Review by Stuart O'Connor
Stars Ed O'Neill, Sofía Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson,
Eric Stonestreet, Rico Rodriguez, Sarah Hyland | Created by Steven Levitan & Christopher Lloyd
UK certification 12 | UK RRP £34.99 | BD Region B | Runtime 500 minutes | Directed by Michael Spiller
Now, the old Jay would have said, 'I wanted to be on a lake with a fishing rod and sunshine. Not bobbing around at night in a swimming pool.' I miss the old Jay. – Jay
It's Season 2, and unlike a lot of similar shows, Modern Family is actually getting better. The actors have all come to grips with their characters, and continue to make them as fresh and funny – and as believable – as they can. The writing, too, just gets better and better – no surprise there when you consider that the creators were involved in Frasier and The Larry Sanders Show.
This is no all-sweetness-and-light family sitcom like The Brady Bunch; Modern Family really does live up to the first word of its title. The plots usually deal with very modern issues, such as gay couples, adoption, walking in on your parents having sex, teen growing pains, Valentine's Day, keeping secrets and kids' birthday parties. It's all wonderfully observed and very real. And very, very funny.
A nice touch in this second season is that gay couple Cam and Mitchell are allowed to show more physical affection to each other. They're allowed to touch, to kiss, to cuddle. And they refer to each other as boyfriends. In other words, to behave almost like a real-life couple. Who knows, pretty soon this network series may let them behave just like a gay couple in a cable show circa 1998.
The ensemble cast work wonderfully well together, and there's genuine chemistry to be seen. There are some great guest appearances, too: Shelly Long is back as text to go in here text to go in here text to go in here text to go in here text to go in here text to go in here text to go Shelley Long is back as Jay's ex-wife, Matt Dillon pops up as an ex-boyfriend of Claire's and Nathan Lane appears as Pepper Saltsman, a flamboyant friend of Mitchell and Cameron.
A great bunch of people, genuine laughs, real warmth ... so unlike your own, this is a family you will want to spend time with.
EXTRAS ★★★★ Deleted family interviews on each disc; deleted and extended scenes on each disc; a table read for the episode Strangers on a Treadmill (37:36); behind the scenes of Mitchel's Flash Mob (2:43); an Imagine me naked music video (3:39); a gag reel (8:23); the featurette Modern Family Holidays (13:02), a look behind the scenes at the Halloween, Valentine's Day and Mothers' Day episodes; Waiting for Oprah (3:52), a day with an Oprah Winfrey documentary crrew on the set; a chat with executive producer and co-creator Steve Levitan (4:13); At Home with Modern Family (6:11), a behind the scenes tour of the three homes in the show.