Modern Family

Tony and I have been watching back episodes of Modern Family, and I have been trying to figure out why it is so funny.  There's no denying it's hilarious---the kids came out to see what was up as I was laughing so hard it sounded like I was dying the last time we watched.  But when I really think about it, it's not a terrible original or creative show.  What's the setup?  A man with a much younger wife who is beautiful and has an accent, a dopey, clueless husband with a pretty but non-brain-surgeon daughter, a bright but nerdy daughter and a son as clueless as he is, a gay couple that seem pretty stereotypical to me, and who also serve another stereotype in their hyperactive parenting of their adopted child.  And the plots?  They cover all the classic sit-com happenings.  If identity can be mistaken, it is, if people can overhear what they shouldn't overhear, they do, if meanings can be misunderstood, they are, if a car is near a cliff, it will roll off.  Everything happens as you expect it to happen.

And that's probably the genius.  We are tired of cutting edge or realistic humor.  Modern Family is the anti-Seinfeld, the anti-Roseanne.  It's a flashback to just plain funny, without a cutting edge or a intricate plot.  The show is well casted, the actors are likeable, and you can just sit back and enjoy yourself, without having to think a huge amount.  There's a lot to be said for that.