to the eager and awkward Phil (riotously funny Ty Burrell from “Back to You”) and they have three young children, each with their own colorful quirks.
Mitchell (“The Class’” Jesse Tyler Ferguson) lives with his partner Cameron (journeyman character actor Eric Stonestreet in the breakout role of the year) and their newly adopted Chinese baby Lily. Finally, divorcé Jay recently remarried the gorgeous Gloria (gorgeous and funny Sofia Vergara from “The Knights of Prosperity”) whose young son Manny (precocious Rico Rodriguez) is the other breakout character of the year.
So that’s the who’s who and I barely have enough room to tell you that, as often as Burrell’s Phil will split your sides with his uncomfortable attempts to relate to his kids, he’ll break your heart with his puppy-dog earnestness. And your co-workers will spend the week quoting Cameron and Mitchell’s cynical quips to one another, without realizing that the couple is perhaps the most loving and empowering example of true marriage on the small screen.
If you’re not watching this show, start. Before the ratings people catch on.
Grade: A+
