Modern Family Review on Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine has a review of Modern Family TV show; here are some parts of it:
In ABC’s Modern Family, the funniest new sitcom of the season, the titular family is an extended one. Ty Burrell and Julie Bowen play Phil and Claire, a suburban couple with three children; Claire’s father has recently married a much younger Latina bombshell and Claire’s gay brother has just adopted a baby girl with his partner. A lesser show would have focused on the nuclear family, with wacky interludes and complications brought on by the unconventional secondary characters, but what is refreshing (and truly modern) about Modern Family is how all of its characters are given equal time and importance. And by extension, how all of the actors are given an opportunity to shine in their respective roles.
It’s a testament to the strong writing that, six episodes in, my favorite character has changed several times. Ty Burrell has been consistently funny as Phil, a cheerful dad completely oblivious not only to the embarrassment he causes himself but to the embarrassment he piles onto his wife and children. As he says to the camera at one point (the show is shot in the faux-documentary style of The Office): “Claire likes to say that you can be part of the problem, or part of the solution, but I happen to believe that you can be both.” He delivers the line with pride, yet the endearing way he causes problems, then tries to fix them, makes him both the fleeting heart of the show and its most clichéd character.
Other standouts include Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet as new parents Mitchell and Cameron. Neither is defined by their gayness, but they are not made to act straight to prove a point either. Mitchell is buttoned-up and anxious while Cameron is big and boisterous, a man who loves to eat, loves football, and who presents his adopted daughter to a family gathering while wearing an African robe and playing “Circle of Life” from The Lion King. My current favorite character, however, is Manny (Rico Rodriguez), the 11-year-old son of Gloria (Sofia Vergara), the new wife of the family’s patriarch (Ed O’Neill, both gruff and decent). Manny is an old soul, a kid who drinks coffee to honor his Colombian heritage, and who would rather have a heart-to-heart with Claire than play with her kids.
Read the full story at Slant Magazine.
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Modern Family Episode 8 “Great Expectations”
With a history of giving bad gifts, Claire is determined to surprise Phil with an amazing anniversary present – a private performance by one of their favorite musicians, Izzy LaFontaine! However, it turns out to be a surprise in more ways than one. Meanwhile, Mitchell and Cameron call up their party-girl bestie, Sal, for a long overdue night out on the town.
Will air Nov. 11th.
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A ‘Modern Family TV’ miracle for sitcoms [source: Variety]
At Starbucks locations across Los Angeles, out-of-work comedy writers are polishing off their “Modern Family” spec scripts.
For the first time in a while — and definitely since the writers strike — there’s optimism in the comedy ranks. And much of that good feeling can be traced this fall to ABC’s breakout “Modern Family.”
“For morale in the comedy business, it’s been huge,” says Alphabet comedy topper Samie Kim Falvey. “All of us who love comedy and refuse to abandon it as a business feel validated.”
“Family” is one of several laffer success stories this season: ABC’s “The Middle” and “Cougar Town” also have performed well enough on either side of “Family” to earn full-season pickups, while CBS newcomer “Accidentally on Purpose” and recent NBC additions “Parks and Recreation” and “Community” have picked up some ratings ground recently.
Then there’s CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory,” which has graduated from hit to megahit thanks to its new timeslot behind “Two and a Half Men.”
But “Modern Family,” even rival network execs agree, is having a major effect on the laffer biz, thanks to what it represents: the revival of the family comedy.
…
ABC execs were high enough on the show that they picked up the pilot early, which Falvey says allowed the network and studio to cast the show well, starting with Ed O’Neill, as well as Julie Bowen, Sofia Vergara, Ty Burrell, Eric Stonestreet and Jesse Tyler Ferguson.
The Alphabet also gave the show an early series order, and screened the entire pilot at the net’s May upfront presentation to advertisers.
But “Modern Family” was by no means a slam dunk. The network gave the show the nearly impossible task of holding down the 9 p.m. anchor slot on a Wednesday night completely filled with new shows. And when awareness studies showed low returns for “Family,” the net shifted more marketing money to the show immediately following it, “Cougar Town.”
The net also was forced to give away “Modern Family’s” big pilot reveal: The fact that the three separate families are actually related, something that viewers don’t discover until the very end of the episode.
“We did some early research on tracking and marketing, and people were not getting how special this show was,” Falvey said. “A lot of the heart comes from understanding this is a big family unit.”
Levitan and Lloyd weren’t big fans of the marketing decision, but didn’t protest.
“They did everything you could ask for in launching the show,” Lloyd says.
Salke says she believes the show has fallen into the zeitgeist of the moment — that audiences, faced with economic woes in the real world, were looking for more feelgood fare.
“Shows like ‘Modern Family’ and ‘Glee’ have tapped into the audience’s real desire to be entertained, to laugh, cry, have fun,” Salke says. “It’s not the typical tone that you have seen.”
The success of “Modern Family” has helped populate network development reports with more family-oriented laffers. Net and studio execs say they’re also busy looking at other forms that have been missing as of late — including the modern take on a relationship comedy like “Mad About You.”
“People are looking, and saying, ‘where’s our “Modern Family”?’ ” Salke says.
[read the full story at Variety]
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Sofia Vergara: Sexy on the Red Carpet
Enjoying a night out on the red carpet, Sofia Vergara turned up for the Columbia Pictures premiere of “2012” on Tuesday night (November 3).
The “Modern Family” actress looked stunning in a purple frock as she arrived at Regal Cinemas LA Live in Los Angeles for the big event.
[source: Gossip Center]
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MODERN FAMILY IS WEDNESDAY’S #1 SERIES FOR 2ND WEEK IN A ROW
- Image via Wikipedia
Released by ABC
Beating its Non-Sports Competition at 9pm, ABC’s Modern Family TV show is Wednesday’s No. 1 TV Series in Adults 18-49 for the 2nd Week in a Row.
“Modern Family” (9:00-9:30 p.m.)
Shooting up from its lead-in by 70% in Adults 18-49, ABC’s “Modern Family” beat out its non-sports competitors at 9:00 p.m. to qualify as the No. 1 TV series of the night for the 2nd straight week (3.4/9).
“Modern Family” is exhibiting big increases over its first-reported numbers through DVR playback, jumping by 1.2 million viewers and by an additional 6-tenths of an Adult 18-49 rating point from the initially reported Live + Same Day Numbers to the Live + 7 Day DVR finals.
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Critics will always be critics
It seems that yesterday a few critics were on Twitter jawing about which they considered the best comedies on right now. Modern Family came up, and while there was general agreement that the show is hilarious and clever and warm, James Poniewozik added that he hoped that its warmth didn’t get expressed, in every episode, as “[Ed] “O’Neill says something gruffly sweet in last 30 secs.”
Here is what he says about the ending monologues:
I’d like to see the show change up from those here’s-what-we-all-learned homilies, for a couple reasons:
* First, and most obvious, a show is just better if I can’t predict its ending the afternoon before it airs.
* It undercuts the documentary format. There’s nothing inherently wrong with ending an episode with a longer speech from one of the characters’ “confessional” interviews in a mockumentary show. But the Jay we hear in a speech like last night’s isn’t entirely the Jay we see in action or hear interviewed on camera in the rest of the episode: he’s more reflective, self-aware and empathetic. Though the speeches end on a tension-breaking joke—like last night’s Guilt fades, but hardware lasts forever—it verges on breaking character.
* Finally, it’s just not always necessary. Modern Family has heart and sentiment to spare, and it doesn’t need to oversell it to get us to like it. If you took the monologue out, the montage it ran over would have been just as affecting, and actually maybe more.
What do you think?
Read more at the: Time.
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Modern Family TV show: Who Da Manny
Manny is so great and now he is a fencing star. We still support Manny as the official breakout TV character of the season.
Who wants to buy a “Who Da Manny?” and “Haley’s Comets” T-shirt?
And how about Mitch and his doubles figure skating career?
Modern Family Is Even Funnier Than 30 Rock – E! says
E! finally admits what we already know – “Modern Family” is the best show on today.
Here are some things they found about Modern Family:
Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet, who play Lily’s proud gay papas Mitchell and Cameron, tell us why you won’t be seeing much of their darling adopted baby in upcoming episodes:
Jesse: We have been writing around Lily a little bit because she is a child that cries a lot. We have to remind the writers that we do have a baby. And we have to remember that.
Eric: Yeah, we’ve each gotten emails from people, viewers watching, going—
Jesse: “Where was Lily when you jumped in the pool?”
Eric: “Where was Lily when you went to Costco?”
Jesse: The answer is always, “She’s always napping. She’s very, very sleepy.”
Eric: Yeah. Our baby is the most rested child on TV. Like, our kid is going to really take her young toddler years by storm.
Jesse: I think in seven years when we have the toddler of Lily, she’s just going to be the character who’s just like–[fake falls asleep, snores]. What? She’s narcoleptic.
Eric: She likes to sleep a lot.
The transcription of this interaction might not really do it justice, but suffice to say this cast is just as funny in real life as they are on the series.
Take, for example, Julie Bowen (Claire) talking about the hotness of her “mother” Sofia Vergara(Gloria): “She’s a modern marvel of architecture.”
And what about Julie’s hubby, Phil? He certainly has a wandering eye. Will he cheat? “You get married,” Julie says. “You don’t die. You can still see other people. Anybody that sees Sofia and doesn’t acknowledge she’s attractive is just lying. It’s just a line between whether or not you’re going to do anything about it. I think Phil (Ty Burrell) establishes himself as a very loyal, good guy. I think Phil would never cheat. He wears his schoolboy impulses right on his sleeve. You see it all.”
As for the money question that anyone who’s even just seen a poster for the show asks: Why in the world is Sofia Vergara with Ed O’Neill (Jay)? Sophia tells us: “Gloria’s attraction to Ed is that she’s in this time of her life that this is perfectly what she needs. You know, a stable guy, that he’s responsible, he’s there for her and the kid, he’s already stable. He has wisdom and she’s an immigrant in this country and her husband before was this crazy playboy…Javier. It’s perfect for her to be with Ed.”
When asked what Gloria sees in Jay, Ed puts it a little more succinctly: “Money.”
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5 Things to Know About Sofia Vergara
People has a story about Sofia Vergara from Modern Family. She never intended to be a comic actress. She actually went to dental school.
Here are five fun facts about the Modern Family scene stealer:
1. That accent is real!
2. She was a teenage mom.
3. She was almost a dentist.
4. She watched Ed Bundy in Spanish!
5. She’s friends with Shakira.
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The Return of Ed O’Neill in Another Great Dad-on-the-Couch Sitcom
You know him as Al, former high-school football player* turned women’s shoe salesman, one-time scorer of four touchdowns in a single game, and reluctant head of the Bundy household for eleven years on the hit sitcom Married with Children.
After Married ended, O’Neill receded from the pop-culture spotlight, but he kept right on working, popping up in a few notable roles — like the criminally underappreciated John Hughes movieDutch and his cameo as Glen, the crazy guy who works behind the counter at Stan Mikita’s Donuts inWayne’s World. There were a few forgettable roles in there too: remember Dragnet? Me neither.
But this fall, O’Neill has returned to television on the new ABC comedyModern Family, and he’s back to doing what he does best — playing a wiseass and seemingly miserable patriarch. Shot in a mockumentary format similar to The Office, the show follows three generations of the dysfunctional Pritchett family — O’Neill’s Jay and his young Latina wife, Jay’s son and his partner, Jay’s daughter and her husband and a bunch of grandkids. It sounds like every other beleaguered-dad sitcom. But it’s not. It’s goddamn hysterical.
Read more:http://www.esquire.com/blogs/endorsement/ed-oneill-modern-family-110309#ixzz0Vw36z3VB
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Going to a wedding?
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