‘Modern Family’ 3.04 Recap: “This Is Our Double Rainbow!”

It’s been a great season for ‘Modern Family’ so far, and ‘Door to Door’ continues the trend. Folks get paired up nicely, storylines play out well and there aren’t any of those ambiguous non-morals from Season 2.

The biggest piece of the story to me is that between Jay and Manny. Manny is going door to door selling wrapping paper (“You’re selling Christmas!,” says Jay), but is having trouble making a sale. Whether he likes it or not, he gets advice from Jay. The two tend to be a winning combination, and they deliver fully in ‘Door to Door’.

I laughed out loud a few times during the episode, and Jay’s sayings are a big part of that. “A good salesman goes out after Moby Dick with a rowboat and brings the tartar sauce with him.” The hell? Awesome.

After nearly being hit by another car, and after actually hitting Phil with hers, Claire is on a mission to get a new stop sign. It’s the sort of thing we’ve seen Claire do before, and it’s where the character seems to fit very nicely, even if it does make her seem a bit disconnected from the rest of the family.

Claire asks everyone to help, but Phil and the kids have their own plans. Phil and Luke in particular set out to recreate an amazing basketball shot that happened by accident in their driveway, so that they can tape it and get some YouTube fame.

Claire’s efforts don’t get too far until the kids and Phil show up to help her. It’s cute but nothing special. David Cross appears in what will be a recurring role, which is good, because I absolutely love David Cross.

I was of the opinion that Ty Burrell should have gotten the Emmy over Eric Stonestreet in 2010, and was happy to see that he picked it up in 2011. It takes a certain kind of person to sell the character of Phil, and Burrell does it brilliantly. He gets plenty of great and understated lines in this episode.

Mitchell and Cam have a bit of a down week. There’s a side story about cleaning the kitchen that feels a bit too contrived and sitcom-y. They’re not painting a line down the middle of their rooms or anything, but a laugh track wouldn’t have seemed too out of place.

Gloria searches for a missing dog – this feels familiar for some reason, though I can’t place why. She screams in the streets and it’s a little annoying. Thankfully, Cam is with her, decked out in a white T-shirt, jeans and the need to scream the name Stella. A young Brando he isn’t, but it’s fun to watch.

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