Modern Family: Best Moments from “Basketball” (Season 8 Episode 16)

Modern Family Season 8 Episode 16 “Basketball” is a delight to watch. There are some plots that fall a little flat, and it’s overcrowded as always, but this episode delivers on laughs and provides a few tender moments, which always make for a good episode of Modern Family.

Check out the Best Moments of “Basketball,” and why it works.

Phil’s Perseverance

Phil Dunphy is truly the heart of Modern Family, and he proves it again with this episode. In the cold open, Phil practices his basketball skills after he choked at a school fundraiser the year before.

Phil is so dedicated with practicing his free throws that he even gets out of bed in his jammies before he goes to sleep to throw a few more. We know that Phil doesn’t do anything half-heartedly, so his desire to become a better player is consistent with his character.

Along the way, there is some physical comedy which Ty Burrell is a master of.

But we also see vulnerable Phil, which makes him so endearing. Modern Family has been on-air for eight seasons and therefore, much of the character development has fallen by the wayside.

However, there have been new developments with Phil. We saw it earlier in the season when he decided to go for his dream of Dunphy Tower after a boost of confidence. He has doubted himself and then perseveres.

On “Basketball,” Phil’s hard work is put to the test. He’s under even more pressure as two NBA players, Charles Barkley and DeAndre Jordan, watch on and eventually make bets on the basketball game.

Phil starts to cave under the pressure, and he looks defeated half way through the episode. So, it’s touching at the end to see Phil overcome his fear of failure, and to take the shot to see if his hard work paid off.

And it does.

It’s also great that Claire (and Charles Barkley!) is there to witness it. Claire and Phil have been winning the couple game this season, by the way.

The Tea Parties

Modern Family works well when characters who aren’t usually together pair up. It gives the plots a hint of freshness and sets up the potential for comedic bits.

Apparently, Haley and Mitchell have high tea together every year. They get dolled up, sport British accents (for a minute), and gossip. Cam isn’t invited, which peeves him.

We see that Cam has tried to have his own tea party with Alex, but it’s not quite like Haley and Mitch’s. Modern Family acknowledges that these two don’t have anything in common, so although the scenes are a bit contrived, they produce giggles.

It’s fun to see Haley and Mitchell gossip, and their close relationship is not something new. We have seen it in seasons past. But now that Haley is older, she starts to tell Mitch about something Rainer asked her to do in bed which makes her uncomfortable.

Oh, right. Haley’s still with Rainer!

The man himself actually shows up to high tea, but the whole Rainer and Haley thing just doesn’t work. There’s not much chemistry between them and because this is the third time we’ve seen them together, it’s hard to imagine that they actually have some sort of life together.

Even when they open up to each other, it’s superficial. Haley and Andy were much better together because their relationship actually seemed real. With Rainer, it’s like, Modern Family wanted Nathan Fillion to guest star a couple of times, but didn’t know what to do with his character.

After Rainer crashes the tea party, it’s only a moment later that Cam does too. Mitch and Cam are very funny in the scenes together. We haven’t seen them this gossipy lately, and it’s fun.

The resolution of this plot is not as deep as it could have been, though, especially when we find out that one of Mitchell’s “boundaries” is not asking Cam to shave his back. It should have been something that makes Mitchell vulnerable.

Despite its flaws, the tea parties are enjoyable to watch.

Big Bad Jay

There isn’t much of a reason for Jay’s storyline, except to merge it with Claire’s, but there are some funny lines, an opportunity to see Joe, and for Claire to swallow a fish.

Jay doesn’t like that Joe isn’t afraid of him. He thinks that kids are supposed to be afraid of their fathers, so he tries raising his voice and knocking things around to make Joe scared of him.

Of course, Joe just laughs it off.

It’s awfully mean for Jay to want to scare his kid, especially because Joe is so young, but there are definitely some comedic gains. Jay’s overall grumpiness is great and provides a chuckle or two.

When Jay pulls Claire into a hug after she swallows the fish (a very funny moment), he admits that maybe scaring his kids isn’t the best parenting.

It’s little gestures like that that always makes me tune into Modern Family. It’s simple and small, but just packs that little emotional punch mixed with comedy. Why can’t Modern Family be like this every week?

Quick Bits:

• Jane Krakowski is a gem.
• What’s up with all the athletes on Modern Family this season?
• That poor attendance lady–first she loses her house in a mudslide and now she needs a kidney?!
• Why do we only see Ben with Claire? Can we please see him and Alex together?
• The look on Alex’s face when having tea with Cam and vice versa? Perfection.

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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