As a result of the forest fires flaming nearby (and yes, it only takes about 10 seconds before a flame pun enters the dialogue), Mitch and Cam are forced to move their dream wedding to a new location. Nathan Lane sells some of the clunky jokes so well, it is marvelous that he has had such limited exposure on sitcoms. Elizabeth Banks’ Sal, another addition to the pile of stories that had no reason to exist, goes into labor, to the confusion of the boyfriend she has only been with for four months. (I did laugh at the audacity at her attempts to cover up this scandalous plot turn with the line, “Sometimes when babies come this early, they’re black.”)
Therefore, the clan buses over to a lavish, beautifully decorated room that has been left over from a runaway bride just hours earlier – except she returns with the groom just as the ceremony is about to start. The planners then decide to pitch up in the tightness of Cam and Mitch’s house, where it became apparent that Jay will step in to bring the two men together in holy matrimony by hosting the gig or coming up with the right location.
“The Wedding” crammed in a lot of characters and crazy plot turns as the characters kept scavenging for a new shelter, to the detriment of getting some worthwhile character moments with Cam, Mitch and Lily. Meanwhile, the joke that God was interfering with the wedding, through fire and famine, felt undercooked. Thi episode is a lot of half-scenes, moments that feel trimmed so that every character can have a little story of his or her own.
A major problem with Modern Family has been cluttering the episodes with all of the characters. Without significant time devoted to a single one for a prolonged period, there is just not enough development among these family members. Luke and Manny have done awfully little during the past 24 episodes, despite the initial promise of high-school glory. The writers are still searching for a storyline that can motivate Gloria, and Ty Burrell’s shtick is often funny but you can see that the creative folks behind the show are struggling to find zany situations to fit a man who is too sweet to be like G.O.B. Bluth, but too put-together to be a Buster facsimile.
Is the series on its way to another collection of Emmys? It is hard to tell. With winning fresh-faced series like Orange is the New Black and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, atop the bravura originality of Louie, this could be it for ABC’s long-running trophy winner. The jokes have been sharp but the pacing has been off, and too little work on some of the major characters show that the writers are content to leave their creations trapped within the personalities we already know and, to an extent, love. Season five of Modern Family started with a proposal and ending with a wedding, but through its duration felt like a marriage filled with highs and lows. It had television’s most cohesive comedy ensemble, yet struggled to finesse their talents into memorable story arcs.
