Modern Family Review: A Stereotypical Day (Season 8 Episode 2)

Modern Family Season 8 Episode 2, “A Stereotypical Day” is in the spotlight this week because the first openly transgender child actor on TV, Jackson Millarker, makes an appearance on the show as Lily’s friend.

Millarker plays Tom, who used to be Tina, and considering all the fanfare, Tom should have been in the episode longer than the split second he is. Mitch and Cam praise Lily for being so open-minded (and themselves for being so accepting), but then immediately freak after they hear Lily call Tom a weirdo.

This storyline is the strongest of the episode.  Modern Family has the tendency to be over-the-top with unrealistic reactions (see Phil’s plot below), but this narrative is one of the most grounded.

It’s Jay who ends up teaching both Cam and Mitchell a lesson, although it’s too bad that Jay’s storyline is cringe-worthy and humorless.

After a break-in down the street, Jay installs cameras at his house the same day an African- American family moves in across the street. Cue Jay flipping out.

Assuming that his neighbors will think he’s racist and to prove that he’s not, Jay invites his African-American friend Miles over and talks to him in full view of the new family out on the street. He also blasts the Commodores.

This is a missed opportunity for Modern Family to take issues like race and stereotypes more seriously and actually make it mean something. Why couldn’t the neighbor give Jay a taste of his own medicine? Perhaps, Jay would have learnt a lesson then.

It’s a poorly written plot and since it’s neither comedic or eye-opening, it doesn’t serve a purpose except to take up time in an already crowded episode.

At least the Dunphys provide some much-needed humor.

Alex is home from college with mono, Haley has lost her job, Luke is trying to get through senior year, Claire is a bummer at work, and Phil is locked in a closet for 18 hours.

The whole Claire- being- the- boss- and- not -liked -by –her- employees gig is a little tired, however, it’s funny to see Alex take over Claire’s boss role at home. Claire’s gleeful face when she thinks she’s getting away with something is always a pleasure to witness.

Phil is suffering from PTSD after the closet situation and wants Alex to be a stand-in for the therapy dog he is denied because, well, he didn’t serve in the military.

Ty Burell is a  Modern Family MVP because he doubles as the physical comic relief and also the heart.

In this episode though, Phil’s plot is just not funny. Could he seriously not bash through the closet door? Modern Family does not have to be completely realistic, but come on.

The best part of Phil being trapped is his reaction when he sees that his family didn’t notice how long he had been missing.

“A Stereotypical Day” is a crammed episode, featuring all the Modern Family characters. It would have been more effective if it had just focused on the Tucker-Pritchetts and had dealt more carefully with Jay’s storyline.

Or ditched it all together.

The Dunphy plot is good, but could have been used in a different episode.  What was Gloria up to this week? Something about bashing remotes but who knows because it was so uninteresting.

Overall, “A Stereotypical Day” is a mixed bag of an episode. Is this the kind of mediocrity we should expect from Modern Family each week?

Last Bits:

• The Castro jumpsuit and Communism looks good on Manny.
• Where can one find a framed photo of the Cam/Mitchell/Lily mural?
• Joe trying to sneak outside in his underwear and with a suitcase–hilarious.
• Crabby, irritable Alex is entertaining. Is this the best way to use Alex? Probably not, but at least she exists!

What did you think of this episode of Modern Family? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Modern Family airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on ABC.

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