BWW Recap: Haley Turns 21... and Hilarity Ensues on MODERN FAMILY

On this week's MODFAM:

It's Haley's 21st, and the adults (read: Claire) want to take her out to a bar to celebrate. In the midst of the celebration, when Haley pins her mother down on the subject of not being treated like an adult, Claire attempts to become her daughter's "friend," to hilarious results. This was the best plot of the night - made better by Gloria's quips boosting Haley's suggestions to the next level. (The line, "They also have piercings!" when Claire was hugging Haley made me spit out my drink!) While the tattoo adventure/Claire being Haley's friend, may not have ended as Claire had hoped, what happened between the inciting incident and the result was a continuation of the fantastic development for these characters. I love the sense of realness Hyland and Bowen bring to this relationship, and how we've seen it grow from the first season. Haley's much more fleshed out and not just your "typical older teenage daughter" (well, obviously not anymore, she's 21)... and we've seen Hyland provide incredible examples of that all season. Now, we're starting to get into more of how Claire will treat her adult daughter as a result. It's really nice, and these two give amazing performances, so I'm hoping to see that continue in the second half of the season and beyond.

Jay and Phil are late to the party (intentionally), 'cause they go to pick up the new car Phil bought for Haley's birthday present. Sure, Haley gets the car, but our gift is these two together! Damn, I love them! Sure, it's a little sad that Jay can't be bothered with the fact that Phil's so desperate to get his father-in-law to like him, but that's just it - therein lies the comedy gold. I'm not quite sure which of the episodes Ty Burrell submitted to the television academy to earn him those two (count 'em, TWO!) Emmys, but episodes like these (I'm thinking mainly of the Mother's Day episode - "You should get a pair [of onion goggles]]"; "I was just about to suggest the same thing" and the episode where they fix the printer - "I'm gonna get a beer, beer, beer, before I hit you in the head, head, head"; and oh, yes... who could forget Season 3's vasectomy episode?!) definitely prove that Burrell is worth his salt.

And this one sure is shaping up to be good - Phil's out to prove himself to be a real man, when he agrees to go in and sign the contract without Jay; of course, this is not without its hiccups and Jay has to intervene. The two are at odds - typical Phil and Jay, yes, but, it usually works out to hilarious results. But, in a rare twist, Phil seems to have the upper hand instead of Jay, and while Jay shovels down his hot dogs with the dealer, Phil's desperate to clinch the better deal - and has a million ways to do it - and has done it. And he does, when it's revealed Jay paid up, but lied about it, so he wouldn't have to act desperate himself in front of Phil. True, it wasn't as funny as it could've been, but shows the fantastic character development between Jay and Phil, driving home the show's core message of being there for family, and creatively reveals what we all know is hidden behind Jay's rock-hard exterior: he cares. And yes, creatively - I'm talking about the use of the horn. What a clever way to have that reveal, and it's one that could only be done with the use of the car!!

Within the same plot of Haley's 21st, Cam and Mitch try to prove they're still hip. Funny, but it felt rushed. I felt like this could maybe have been expanded, in place of the "Lily-Alex-Luke-Manny" scenario (see below) - keeping the idea of an "adult-only" episode, akin to the fabulous Las Vegas experience of Season 5. I liked the plot, I just felt it happened too quickly - just after the problem was introduced, it seemed like it ended (I'm talking about Cam and Mitch being thrown into the gaggle of women to dance). That said, these two were not without the one-liners of the night (see quotes below) - they always crack me up! So, I guess the joke-story ratio balances everything out.

Lily wants to know from her babysitters (Luke, Manny and Alex) where babies come from. Perhaps it's just me accepting that Luke and Manny are not the little kids from season 1 (or frankly, 2-4), but I didn't enjoy this plot as much. I think, while we can acknowledge that this group is growing up, I think the shift to "adult" plots, especially in this episode, was way too rapid. Again, sure they're growing up, but we need that acknowledged in ways like Alex moving from junior high to high school to college, not in ways like Luke and Manny being sex-experts to Lily. That said, the wraparound at the end using Lily's voiceover alongside the adult couples' interactions was pretty brilliant - and I did enjoy the reveal of . So, all in all, a weird plot with a shaky beginning that resulted in a fantastic conclusion, that brought all themes of all plots together in a satisfying way. Hmm. I guess the issue is me coming to terms with Luke and Manny getting older. Guess I'll work on that.

IMO, a fantastic episode overall that provided laughs and continued to expand on character development. And with this, I leave you for the holidays! Happy happy, everyone! I'll be back in 2015!

SOME FAVORITE QUOTES:

- Jay: (re: driving with Phil) I have lived a long full life. I will drive us into a wall.

- Mitch: So I can't pull off mid-thigh shorts?

Cam: No, you can. Pull 'em off and give 'em to somebody 20 years younger.

- Cam: (re: Mitch doing the "Single Ladies" wave) Put your neck into it or you just look like the Queen waving.

- Claire: (re: getting a tattoo) It does really hurt! I don't think I drank enough!

Mitch: Huh. So a couple of firsts tonight.

- Claire: (to Haley, re: the tattoo) If you don't get "daughter," it's gonna look like I did this for my mother, and then, I'm gonna have to saw my leg off.

Mitch: Or you can just add to it. Hey.. what's Sanskrit for "issues"?

STRAY OBSERVATIONS:

- I seriously laughed out loud when Cam said "guncles" (the first time) and did not stop for 5 minutes! Perfect line and perfect delivery!

- Wonder if Claire's tattoo will ever be addressed again... or if she'll decide to have it removed. Either way, I hope it's not a throwaway. Could have some great stuff here.

- Just watch the tag-scene. Phil does it again! You're welcome.

Photo Credit: Twitter / ABC

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