ERIC STONESTREET, JESSE TYLER FERGUSON Modern Family Review: Pool Party (Season 11 Episode 4) | Tell-Tale TV

Modern Family Review: Pool Party (Season 11 Episode 4)

Modern Family, Reviews

Modern Family Season 11 Episode 4, “Pool Party,” reminds us that there are some topics and storylines perfectly suited for a half-hour sitcom—and others better left for serious dramas (or satirical cartoons, maybe).

Women balancing families and careers? Great. 

Self-esteem issues? Sure—as long as we’re not making light of eating disorders or body dysmorphia. 

Recording people as they’re getting dressed in their own homes without their consent and letting those video streams get hacked and posted publicly on the internet? Nope. Too far.

modern family gif season 11 episode 4 lily pool

Let’s start with what the episode does well: the pool party arc. While Lily first experiences every teen girl’s nightmare—having her parents talk about her body—we can appreciate what they’re trying to do (even if their methods are borderline uncomfortable). 

Mitch: Is that the sass we love or the backtalk we hate?

Lily’s sharp wit and monotone delivery are a stark contrast to her parents (and, quite honestly, her entire extended family), and she has a way of bringing us back into reality a bit. 

Despite being so different from her parents, Lily gets to share a positive bonding experience with them as they all acknowledge and overcome their self-esteem issues during the episode. 

AUBREY ANDERSON-EMMONS
MODERN FAMILY – “Pool Party” – (ABC/Gilles Mingasson)

I couldn’t have picked a better song for Mitch, Cam, and friends to strut out to the pool to than Lizzo’s “Boys.” I am not ashamed to admit that I sing and dance along to it while stuck in traffic on the 405. Because you can’t not feel good listening to it. 

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It’s a great moment for a few reasons:

  1. The song is perfect.
  2. The shot is focused on the men and their newfound confidence—not on the reactions of other party guests. The moment truly gets to be about how they feel. 
  3. Lily shouts out a supportive “woo woo” and is absolutely beaming at her dads. Everyone in the Tucker-Pritchett family is happy and confident and carefree.

And now for the not so happy or carefree…  

modern family haley gif season 11 episode 4

At first, we’re set up for some nice mother-daughters bonding time. We learn that Alex has a job offer from a big corporation, and Haley is torn about going back to work versus being a stay-at-home mom.

Haley: It’ll break my heart to be away from them, but—as a feminist—I wanna show those snarky bitches at the office how fast my body bounced back. 

Of course, the family moment is too good to be true, as Claire leaves almost immediately to go tend to a work crisis. Not before admitting to her kids that she resents having to stay home with them.

Is it just me, or is Claire more self-centered and egotistical than in previous seasons? First, on Modern Family Season 11 Episode 2, she drove everyone out of the house so she could have her moment without her “embarrassing family,” and now she’s blaming her kids for where her career has ended up. 

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That’s nothing in comparison to how she responds to the smart closet crisis, however. But this response is maybe less of a character flaw and more of a why would the show even go there? one.

We’ve got unauthorized video recordings of people undressing in their own homes. A serious hacking incident. And very personal customer videos/images being shared on the internet. 

And Claire—who’s just been placed on the cover of a magazine for being a smart businesswoman—only suggests a product recall. Meanwhile, her now-former employees manage to simultaneously overreact and downplay the situation at the same time. 

Bringing up issues like illegal recording and information hacking/sharing just doesn’t work for a half-hour sitcom. Not when, in real life, we’re placing stickers over our computer cameras and looking for suspicious red lights in hotel rooms. It’s too scary a threat to be taken lightly. 

In the real world, no CEO would be making jokes and brushing off the situation like Claire does. Even a sociopath—who might not care about customers’ feelings—would have to fear the kind of financial and PR nightmares to come. 

I have to hope we’ll see some related fallout/conflict in the next episode and that this wasn’t just an “oops” moment. But, at the same time, I’d like to forget this storyline even happened. 

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tl;dr: More Lizzo struts and fewer poorly addressed serious issues.

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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Kaitlin is an aspiring novelist who works in digital marketing. When she's not writing, you can find her snuggled on the couch with her poodle-terrier mix Benny—either reading a book or rewatching New Girl for the 17th time.