S3E15: To say that things got weird on Modern Family last night is an understatement. If the title of the episode – “Aunt Mommy” – wasn’t enough of an indication for you, it centers on Claire contemplating becoming a mother for the fourth time, but not in the traditional sense of maternity.
“Really? I showed it to them like five times! Last time we were there I think they got mail…” – Phil
We begin with a brief encounter with the Dunphy clan as Phil and Claire are about to head out, leaving their brood at home in the middle of multiple household chores. While Claire berates him over an unattended task, I couldn’t help but notice how routine the interactions between this side of the family had become. The Dunphy’s used to be my favorite part of Modern Family – Luke’s left-field comments, Phil’s clueless persona, Haley’s innocent inanity – but now they’re all so predictable. Maybe I’m just fatigued, but luckily this open didn’t have much to do with the episode’s major plotline. Over at the younger Pritchett house, Cam is distraught over he and Mitchell’s friends Stephen and Stefan’s decision to adopt a baby boy since they had made that choice a year earlier, while Jay has decided that Manny needs football in his life…immediately.
“You guys hate us a little bit don’t you?” – Stephen
“Oh, no!/Just a little.” – Mitchell/Cam
After Phil sells a house to Stephen/Stefan after numerous attempts, Stephen puts an unorthodox idea into their heads: surrogacy. The reason that they haven’t been able to adopt another child is because they’re waiting, and waiting….and waiting. They’ve never wanted to use a surrogate mother because they’d never be able to decide who should father the child, but using the Stephen/Stefan method, a little bit of both fathers’ “stuff” goes into the mother’s egg and no one would ever know whose made the magic happen. They’re intrigued, but how would they ever pick the right mother?
Meanwhile, Jay actually managed to get Manny onto the Gridiron, but his interest in penny scouting sends him to the injured list after he takes one hell of a tackle. Later that night, Gloria finds out that Jay turned down theater tickets for her and Manny so that he could get some football time in, and it blows up in his face when she finds out the truth. I’m actually surprised that he’s still trying to make an alpha male out of him; we’ve been down this road before and it always ends with Jay’s acceptance of Manny’s eccentricities. Again, Modern Family shows signs of tiresome storytelling.
“What? I’m playing a new drinking game. It’s called ‘every time I’m depressed I take a drink.’” – Cam
“That game exists. It’s called alcoholism.” – Mitchell
So far, things seem pretty run-of-the-mill, right? That all changes when Phil, Claire, Mitchell and Cam go out for drinks later in the evening. In an editing technique unprecedented for the show, various conversations are tied to together to display their mutual inebriation, and it crescendos into the seemingly brilliant idea of having Claire carry Cam and Mitchell’s child…easily the creepiest notion I’ve heard in, well, forever.
Luckily, over communal hangovers the next morning everyone begins to realize how vile this suggestion is and rules it out, but neither couple has the heart to break the news to the other. At brunch, things are incredibly awkward as there’s tension between every couple. The exchanges between the Pritchett’s and the Dunphy’s are priceless, and though both try to keep things discreet Haley, Alex and Luke nuzzle their way into the truth, which makes Phil/Claire/Mitchell/Cam even more uncomfortable with the proposed arrangement. Before long, everyone in the house knows what’s going on and a wave of chatter erupts as Jay tries to talk everyone out of this move. Just when it looks like shit’s going to hit the fan, Claire and Mitchell retreat under the table for a child-like confab, wherein the let each know that their feelings are mutual on the subject of familial surrogacy.
Though there were some familiar plot devices in Aunt Mommy, a one-of-a-kind twist turned the episode around and made things feel fresh. It just goes to show you that with a cast of characters like Modern Family is lucky to have, there’s potential for comedic gold lurking around every corner; the writers just have to continue to find innovative ways to turn the formula on its head every one in a while.
