BWW Recap: Wins and Losses Explored on This Week's MODERN FAMILY

This week's episode moves the Dunphys from their house to "the last room at a hotel nearby"; as Claire explains in the opening confessional, they have to vacate the house - for one night - as it's treated for mold. Claire's thinking positively about the family-of-five sharing a room - again, it's only for one night - though a cut to the hotel shows us their stay's been delayed; it's day five, and it's looking anything but the positive experience Claire was hoping for: Luke and Alex butt heads when he interferes with her cello practice, while Claire and Haley quarrel about sharing WiFi usage; Luke then turns on a blender which sets off the dogs in the room next door (which they can hear due to the ever-cliché paper-thin walls). Oh, yes. And in the middle of all this, Phil's found a Charleston Chew, which - to give you a clearer idea of the state of the motel (if you couldn't already tell) - advertises a contest from 2005. The night doesn't get any better, wherein the various members of the family have to climb over each other to exit the bed; except for Luke, who sleeps in the tub. With the single flush of a toilet, the neighboring dogs begin to bark, and the cycle begins again. Yes, the humor here is a bit forced, but it does set up a good storyline, which I'm interested to see played out.

Back from the opening, a car pulls up at Jay and Gloria's, and Gloria acknowledges it's Manny, who's back from another night "with that older boy, Sam" who she deems "a bad influence" because Manny's been "acting suspicious"; he and Sam "always stay in the driveway" when he's dropped home. A funny line here, reminiscent of last week's episode, where Gloria acknowledges she's nosy. I knew Manny's confession to her last week wouldn't stop her from baby-ing her little boy, but to have her acknowledge she's nosy and still do it anyway is a new touch. When Jay goes to check at the window, the discovery's made: Sam's a girl - and Manny's girlfriend. Of course, Gloria's furious. Let's see where this one goes. Though on his way in, Manny does mention there's a big game tomorrow...

He must mean football, as the next cut is to Mitchell and a nervous Cam. Cam explains in his confessional that the football team has set a new school record under his leadership - and that Mitch is kept away from games for knowing "nothing about sports." Mitch claims his fine with it. I think I see where this is going...

Back to the hotel, where Phil suggests Marco Polo - "like the old days" - which is quickly shot down by the kids. Luke sprays a can of Sex Grenade, which is presumably MODERN FAMILY's equivalent to the Axe franchise, but he drops it and it... yes... explodes like a grenade all over the room. (Yes, that's what Phil's shielding the kids from in the promo pic plastered all over Twitter). While throwing out the empty can (yes, the gag does eventually stop), Phil discovers Claire's booked out another room - and is using it all to herself. Uh oh.

Family meeting - I love Phil, and I love this continuity - and the kids decide to live with Claire in the adjoining room. The sequence is one that could be summed up in a sentence, though it's explained with an elongated, over-the-top back-and-forth dialogue between Phil and the kids. It's this unnecessary elongation that leaves the joke to fall flat. It seems both the actors & writers do too much with it - much more than they have to to get the point across, and the result is rather un-funny and cartoonish.

Cam's received yet another (we can assume) good-luck gift basket for his upcoming game (come on, really? It's just a high school game!), and after viewing it (and a few choice quips from Lily), he begins all the ritualistic steps of his sports superstitions in order to ensure a winning game, much to Mitchell's chagrin. Cam takes offense, and explodes in his face, refusing to stop his superstition.

Mitchell then talks out his frustration with Lily (WHAT?! I'm beginning to see why, perhaps, she gets so snarky - her father talks to her like she's his age!), and Mitch comes to conclusion that he's thinking too much about himself, and has to be there for Cam. Of course, this is MODERN FAMILY, and Mitch in particular, who referenced his father and his childhood (think of the Season 1 duo of Fire and Nice), so being supportive of Cam's love of football could mean anything. Also, side note: to be honest, maybe I'm naive, but the Lily joke at the end confused me - is it social services?

Back to Jay and Gloria's, and Manny's put on Sex Grenade for his girlfriend. At least this crazy Axe knockoff has some continuity for the show, and yes, in all seriousness, I love that. And of course, he pronounces it "Gren-odd," rather than Luke's "Gren-aid." Love Manny! He explains to Gloria all about Sam, and Gloria protests, "I just want to meet her." Manny then fires back, "Promise me you'll stay out of this until I'm ready." Looks like Gloria hasn't learned from last week (and yes, this week and last week were in production order) And yes, I agree, Manny... she should do that... but a) it's Gloria and b) if she did, you wouldn't have a plot line. Let the games begin!

And they do, when Gloria orders Jay to check out Sam for her. With a metaphor, he encourages Sam to "take things nice and slow' because "hands can do things" and "young people have urges." It's a little awkward - for Sam and for us - but a funny bit nonetheless. The games continue on the field, where we next check in with Cam, whose still stuck in his ways re: superstitions. Gloria and Jay are in the stands, and for the first time, Gloria checks out Sam and sees that she really likes Manny. Could this be a turning point? Back to the game, where Cam spies Mitchell coming down the stands ("Aww, he came," Cam coos). The Badgers (the opposite team) score a touchdown and Cam's eyes head straight for the stands, as the camera pans on Mitch holding a giant foam finger. Cam growls. Mitchell's the jinx.

While grabbing a hot dog, Jay catches Sam making out with another guy. Oops.

The Dolphins are still losing - and Cam's losing it with them. At a break in the game, Mitch beckons his hubby over, and Cam comes clean: "You're a jinx."

Phil visits the bar, and explains his situation to two other guests (or are they the bartenders - I can't really tell). As I'd expect from the MODERN FAMILY writers, Phil's a bit unclear about his wife leaving him, and it leads to a bit of a misunderstanding (and yes, this one made me laugh), which results in him playing Marco Polo with the Nigerian couple and their kid (yes, it's the same couple with the dogs).

In the touching moment of the week (which I've said waaaaayyy too much for only the fourth episode in, but it's what I appreciate about this show), Alex says she found out the hotel's been half-empty all week ("Half-full," quips Claire. "Be positive for once in your life.") This means, of course, as the kids conclude, Phil lied about the hotel being booked so that the family would have to spend time together. And that's why he's so upset about Claire and the kids "moving out." Awww, Phil! Tuggin' at our heartstrings.

Back to the game, Cam devises a plan to win. "Win or lose, I still have a hot girlfriend," says Manny. Uh oh. Could this line be foreshadowing the trigger to a string of events leading to the loss of the game? Nope. Doesn't look like it, as the dolphins win, and Mitch and Cam make up, after a cleverly written discovery of Mitch "on the fence" (see my notes below, or just watch the episode - it's the show at its best). All ends with a line about how "football is elegant," before Cam and Mitch are hit with the traditional Gatorade-from-a-cooler shower. Predictable, but yeah, pretty funny and clever.

Manny and Jay talk about Sam dumping Manny in touching moment #2 of the episode. This is great character development for the two of them, and really exemplifies how far these two have come since the beginning of the series. Jay has really developed and learned how to be a real father figure to Manny, and accepted him as his own. Again, I'm going to use the words character growth, but it's nice to see at this point in the series (and I think I've said those words previously as well). And the icing on the cake... the hug at the end was BRILLIANT! #JayandMannyForever

And to wrap up the final storyline, Phil returns alone to his room and readies for bed, but is beckoned outside by his family shouting, "Marco" (to which he shouts "Polo", of course). He rips off his shirt and runs downstairs. Fade to black.

And in the tag scene, the Dunphys are back at home, and the doorbell rings in the middle of the night. Phil opens the door to reveal the Nigerian family - dogs and all - who Phil claims misunderstood the sentence, "You guys should stop by." Funny stuff indeed!

SOME FAVORITE QUOTES

-Haley: I need Instagram to know there's still beauty in the world.

-Jay: Ray Chapman just died.
Gloria: Ay, no! He used to give me the best boning.
Jay: You're thinking of our butcher, Ray Eastman.... I hope.

-Lily: (looking at Cam's good luck gift basket) Eggplant jelly? What do they send if they don't like you?

-Cam: Superstitions are a big part of sports.
Mitch: And witchcraft and cults and voodoo.

-Gloria: (re: Manny wearing Sex Grenade) Is that for Sam, your friend that is a girl, but has the name of a boy?

-Jay: (re: Manny's finger guns) It's not my favorite exit of his, but it beats the dramatic stage bow.

-Jay: (re: seeing Sam kiss another guy) I couldn't tell Manny because it would kill him. I couldn't tell Gloria because she would kill me. Hell of a way to ruin a nice hot dog.

-Cam: (to the Dolphins, who are losing) Hey, everybody, grab a cup of water. Maybe you can hold onto those, huh?

-Phil: (to the bartenders) I'd like my wife and kids back, but I'll take a Chardonnay.

-Claire: You know, when you don't think about who was in there before you, a hotel bath can be really quite relaxing.

STRAY OBSERVATIONS

- The ever-so-lovely Dunphy family meeting and a "pull-the-short-crust-of-the-pizza" instead of pulling short straws? I love Phil!

- From Sofia Vergara's Instagram pictures, it looks like Joe is huge!

- Mitchell on the fence (and the line he gives) is one of the most clever MODFAM lines/cuts/sequences of recent memory.

A moment of silence for Elizabeth Peña, whose death was officially announced hours before this week's episode aired. She played Pilar, Gloria's mother, in Season 4's "Fulgencio" and Season 5's "The Old Man and the Tree."

That's all for this week, guys! Leave your comments in the comments section below! Would love to hear 'em!

Photo Credit: ABC

To post a comment, you must register and login.