'Modern Family' Review/Recap: "Queer Eyes, Full Hearts"

Evan Slead ’16 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

Like the touchdown that won Cam’s (Eric Stonestreet) football game, the writer’s of Modern Family fixed the issue of the season in “Queer Eyes, Full Hearts”. The show is obviously a mega hit with countless Emmy wins under its belt, but at times, having so many strong characters can cause certain ones to be lost. These certain “ones” tend to be the kids of the cast, and finally, they get a little exposure. Haley’s (Sarah Hyland) non-existent schedule has some purpose when she trains for an interview with the hottest fashion designer around. Helping her with her interview is the manny Andy (Adam DeVine) who wants to work for Phil (Ty Burrell) as his assistant. Manny (Rico Rodriguez) needs to learn Spanish for school, so Gloria (Sofia Vergara) hires a young tutor to teach him which makes Jay (Ed O’Neill) jealous. Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) has been working intensely on his latest court case in the hopes of getting exposure for the victims through an interview with the news. His opportunity is squashed when Cameron’s football coach title becomes more tantalizing to the reporter.
Claire (Julie Bowen) is worried about her oldest daughter. Haley seems to have no motivation or potential for a future. Of course during her worrying, she doesn’t even notice that Alex (Ariel Winter) is running herself into the ground trying to study for a test. All of this is of course the typical reaction from Claire to any situation involving Haley. Sarah Hyland is truly a great comedic actress, much like every member of the cast. She has a way of making the ditzy and superficial type earn some respect and notoriety. Sadly this whole season she seems to have been pushed to the side to give the parents more focus on the episodes. It was great in this episode to see Haley in her element as she interviewed for the internship. Her character has been built to be a fashionista and style guru. There’s no better place for her to work than a fashion house where she can let her creativity fly. It was nice to have the writers bring this plot point in for her character with the hope of seeing it expanded as the season goes on.

The Gloria and Jay segment was sweet overall. It can be tricky with a character heavy comedy like Modern Family to give everyone their equal share every week. As stated previously, it was refreshing to have that comedy time given to the characters that hadn’t had a chance this season. All that said, Vergara and O’Neill still brought their A game. Gloria has always been built as a goofy character due to her mispronunciation of English words, but it was interesting that they pointed out how she sounds much more intelligent in her native language. The writers like to turn the tables on their relationship by making Jay look like a goofball just as much as Gloria.
It’s just so hard to outshine any scene with Mitch and Cam, and the show knows it. This episode was no different too. As a couple, they couldn’t be more different, and yet they always end up competing for the similar roles. Watching the fame from the news report go to Cam’s head is brilliant due to how great Stonestreet delivers his excitement. He knows how to ham it up without it ever being cheesy which is a rare and difficult talent. On top of that, Ferguson still manages to leave a mark with his quieter Mitchell portrayal. He is the constant commentary to Cam’s absurdity; a role that he plays beautifully. When Mitchell has to make all of the pancakes and be “the stereotypical housewife” role it is a riot. Especially when Lily’s (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons) crying baby doll goes haywire and Mitch slams it against a pole to shut it up.
The season just gets stronger and stronger with each new episode. There will definitely be more Emmy wins this year.
Modern Family airs on Wednesday’s at 9/8c on ABC.
Overall Episode Grade: A-