Modern Family - Season 4 Episode 6 - Recap and Review - Yard Sale
Modern Family nails its funniest episode of the season by largely doing away with ponderous characterization and sticking mostly to utilizing the show as a means of delivery for the manic, joke-a-minute structure of the well-worn sitcom contrivance they use to such sterling effect here: the yard sale. "Yard Sale" confines the ensemble to one space and allows the comedy to springboard from that situation, which sees many of the characters forced to confront their personal squabbles, if for no other reason than because they're stuck here for the time being. While the conceit works better for some plotlines than others, this is the first episode of the season where there's not a weak plotline in the bunch, with each storyline earning its share of the laughs. Most surprising of all, for me, at least, was the realization that Gloria's arc provided the episode's funniest moments.
Turns out, Gloria (Sofia Vergara) has a secret past, and the attempts by Manny (Rico Rodriguez) and Luke (Nolan Gould) to bring this mysterious back story to light, represented by a suitcase from the attic that Gloria doesn't want opened, is tremendous. Nolan Gould has been the stealth MVP of this season in how he underplays much of Luke's inherent mischievousness, while also undercutting much of his observations with random political invective (such as his distrust of police, and his indignation at America's reliance on Chinese money). Here, Luke utilizes reverse psychology to get Gloria to finally embrace her previous life as a pageant ventriloquist, bringing out her dummy, Uncle Grumpy, for one last performance. The act is the highlight of the episode, with Gloria doing a terrible job at hiding the movement of her lips, and an even worse job at changing or disguising her voice. But that's part of the comedy, as is Uncle Grumpy's complaint about having paid full price to see Basic Instinct. Even funnier is Claire's realization that Gloria pretty much married Uncle Grumpy, who's Jay incarnate.
Jay (Ed O'Neill), meanwhile, hates yard sales, as they're little more than an invitation to let strangers meddle around your home and mooch favors off of you. There are a bunch of great bits issuing off of this storyline, such as one buyer who wants a piece of bread to test the toaster he intends to buy, and the even stingier haggler who's looking for a discount on a fifty-cent ash tray. It's not exactly universal comedy, but it's well-observed, and funny, to boot. Jay simply deciding to check out on the whole affair (because the difference between a yard sale and a home invasion is that he could at least shoot people in a home invasion) works on every level, and is even better for how Jay completely ignores the ongoing Uncle Grumpy performance.
Concurrently with Jay's harrumphing is the plot in which Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) looks for ways to hold onto some old jeans that no longer fit Cam (Eric Stonestreet), since any time Cam loses weight, he inevitably regains it, resulting in a complete emotional breakdown when he realizes he has to repurchase all his old wardrobe. Cam eventually finds out, and is offended that Mitchell would seek to undermine his attempts at self-improvement so blatantly. Both arguments are valid in their own right, with Mitchell simply looking to spare Cam any future heartache, and Cam believing he's owed at least a modicum of faith from his partner. It's a storyline that's funny and poignant without veering into schmaltzy, overwrought territory. Make it two weeks in a row now with a solid Cam/Mitchell storyline.
Credit: ABC
Cam and Mitchell's own storyline is hardly the extent of their contribution to the episode, as they utilize their "gaydar" to help Claire (Julie Bowen) in her attempts to spare Alex (Ariel Winter) any undue heartbreak upon the eventual realization that her boyfriend is gay. Because, as Claire so frequently insists, it's obvious that Alex's boyfriend, Michael, is about as far from heterosexual as Dallas is from Dubai. We've met Michael before, as Alex's prom date last season, and Alex asserts that Michael is straight off of how much fooling around they did that night (claiming that there was some sweet "under the shirt" action - "His chest was so smooth."). The plot features more overbearing Claire, who can't stand not to be right all the time, any more than she can stand seeing her kids hurting. Of course, her meddling leads Alex to confront Michael, which puts their relationship on ice. It's perhaps easy to see how Claire could come to her conclusion about Michael, and how Alex, in her general ignorance of all things boy-related, could miss it. But the narrative appears to make matters clear - it's not Claire's place to facilitate a teenage boy's outing, nor is it really any of her business to meddle in a perfectly mutual, goodhearted relationship. It's not like Alex brought Dylan home or anything. Claire, as a character, might be better served in picking her parenting battles a little better.
Credit: ABC
Lastly, we have Phil (Ty Burrell), who takes part in an episode-long homage to 127 Hours, a gag that works beyond even the most modest expectations. His insistence on riding a motorcycle after Claire rags on him for his Street Strider cycle, culminates in an inspired series of gags, from Phil's sandwich (he said no tomatoes!), the business with the miniature Swiss Army Knife, to his progressing paranoia about his own mortality while pinned beneath the motorcycle. It's very much on the periphery of the episode, but it's every bit as effective as the presumptive "A" storylines.
"Yard Sale" isn't the most thematically substantive episode of the season, but none of that really matters when all the jokes land like they do here. This is precisely the kind of half-hour the fourth season should aspire to more often. Because it's fine to be a sitcom with heart, but being funny, above all else, is what keeps the audience, and attracts new eyeballs.