Modern Family

Being a huge Modern Family fan, I re-watched one of my favorite episodes this past weekend. It's episode 18 of season 2, "Boys' Night". One thing I love about Modern Family is how they follow many different story lines throughout the episode, yet always tie these stories together at the end with a "heartwarming" lesson. In "Boys' Night", Luke becomes friends with his elderly neighbor, Mr. Kleezak. Their friendship can be seen as juxtaposition because of the age difference and the contrast in their personalities. Luke is a playful, immature kid while Mr. Kleezak has a reputation for being the mean old man. With the use of flashbacks, we are able to witness events where you can see how Mr.Kleezak got his reputation. Another character that has his own story line is Jay. Jay decides not to see a jazz musician with his wife, so he ends up at a bar where his own son, Mitchell is out with his friends who are all gay. It's obvious in earlier episodes that Jay is not very comfortable being around these men, yet he sits down and has a few drinks with them. A montage is used to show how Jay gets progressively drunker and more comfortable over the course of the night. There are quite a few close ups on his grinning face as he chugs down another drink and then the camera cuts back to show the whole group of men in the bar and it is apparent that they are being pretty rowdy. Modern Family is similar to The Office in the way that they "interview" the characters in this episode. The camera shows a medium shot of the character or characters being interviewed as they discuss their take on the events happening in their lives. It adds a sense of relatability to the show. After all, they are a modern family.