Modern Family - "Treehouse"

Season 3, Episode 7

Comedies don’t have to be substantial in order to be good. Sometimes – okay, most of the time – it is acceptable for them to just be funny in a way that’s true to the characters and doesn’t rely on tired or lazy situations. Now, as I’ve said before, being a family sitcom puts Modern Family in a tenuous position, as in this genre, perhaps more than any other that’s not science fiction, it becomes really had to determine the line between archetype and cliché. And while it “Treehouse” wasn’t a perfect episode, but it mostly stayed on the right side of those lines, and it was better for it.

But let’s back up for a second. Tonight’s episode was billed as a star-studded episode. Now, there is of course the debatable level of those stars – Chaz Palminteri, Jennifer Tilly, Leslie Mann, and Kevin Hart – who really don’t rise above “hey, it’s that guy” status. But what was particularly interesting what how these guest start are used. In the family sitcoms of the 80s and 90s – a format the show is clearly indebted to – guest stars (true guest stars, not the C-level acts on displays tonight) would be forced into stories in the most obtuse way possible, as networks sought to get the most airtime out of a star as possible. So it’s interesting that Modern Family didn’t take that track, that all of the guests were relegated to fairly small roles with the narrative. Sure it might have been a product of these stars low caliber, and it robbed some talented people of a chance to show off its skill, but it’s admirable that this episode focused more on the characters we know than resorting to some cheap gimmicks.

And no plot better signifies that than Cam’s story, which saw him attempting to prove his charm by acting straight and getting a woman’s phone number. Now, there were a few marks against this episode – it was fairly predictable that she didn’t buy Cam as a straight man, a reveal which seemed to undercut the plot’s subversion of gay stereotypes – but luckily the story stuck to what worked, and that was an exploration of Cam’s pride and self-delusion.

Along those lines, Jay and Gloria’s plotline, gave us another insight into their relationship, and why they still work as a couple, despite their age difference and divergent tastes. It’s a story that’s been told before, but here it not only allows Jay to team up with Manny once again, but it also serves as yet another sweet reminder of just how much that they mean to each other. (I also love that Jay’s love for Gloria goes so deep that he would risk taking illegal drugs just so he can do something that she wants. Even better, it turns out Mitchell only gave his baby aspirin, which both show the power of Jay’s love that he doesn’t need drugs to undertake what he considers torturous activity for Gloria’s sake, and it undermines the “gay men use ecstasy in clubs” stereotype that the show seemed to being using.)

The titular plot, wherein Phil attempts to build a tree house for Luke, was the one I was most worried about going into tonight’s episode, and that may be why I enjoyed it as much as I did, even if it was highly inconsequential. Yes, it is a plot that’s been done in many sitcoms past, but I think it avoided most of the trappings. Though this is usually a time that’s all about how incompetent men are at building things, and that’s the angle this story took, it’s helpful that we know Phil to be an incompetent man in many of his endeavors (just check the callback to “the step”) and so it didn’t feel forced here. (Also helpful: the limited screen time mean it didn’t get too old too quick). But this wasn’t really about Phil’s incompetence, it was about his quest to recapture his youth, at a time when he had real friends, and this tree house not only allowed him to reminisce, it also won him a new friend, Andre (Hart).

Modern Family is never going to be groundbreaking comedy, as much as I feel like it should be. It’s the old family sitcom style wrapped up in some new packaging. But when the show applies those modern day sensibilities more directly, as did here tonight by placing character over hackneyed plot, that’s when it really shines, and I’m reminded of why I once loved it, and how I could possibly grow to love it once again.

Quotes, Etc:

As far as that D-plot: Yes, Claire leaving Haley out in the middle of nowhere was mean, but I’m a sucker for life lesson and schadenfreude, and it was also pretty damn funny, so it gets a pass from me.

Kevin Hart’s appearance will only be worth it if he becomes a recurring character. Search you feelings; you know it to be true.

Jay and Shorty are so similar, they both marry younger, large-chested women. Of course. (I guess that confirms the fact that Shorty isn’t gay, for all you continuity nerds.)

“If you let me keep that, those geese would have followed me to the wetlands.”

“It’s ironic, like the Gift of the Vagi.”

“Raccoons can and will get up here, so don’t leave any food up here, because they will get territorial, and they will attack.”

“Gabby’s mom is a hoarder. That essay practically writes itself.”

“I won cutest baby at the 1974 Jasper County fair. People say I could go Gerber.”

“It was like that scene from Beauty and the Beast. Actually, that was the song. Manny picked it; he didn’t like me back then.”

“I find if that you say ‘Are you dad, are you?’, he’ll grow silent and won’t notice when you walk off.”

“You’re the whole package. I just prefer someone who has one.”

“You’re psychotic!” “Use spell check!”

“Plus he’s a badass black man who gives me tons of street cred…That was his joke.”