The Nevada Sagebrush

‘Family’ transcends genre

By: Casey Durkin

Monday, November 30, 2009 - 7:10 PM

Every so often, a show like “The Office” comes around and popularizes a certain genre of TV. A show like that is bound to have numerous imitators that, in most cases, will be carbon copies but with different and less funny premises and characters who seem to try really hard to be like their predecessors (“Parks and Recreation,” I am looking at you).

ABC’s latest comedy series, “Modern Family,” follows the lives of three families — a traditional American family, a family with a younger wife and a gay couple with an adopted baby. Courtesy of ABC.

“Modern Family” has been able to not only take that mockumentary genre and do well, but also transform the show into its own unique subgenre. The best way to describe the show is if a witty family-friendly sitcom and “The Office” had a bastard love child.

There is definitely a nice balance between the two styles, to the point of being complementary rather than a confusing and conflicting orgy of confessional booths and three-camera set-ups trying to live as one.

The best part about “Modern Family” has to be the characters because of the fact that it is trying to embody a “modern family” in the 21st century. It covers all of the different family types, which are becoming more and more common and shies away from the same cute, snarky family you see all the freaking time and eventually wish death upon.

First, you have your retired, divorced dad, Jay, who struck big and married a very attractive foreign woman named Gloria, who is decades younger than him. A great addition to this increasingly popular “Anna Nicole” stereotype is that she is sassy, fun and brought an eccentric and intelligent child from a previous marriage along with her. This creates an interesting love-hate relationship between the dad and his new stepson.

Next you have gay couple Cam and Mitchell, who have just adopted an Asian baby and are trying to fit into the American suburban lifestyle. Their paranoia about being “too gay” is the most humorous thing about this family. It is also entertaining because they are trying so hard to be normal when everyone has already seemed to accept them anyway and thinks nothing of the situation.

And last, you have your regular sitcom family, Claire and Phil, a happily married couple with two girls and a boy. But instead of being all cute and boring like previous prototypes, they all take on modern personalities. The father tries to be the cool dad and does everything from singing “High School Musical” songs to desperately avoiding dad duties that he thinks would make him uncool to his children. The children include a stupid high school girl, Haley, who is always texting and worrying about parties; a witty brainiac girl, Alex, who likes to mess with her older sister’s small mind; and a wild and crazy boy, Dylan, who seems to have mild brain damage. And then there is the somewhat traditional mother trying to deal with them and make it all work.

The three families are all tied together by the fact that Claire and Mitchell are Jay’s children. But what is even more outstanding is the fact that all of the characters have a series of connections to one another that provide an abundance of humorous scenarios and conflicts.

“Modern Family” did something right. It is old and familiar but unique and updated at the same time, making it a sort of “frozen hot chocolate” oxymoron that just works.

Casey Durkin can be reached at cdurkin@nevadasagebrush.com.