Modern Family (TV Series) Playdates (2016) User Reviews

The laughs return to Modern Family in full force with the season's best episode yet

[ryanjmorris · 9/10 · 16 March 2016]

Modern Family has been having a mixed season so far. Some episodes have been pretty solid, but it's had a few misfires as well. The writing hasn't been as consistent as usual and the show was failing to even offer one episode with big laughs from start to finish.

Playdates fills that void, though. It gets back to Modern Family basics with a quartet of simple but effective stories, and packs each with genuine humour. The three kids with Mitchell is a character pairing we haven't seen before, but it worked terrifically well. Haley continues to be the show's most reliably funny character - her "Oh no, I'm meant to be cat sitting" line made me laugh harder than anything else this season, and the titles hadn't even rolled yet. Phil and Claire fighting paying the bill with their restaurant buddies was a trademark example of Modern Family taking the simplest of stories but injecting it with energy and clever dialogue. The cricket eating twist at the end was a brilliant conclusion to an excellent story.

Cameron and Lily's story gave us a nice development as to Lily's character with her first crush, and the reveal that her crush was on her friend's dad rather than her friend was entirely unexpected. Aubrey Anderson-Emmons sold the moment entirely, and Eric Stonestreet completed the story with some of the best comedy we've seen from Cameron all year. Jay's plot may not be the most original thing the show has ever done (Yes, Jay is older than Gloria and he feels self conscious. We get it) but this was cleverly punctuated with Manny's subplot about his "moustache". Jay's "old guy" humour is contrasted with Manny's "young man" humour, and it keeps the story feeling fresh.

Playdates is far and away the best episode of Modern Family's seventh season yet. This is the first episode of the season to offer consistent laughs, and four stories that were all equal in quality. Let's hope it can keep up the momentum.

Grade: A-

Playdates

[studioAT · 7/10 · 12 November 2021]

I'm never too keen on episodes that are blatantly trying to shoehorn celeb cameos in, but this just about worked in the Mitch and the kids story and was good fun.

The other storylines are classic 'Modern Family', full of heart and humour. Lovely stuff.

Playdates - S07E10

[rgan · 6/10 · 16 December 2018]

In a rather bizarre turn of events, while previous episodes featuring guest stars have been reserved and utilized the actor's strengths, this time around three of the storylines feature a famous guest star in each, a move that makes the episode feel forced as the show relies on recognisable faces to garner attention. While the interaction with Mitch and the three Dunphy kids is a fun match-up, and the Dunphy adults' dinner date is a wonderful play out, the rest of the episode is a chore to get through as the stories take a backseat to showcasing the names they can draw. Keegan-Michael Key is an absolute joy as his Tom bounces off Burrell's Phil effortlessly, and this is an interaction that would be welcomed back wholeheartedly, while the ham fisted utilization of Orson Bean and Ray Liotta in other stories is a low point for the series. After several strong episodes the bubble was obviously going to burst and despite a strong segment with the Dunphy dinner date, "Playdates" is a severe misfire for the show and s worrying thought that this might be what the showrunners think will be interesting.