Introducing our new team member:
Joey Ziemniak
Joey is new to DePaul but not new to media reviews! He runs his own film and gaming blog (check it out in our links section) and Keepin' it Reel is excited to start a partnership with him!
Reviewing:
"Modern Family"
Modern Family Season 5 premiered tonight, hot off the heels of yet another Best Comedy Emmy. Many people, myself included, think Modern Family is running out of steam. It's writing hasn't been as good as the first two seasons, and the storylines just aren't cutting it anymore, despite some still stellar acting. Season 4, for me, was the low point. I'm happy to say that Modern Family seems to be redeeming itself. These first two episodes, aired back-to-back, reminded me of why I love Modern Family.
The first episode saw the families on the day of the legalization of gay marriage in California. Mitchell and Cameron, understandably, are ecstatic, and are both trying to plan an awesome engagement for the other with the help of Gloria and Claire. Seeing them each try to make the moment special really brought out their relationship. Sometimes I get tired of Cameron, but seeing him be so dear about making this moment matter for Mitchell was enjoyable and heartfelt. This led up to some great final moments, with Phil, Claire, Jay, and Gloria reminiscing on their engagements, and a great final scene with Mitch and Cam.
Meanwhile, Manny is on is way to Colombia to visit Gloria's family. This brings about an awkwardly hilarious moment when Manny and Jay visit the town hall to get Manny's birth certificate to travel, all while gay couples are lining up to receive their marriage licenses. Obviously some strange looks followed. At the Dunphy's, Phil and Claire are trying to line up the kids' many summer activities so they can have a week for themselves. This calls to mind any parent's summer days, and it even brought out Claire's selfish side.
In the second episode, the kids are all going back to school. Luke and Manny are both starting high school, and both Phil and Gloria are feeling left out when they drop them off. They go for coffee afterwards, and stumble upon the filming of a commercial in the cafe. They are then enlisted as extras in the background, leading to some funny moments as they over exaggerate and distract from the stars of the commercial. This plot felt kind of random and out of place. Instead, Phil and Gloria should have just sat down and talked about their first days of high school or something. There were a few funny moments, but one wonders why this commercial plot was even necessary.
Claire is also going back to work at Jay's office. It's hilarious to see her fit in to the office lifestyle, with all of the cringe-filled moments of anyone's first day at work. After Lily gets hurt on her first day of school, she tags along with Mitchell at his job. One of his clients becomes interested in Haley after she comes by to pick up Lily. This leads to some uncomfortable flirting between the two. This was awkward for everyone involved, considering that he is at least twice her age. This kind of behavior is not unexpected of Haley, but it was still kind of weird and a bit distressing. Lastly, Cameron is called in as a substitute teacher for Alex's AP history course. He comes in with the full George Washington outfit and everything, despite not knowing a thing about history. The end of the episode opens up a new opportunity for Cameron, and this was a welcome surprise.
As always, the strength in Modern Family lies within its characters and its writing. Despite some weird and out-of-place storylines here and there, both of these episodes were solid reintroductions into the lives of the Pritchetts. They effectively balanced the funny and emotional scenes, and most of the situations were very relatable.
Modern Family is always best at straddling the serious with the funny, the heartfelt with the laugh-out-loud. These two episodes were perfect examples of why Modern Family deserves all the praise it gets. All of the characters had some interesting plots, and they were all adapting to change of some sort. I'm excited to see where this season goes, after a less-than-stellar last season.
The first episode saw the families on the day of the legalization of gay marriage in California. Mitchell and Cameron, understandably, are ecstatic, and are both trying to plan an awesome engagement for the other with the help of Gloria and Claire. Seeing them each try to make the moment special really brought out their relationship. Sometimes I get tired of Cameron, but seeing him be so dear about making this moment matter for Mitchell was enjoyable and heartfelt. This led up to some great final moments, with Phil, Claire, Jay, and Gloria reminiscing on their engagements, and a great final scene with Mitch and Cam.
Meanwhile, Manny is on is way to Colombia to visit Gloria's family. This brings about an awkwardly hilarious moment when Manny and Jay visit the town hall to get Manny's birth certificate to travel, all while gay couples are lining up to receive their marriage licenses. Obviously some strange looks followed. At the Dunphy's, Phil and Claire are trying to line up the kids' many summer activities so they can have a week for themselves. This calls to mind any parent's summer days, and it even brought out Claire's selfish side.
In the second episode, the kids are all going back to school. Luke and Manny are both starting high school, and both Phil and Gloria are feeling left out when they drop them off. They go for coffee afterwards, and stumble upon the filming of a commercial in the cafe. They are then enlisted as extras in the background, leading to some funny moments as they over exaggerate and distract from the stars of the commercial. This plot felt kind of random and out of place. Instead, Phil and Gloria should have just sat down and talked about their first days of high school or something. There were a few funny moments, but one wonders why this commercial plot was even necessary.
Claire is also going back to work at Jay's office. It's hilarious to see her fit in to the office lifestyle, with all of the cringe-filled moments of anyone's first day at work. After Lily gets hurt on her first day of school, she tags along with Mitchell at his job. One of his clients becomes interested in Haley after she comes by to pick up Lily. This leads to some uncomfortable flirting between the two. This was awkward for everyone involved, considering that he is at least twice her age. This kind of behavior is not unexpected of Haley, but it was still kind of weird and a bit distressing. Lastly, Cameron is called in as a substitute teacher for Alex's AP history course. He comes in with the full George Washington outfit and everything, despite not knowing a thing about history. The end of the episode opens up a new opportunity for Cameron, and this was a welcome surprise.
As always, the strength in Modern Family lies within its characters and its writing. Despite some weird and out-of-place storylines here and there, both of these episodes were solid reintroductions into the lives of the Pritchetts. They effectively balanced the funny and emotional scenes, and most of the situations were very relatable.
Modern Family is always best at straddling the serious with the funny, the heartfelt with the laugh-out-loud. These two episodes were perfect examples of why Modern Family deserves all the praise it gets. All of the characters had some interesting plots, and they were all adapting to change of some sort. I'm excited to see where this season goes, after a less-than-stellar last season.
Reporting by: Joey Ziemniak
If you loved what you read then tell Joey and check out his blog at http://joeyreviews.wordpress.com!
Don't forget to like us, share us, follow and comment!
No comments:
Post a Comment