Over two decades ago, Ed O’Neill became the legendary father of two, Al Bundy, on Married with Children. The Bundies represented lower middle class living at its best with quick whit, jabs at social structures, raunchy humor and a pension for breaking the laws of TV. The dysfunctional family dominated Sunday night viewing for just over a decade.
Now, Ed’s back in the brand new family-oriented comedy series, “Modern Family,” a series that aims to expose a new type of family to America’s home viewers. “Modern Family” uses the mockumentary style format, popularized by “The Office.” The series chronicles the life of three distinct families that just happen to be related. Everything about the family structure in this new series screams modern, from the wannabe-cool hip-hop dad to the gay couple with the newly adopted Vietnamese baby. Angelina Jolie lifestyle has officially become the trend for twenty-first century living.
Ed O’Neill plays family patriarch, Jay Pritchett. You won’t find Ed with the Bundy voice of the 90s, but Ed is funnier than ever in “Modern Family.” His character Jay battles the onslaught of old age with a foot in the latest urban apparel and a ring around the finger of his “young-enough-to-be-his-daughter” wife, Gloria Delgado-Pritchett (Sofia Vergara). The two are in love, but that doesn’t mean Jay won’t fell the occasional hint of jealousy when a younger guy tries to ogle-eye his sexy wife. Jay stepson, Gloria’s son, is Manny (Rico Rodriguez), a lovesick child with a thirst for expressing his feelings to older women.
Jay’s son is Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), a gay man who loves to hear himself talk about the plight of the gay man. The series kicks off with Jay and his partner, Cameron (Eric Stonestreet), returning from adopting their new Vietnamese daughter. Just so you get a flavor for the type of guy Cameron is, when he introduces their baby to the family he plays the “Lion King” intro music, “Circle of Life.”
Why didn’t Mitchell and Cameron ask one of their lesbian friends to be a surrogate you ask? Mitchell states, “We initially asked one of our lesbian friends to a be a surrogate.” To which Cameron eloquently replies, “Then we figured, they’re already mean enough. Can you imagine one of them pregnant? No thank you.”
Claire Dunphy (Julie Bowen) plays Jay’s daughter. On the outside, she has the perfect house with the white-picket fence, adoring husband, and three children. Of course Clair’s husband, Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell), is anything but normal. Phil is one of those guys who wants to be cool, but just isn’t. It’s clear from the “Pilot” that this husband is not just infatuated with thug-life he wants to live it. Yikes. The Dunphy children encompass the spectrum of child personas: the rebellious-hormone filled teenage daughter, Haley (Sarah Hyland), the semi-emo smart-ass little sister, Alex (Ariel Winter), and the rowdy son, Luke (Nolan Gould).
The “Modern Family” Pilot draws you into a non-stop laugh ride that doesn’t stop - even ten minutes after the show is over. If you’ve ever suffered through a painful-new-comedy pilot, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by this ambitious series. Each member of the ensemble cast delivers line after line of witty remarks, topped off by the subtle, yet hilarious, facial reactions of their fellow cast members.
“Modern Family” is easily this Fall’s standout new-comedy. The Pilot is a textbook-case study that proves an ensemble cast can shine in a single episode.
“Modern Family” premieres Wednesday, September 23 at 9/8c on ABC.
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