I’m a recent convert to Modern Family and I can easily understand why. This show is great, multi-faceted and never in danger of not having something going on. There are some who will tell you that they have issue with all of the dads on the show because they’re typical sitcom dads who’ll screw something up for the sake of the episode, but not me. That’s what I like about this show. I think it’s solely driven by the dads’ shenanigans, most of the time.
In Hit and Run, the episode starts out with Cameron and Mitchell getting into a fender bender after an accidental viewing of the new Muppet Movie (subtle advertising?), which ultimately leads to the show’s title of “Hit and Run.” As usual, this gives the two dads something to bicker about. Cameron wants to chase down the man who hit them and make him pay. Mitchell, on the other hand, has his usual “play-it-safe” attitude towards it and he calls the cops.
Haley busies herself throughout the episode trying to scrounge up $900 for something gone wrong. Alex falls into her loving sister trap but doesn’t have the dough to cough up, which sends Haley walking as Alex begins a confession of her own. Luke informs the audience that he has the money but it’s currently frozen up in assets. In reality, he has the money (collected from unknowing parents) and it’s actually frozen in a block of ice. The audience is left to wonder until later in the episode, why Haley needs the money.
Meanwhile, Phil and Claire run into Councilman Duane Bailey (David Cross) as they’re going into the supermarket. Duane is running for re-election to city council and while he easily wins over Phil with his nonsense talk, Claire is harder to crack. She remembers from last week’s episode how Duane shot down her proposal to add a stop sign to a dangerous intersection. She decides to run against him when Phil offers to take care of the house while she pursues her goal.
Gloria, who is my least favorite character on the show because the only joke about her seems to be how loud and obnoxious she can be, worries that Manny and Jay no longer need her to help them with things. Manny refuses to let her help with his report on the mafia and Jay won’t confide his work related problems with her. Jay’s problems stem from a young condo builder who wants more “WOW” in the proposal Jay gives him. Jay, for the life of him, can’t understand nor figure out what the builder is looking for despite his straightforward questions.
We then see Phil take up the helm at home while Claire battles with Duane at city hall. Duane makes it clear to Claire that this will, in no way, be an easy path for her to take. He has the power and he knows what he has to do to keep it. It reminds me of Doug’s character (Kevin Nealon) from Weeds. As Claire attempts to move her case forward, she gets a call revealing what Haley has been up to, though the audience is still left in the dark. Claire’s response makes it clear that it isn’t anything good.
When it comes time for the family to get together for dinner at Jay and Gloria’s house, most plot lines are resolved. Phil shows up with a drugged Alex, Luke with a black eye and he’s still completely unaware of the Haley situation. Claire walks in with defeat masked only by the anger of what Haley did. Claire tells the whole family that Haley has lost $900 trying to buy fake IDs for her and her friends. She gave a guy the money and never got the IDs. Jay resolves to settle this in his own way partially because he’s trying to stop the younger generation from making new rules for doing everything and partially to help his granddaughter from being ripped off. Cameron, who’s been looking for a fight since the hit and run, joins the posse and Mitchell tags along o keep him safe. Phil never misses a chance to be included and he ends up in the car.
Jay takes the boys to the house where Haley was supposed to get the IDs (he had Haley text him the address) and they march up to the door and demand the money back. It’s reminiscent of a mafia scene. The kid goes into his house to get the money and then we see him dash.. Mitchell, who stayed near the car, is the one to tackle him to the ground. He get’s to play the hero.
Meanwhile, back at Jay and Gloria’s house, Gloria and Claire are discussing Claire’s choice to run for public office. Gloria is happy to help, seeing as how she’s felt left out. Claire wants to give up because she sees no chance in winning. Gloria tells her a story about a girl who entered a beauty pageant thinking she would lose. She lost but she lost knowing she tried. This inspires Claire to try and not worry about losing, Gloria still knows she’ll lose.
Finally, Jay solves his problem with the young condo builder. His method for WOWing him involves the exact same proposal he gave him the first time around but with a gratuitous helping of Gloria’s cleavage. No complaints on using Gloria’s other character fallback in this situation.
All in all, this was a solid episode. Each character played their minor roles and it all added up to one big problem to be solved by the family as a whole. I still wish we’d get more character depth out of Gloria and maybe tone down her loudness and her accent a bit from time to time. They’re laying it on thick.
I have to admit, Cameron is one of my favorite characters because half the time he plays a stereotypical homosexual man and half the time he plays the homosexual man mixed with a macho man. I think his macho man character is one of the best because it counterbalances Mitchell’s seemingly nonstop whiny man character.
Phil will always be a great character because Phil will always do what he thinks best and be somewhat of a doofus at whatever he does. Jay, on the other hand, used this episode to show us that characters don’t always have to stay the same. Sometimes they need a fresh approach to keep the younger generation pleased.